Radioisotope tracer study in trickle bed reactors

The residence time distribution (RTD) of liquid phase in trickle bed reactors has been measured for air‐water system using radioisotope tracer technique. Experiments were carried out in a glass column of internal diameter of 0.152 m packed with glass beads and actual catalyst particles of two different shapes. From the measured RTD curves, mean residence time of liquid was calculated and used to estimate liquid holdup. The axial dispersion model was used to simulate the experimental data and estimate mixing index, ie. Peclet number. The effect of liquid and gas flow rates on total liquid holdup and Peclet number has been investigated. Results of the study indicated that shape of the packing has significant effect on holdup and axial dispersion. Bodenstein number has been correlated to Reynolds number, Galileo number, shape and size of the packing.     

液固磁稳定床中固含率分布与液相返混特性

固含率分布和液相返混系数是液固磁稳定反应器放大与优化所必需的基础数据。采用床层膨胀高度法、光电法及瞬态点源示踪技术,研究了以SRNA-4催化剂为固相的液固磁稳定床中固含率分布和液相返混特性。试验结果表明,固含率轴向分布基本均匀,径向为“扁-陡曲线”分布。固含率随磁场强度和颗粒尺寸的增大而增大,随液体粘度和空塔液速的增大而减小。轴向液相返混系数随磁场强度和液体粘度的增大而减小,随空塔液速和颗粒尺寸的增大而增大。回归得到了固含率和轴向普朗特准数的关联式,预测值与试验值吻合良好。     

A comparative study of a fluidised bed reactor and a gas lift loop reactor for the IBE process. Part II: Hydrodynamics and reactor modelling

A fluidised bed reactor with liquid recycle (FBR) and an external loop gas lift reactor (GLR) were designed for the production of isopropanol—butanol mixtures by immobilised Clostridium spp. and scaled down to laboratory scale (part I). Hydrodynamic models were set up for the two laboratory scale reactors. Liquid mixing in the 10 dm³ FBR was described by 10 tanks in series. Fluidisation velocities, bed expansions and axial dispersion coefficients agreed well with literature data. Liquid mixing in the 15 dm³ GLR was described by 100 tanks in series. The gas hold-up and circulation velocity were found to decrease with increasing hold-up of solids, in accordance with literature indications. No influence of the hold-up of solids on the axial dispersion coefficient was determined. An integrated reactor model was set up for both reactors, using the hydrodynamic and kinetic model. Actual fermentation data are presented and compared with model predictions in part III of this study; this part will also include a comparison of reactor performances and scale up aspects.     

The gas-liquid contacting effects on liquid dispersion in pilot scale upflow hydrotreaters

A model for the estimation of the extent of the non-ideal liquid flow from RTD data at operating conditions in small-scale hydrotreaters has been developed accounting for the gas oil evaporation and gas-liquid mass transfer. Non-ideal flow is described by the axial dispersion model. Gas-liquid phase mass transport and equilibrium are considered by simulating the petroleum gas oil fraction with five pseudocomponents. Liquid holdup and axial dispersion coefficients for an upflow reactor are estimated by fitting the response curves after a step change of the tracer concentration at the inlet of a fixed bed operating at reaction conditions to the model predictions. The results obtained with the developed model are compared with those estimated by a simplified pseudohomogeneous model. It has been found that the model parameters estimated by the developed model are compatible with those determined with a mock up system of toluene and nitrogen at ambient conditions.     

THE EFFECT OF PARTICLE DILUTION ON WETTING EFFICIENCY AND LIQUID FILM THICKNESS IN SMALL TRICKLE BEDS

Partial wetting in small scale trickle bed reactors results in incorrect determination of intra-particle apparent kinetic parameters as well as in erroneous reactor scale-up. Although a dilution of catalyst particles with inert fines improves the catalyst wetting efficiency, it does not guarantee full external catalyst wetting at all superficial liquid mass velocities. In this work, a method is presented to relate the wetting efficiency obtained at different operating conditions and at different laboratories for diluted and non-diluted beds. Liquid film thickness in diluted and non-diluted beds is estimated. The effect of the operating conditions on partial wetting and liquid film thickness is discussed.     

Axial dispersion in a rectangular bubble column

This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the gas holdup and the liquid phase axial dispersion coefficient in a narrow packed and unpacked rectangular bubble column. In both cases the gas and liquid flow rates were varied and the data were obtained by employing standard tracer technique. The gas holdup and the axial dispersion coefficient for both the packed and unpacked columns were found to be dependent on the gas and liquid flow rates. For given gas and liquid velocities and a given packing size in the case of the packed column, the rectangular column gave significantly higher dispersion coefficients than a cylindrical column of the equivalent cross sectional area. This result agrees very well with the one predicted by the velocity distribution model. The correlations for the Peclet number, the axial dispersion coefficient, and the fluid holdup for both the unpacked and packed bubble columns are presented.     

催化精馏塔内催化剂床层润湿率研究

在９０ｍ ｍ 的有机玻璃塔内,用空气－水系统,通过稳态降阶示踪法对催化精馏塔内催化剂床层的润湿特性进行研究。得到润湿率随操作参数的变化曲线,并关联了润湿率随液体流速和气体流速变化的经验关联式, 为催化剂床层润湿率的预测提供依据。     

三相流化床液相径向和轴向扩散的研究

本文对二维扩散模型的示踪剂瞬态点源注入进行了解析及模拟计算.用微型电极检测不同径向位置的示踪剂浓度,由计算机对输出信号自动采集、实时分析,同时对三相流化床液相径向和轴向扩散系数等模型参数进行估值.     

Axial gas dispersion in a fluidized bed of polyethylene particles

Gas mixing behavior was investigated in a residence time distribution experiment in a bubbling fluidized bed of 0.07 m ID and 0.80 m high. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) particles having a mean diameter of 772 Μm and a particle size range of 200-1,500 Μm were employed as the bed material. The stimulus-response technique with CO₂ as a tracer gas was performed for the RTD study. The effects of gas velocity, aspect ratio (H₀/D) and scale-up on the axial gas dispersion were determined from the unsteady-state dispersion model, and the residence time distributions of gas in the fluidized bed were compared with the ideal reactors. It was found that axial dispersion depends on the gas velocity and aspect ratio of the bed. The dimensionless dispersion coefficient was correlated with Reynolds number and aspect ratio.     

计算流体力学在填充床反应器中的应用进展

在使用计算流体力学(CFD)方法模拟填充床反应器时,为了描述填充床中的气液流动情况,目前主要运用基于体积平均法的双流体数学模型,辅以空隙率分布,填料润湿效率以及轴向扩散等经验关联式来计算填充床中的压降、持液量、停留时间分布等重要参数。近年来填充床反应器CFD数学模型韵几个研究重点是动量交换系数、毛细管压力以及床层空隙率的非均匀分布性。简要介绍了涓流床、固定床、填料塔等填充床反应器及其内部构件研究中CFD软件模拟的应用进展情况和发展趋势。     

气-液-固三相循环流化床中的液相轴向扩散

The effects of liquid viscosities, solid circulating rates, liquid and gas velocities and phase holdups on the axial dispersion coefficient, Dax, were investigated in a gas-liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed (GLSCFB).Liquid viscosity promotes the axial liquid backmixing when solid particles and gas bubbles are present. Increases in gas velocities and solid circulating rates lead to higher Dax. The effects of liquid velocity on Dax are associated with liquid viscosity. Compared with conventional expanded beds, the GLSCFBs hold less axial liquid dispersion,approaching ideal plug-flow reactors.     

Trickle-bed reactors: Tracer study of liquid holdup and wetting efficiency at high temperature and pressure

Liquid holdup and wetting efficiency were measured by means of stimulus-response (pulse-tracer) experiments in a trickle-bed reactor, packed with a commercial hydrodemetallization catalyst, and operated at 10 MPa and 330–370°C, with a superficial liquid velocity of 1.4 to 8.3 × 10^?4 m/s. The total liquid holdup was obtained from the first moments, and the external wetting efficiency from the second moments, of the response curves. The dynamic holdup obtained from the total holdup lies within the range described by existing correlations, but wetting efficiency is significantly lower than literature data obtained at ambient conditions.     

Liquid Holdup in a Pilot‐Scale Turbulent Contact Absorber – An Experimental and Comparative Study

Liquid holdup in a turbulent contact absorber was determined experimentally. Experiments were performed in a 44.7 cm diameter Perspex column. Hollow spherical high‐density polyethylene balls were used as packing. The effect of liquid and gas velocities, static bed height, diameter and density of packing on liquid holdup was investigated for the range of gas velocities greater than minimum fluidization velocities. Also, the effect of gas and liquid distributors on liquid holdup was studied. Correlations for liquid holdup were developed and compared with those in the literature. It was observed that liquid holdup increased with the increase in liquid velocity, packing density, and the decrease in static bed height. Liquid holdup also increased with gas velocity when the gas distributor section was included, while no effect was observed for the bed. Lack of information on the contribution of liquid and gas distributors seems to be the logical explanation for the wide variation in data reported in the literature.     

Axial liquid dispersion in a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed

Although axial liquid dispersion has been studied extensively in particulate fluidized beds, no data has been reported previously in a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed (LSCFb). In this work, the axial liquid dispersions at various radial positions were measured in an LSCFB of 76 mm in diameter and 3.0 m in height using a dual conductivity probe. The results reveal that the axial liquid dispersion is affected not only by the operating conditions but by the radial positions as well. A local axial dispersion model is proposed to describe the axial liquid dispersion at various radial positions. The local axial liquid dispersion coefficients determined by the proposed model are greater at the axis than near the wall region of the riser. This nonuniformity of axial liquid dispersion is believed to be caused by the radial nonuniform distribution of liquid velocity, and bed voidage in the LSCFB can significantly affect the axial liquid dispersion.     

Comparison of two-phase upflow and downflow fixed bed reactors performance: Catalytic SO2 oxidation

A time- and space-dependent model based on the piston-dispersion-exchange model for liquid flow was developed to analyze the performance of two-phase upflow and downflow fixed bed reactors and was applied to the catalytic SO₂ oxidation. The hydrodynamic parameters were determined from residence time distribution measurements, using an imperfect pulse method for time-domain analysis of nonideal pulse tracer response. A transient diffusion model of the tracer in the porous particle coupled with the PDE model was used to interpret the obtained RTD curves. Gas-liquid mass transfer parameters were determined by a stationary method based on the least square fit of the calculated concentration profiles in gas phase to the experimental values. It is shown that two-phase downflow fixed bed reactor performs better at low liquid flow rates, while two-phase downflow fixed bed reactor performs better at low liquid flow rates, while two-phase upflow performs better at high liquid flow rates.     

苯乙炔选择性加氢滴流床反应器内的液相轴向返混特性

苯乙炔选择性加氢是从裂解汽油C₈馏分中回收苯乙烯的关键反应,本文采用滴流床反应器对该反应体系的液相轴向返混行为进行了研究。首先利用脉冲示踪法测得了不同操作条件下的液相停留时间分布密度;然后基于固定床轴向扩散模型,通过有限元正交配置法和Levenberg-Marquardt非线性最小二乘法,计算得到了Péclet数和液相平均停留时间;最后考察了主要操作条件对液相轴向返混的影响。研究结果表明,增大液体流量、气体流量、温度以及压力均可减小液相返混,而增大颗粒粒径会使液相返混加剧。     

Axial gas phase dispersion in a molten salt oxidation reactor

Gas phase axial dispersion characteristics were determined in a molten salt oxidation reactor (air-molten sodium carbonate salt two phase system). The effects of the gas velocity (0.05–0.22 m/s) and molten salt bed temperature (870–970 °C) on the gas phase axial dispersion coefficient were studied. The amount of axial gas-phase dispersion was experimentally evaluated by means of residence time distribution (RTD) experiments using an inert gas tracer (CO). The experimentally determined RTD curves were interpreted by using the axial dispersions model, which proved to be a suitable means of describing the axial mixing in the gas phase. The results indicated that the axial dispersion coefficients exhibited an asymptotic value with increasing gas velocity due to the plug-flow like behavior in the higher gas velocity. Temperature had positive effects on the gas phase dispersion. The effect of the temperature on the dispersion intensity was interpreted in terms of the liquid circulation velocity using the drift-flux model.     

气液固三相提升管中液相扩散特性

对气液固三相提升管内液相扩散行为进行了实验研究,考察了气速、液速以及颗粒循环量等操作因素对液相扩散系数的影响规律.实验研究结果表明,轴向、径向扩散系数随气速的增大均增大;轴向扩散系数随液速的变化基本保持不变,径向扩散系数随液速的增大而减小;轴向、径向扩散系数随颗粒循环量的增大均增大.与传统的气液固三相流化床相比,气液固三相提升管反应器更接近理想的平推流反应器.     

A highly elevated mass transfer rate process for three-phase,liquid-continuous fluidized beds

Average gas holdup and gas-to-liquid mass transfer in three-phase fluidized beds with non-Newtonian fluids were studied. The effects of liquid property, gas distributor type and magnetic field intensity on mass transfer coefficient and overall gas holdup were examined. The volumetric gas-to-liquid mass transfer coefficient was determined by fitting the oxygen concentration profile data across the bed to the axial dispersion model. The average gas holdup and mass transfer coefficient were all correlated with operating parameters including gas velocity and effective viscosity.Experimental results showed that a three-fold increase in mass transfer coefficient and a two-fold increase in average gas holdup were observed with properly designed liquid property and gas distributor. A modified process was developed to highly elevate the volumetric gas-to-liquid mass transfer rate. The bubble coalescing property of three-phase fluidized beds with small particles is eliminated, and its application to biotechnology and enzyme-catalyzed processes with high gas-to-liquid mass transfer rate could be achieved.