CFD analysis of two‐phase turbulent flow in internal airlift reactors

The hydrodynamic performance of three internal airlift reactor configurations was studied by the Eulerian–Eulerian k–ε model for a two‐phase turbulent flow. Comparative evaluation of different drag and lift force coefficient models in terms of liquid velocity in the riser and downcomer and gas holdup in the riser was highlighted. Drag correlations as a function of Eötvös number performed better results in comparison to the drag expressions related to Reynolds number. However, the drag correlation as a function of both Reynolds and Eötvös numbers fitted well with experimental results for the riser gas holdup and downcomer liquid velocity in configurations I and II. Positive lift coefficients increase the liquid velocity and decrease the riser gas holdup, while opposite results were obtained for negative values. By studying the effects of bubble size and their shape, the smaller bubbles provide a lower liquid velocity and a gas holdup. The effects of bubble‐induced turbulence and other non‐drag closure models such as turbulent dispersion and added mass forces were analysed. The gas velocity and gas holdup distributions, liquid velocity in the riser and downcomer, vectors of velocity magnitude and streamlines for liquid phase, the dynamics of gas holdup distribution and turbulent viscosity at different superficial gas velocities for different reactor configurations were computed. The effects of various geometrical parameters such as the draft tube clearance and the ratio of the riser to the downcomer cross‐sectional area on liquid velocities in the riser and the downcomer, the gas velocity and the gas holdup were explored. © 2011 Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering     

Measurement of mass transfer coefficient in an airlift reactor with internal loop using coalescent and non‐coalescent liquid media

In this work the sulfite oxidation (SOM), dynamic pressure‐step (DPM) and gassing‐out (GOM) methods were compared for volumetric mass transfer coefficient measurement in an airlift reactor with internal loop. As a liquid phase both, non‐coalescent and coalescent media were used. Among the methods discussed here, the mass transfer coefficient (k_La) values obtained by the DPM appear as the most reliable as they were found to be independent of oxygen concentration in the inlet gas, which confirmed the physical correctness of this method. The difference between data measured using air and oxygen was not higher than 10%, which was comparable to the scatter of experimental data. It has been found that the sulfite oxidation method yielded k_La values only a little higher than those obtained by the DPM and the difference did not exceed 10%. Up to an inlet gas velocity (U_GC) of ?0.03 m s^?1 the GOM using oxygen as a gas medium gave k_La values in fact identical with those obtained by the DPM. At higher flows of the inlet gas, the GOM yielded k_La values as much as 15% lower. The enhancement in oxygen mass transfer rate determined in non‐coalescent media was estimated to be up to +15%, when compared with a coalescent batch. The experimental dependence of k_La vs the overall gas hold‐up was described by an empirical correlation. 1 Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

盐藻在气升式光生物反应器中的光自养培养

在气升式光生物反应器中进行了盐藻培养特性的研究，确定了盐藻在2.5 L气升式光生物反应器中培养的适宜条件为：温度30℃，光强1.6 mW/cm2，盐浓度16%，通气量20 ml/min. 扩大到20 L反应器培养盐藻生长良好. 采用气升式光反应器培养盐藻生长快，周期短，4~7 d后即可进入稳定期；最终细胞密度大，最大为1.6?106 cells/ml；藻液中胡萝卜素含量高，最高含量32 mg/L.实验表明气升式光生物反应器适合于盐藻的培养.     

气升式陶瓷膜-生物反应器渗透通量的实验研究

为了降低陶瓷膜-生物反应器的能耗、同时提高膜的渗透通量，本文将气升式外循环引入膜-生物反应器的设计。实验条件下，搭建了气升式陶瓷膜-生物反应器装置，研究了导气管直径、气升位置、气速、气体性质等循环条件对渗透通量的影响；并在相同条件下与液体不循环的过滤相比较，证明采用气升循环可以较大提高膜的渗透通量。     

气升式环流反应器研究与应用进展

综述了气升式反应器性能的主要影响因素研究及其最新的应用，提出今后研究工作的主攻方向，并介绍了最近超声气升式反应器及光气升式反应器的研究结果。     

内循环气升式生物流化床水力学与传质特性研究

通过测定内循环气升式生物流化床的停留时间分布与溶解氧浓度，分析流化床内有效工作体积与氧传质系数的变化，以此研究其水力学与传质特性。结果表明，随着载体含量和气流量的增大，流化床内有效工作体积明显减小；氧传质系数则随着载体含量的增加先增后减，随着气流量和液流量的增大而增大。在本实验范围内，得出最适宜操作参数为载体含量为6％左右、气流量为180～240L／h之间、液流量为90L／h。     

HYDRODYNAMIC STUDIES ON LOOP REACTORS(Ⅱ) AIRLIFT LOOP REACTORS

Hydrodynamics of airlift loop reactors was studied in detail experimentally andtheoretically.An internal airlift loop reactor was designed and set up for this study.An instru-mentation system based on the electrochemical method was adapted to measure local gas holdup andliquid velocity.A two-dimensional two-fluid model based on the first principles was established andimplemented to model the flow in airlift loop reactors.A corrected turbulent model was incorporatedin the simulation.The shear rate,shear stress and energy dissipation are evaluated from the flowfield.The numerically predicted results and experimental data obtained from this work as well as thesereported in literature are analyzed and compared.     

Hydrodynamics of an annulus airlift reactor

The hydrodynamics of an annulus airlift reactor (AALR) was studied and compared with that of a slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR) with silica sands of 75-125 μm in size as solids, city tapping water as liquid phase, and air as gas phase in the present investigation. The effects of superficial gas velocity and solids concentration on gas holdup and solids distributions were investigated. The results showed that the local average gas holdup decreased along the column height, and the average gas holdup decreased with the increasing solids concentration, but this tendency became less at higher solids concentrations. It was found that the effect of superficial gas velocity on axial solids distribution was negligible over the gas velocity range investigated, as long as the solids in the column could be suspended. Increasing solids concentration led to flatter axial solids holdup profiles. The axial distributions of solids concentration and gas holdup in the AALR were much more uniform than those in the SBCR, and slurry circulation in the AALR damped the effects of increasing solids concentration on the hydrodynamics. These advantages of an AALR over a SBCR are especially important for some catalytic reaction processes in three-phase systems such as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and methanol synthesis.     

Bubble size in a forced circulation loop reactor

BACKGROUND: The bubble size distribution in gas‐liquid reactors influences gas holdup, residence time distribution, and gas‐liquid interfacial area for mass transfer. This work reports on the effects of independently varied gas and liquid flow rates on steady‐state bubble size distributions in a new design of forced circulation loop reactor operated with an air–water system. The reactor consisted of a cylindrical vessel (～26 L nominal volume, gas‐free aspect ratio ≈ 6, downcomer‐to‐riser cross‐sectional area ratio of 0.493) with a concentric draft tube and an annular riser zone. Both gas and liquid were in forced flow through a sparger that had been designed for minimizing the bubble size. RESULTS: Photographically measured bubble size distributions in the riser zone could be approximated as normal distributions for the combinations of gas and liquid flow rates used. This contrasted with other kinds of size distributions (e.g. bimodal, Gaussian) that have been reported for other types of gas‐liquid reactors. Most of the bubbles were in the 3 to 5 mm diameter range. At any fixed low value of aeration rate (≤1.8 × 10^?4 m³s^?1), increase in the liquid flow rate caused earlier detachment of bubbles from the sparger holes to reduce the Sauter mean bubble size in the riser region. CONCLUSION: Unlike in conventional bubble columns where bimodal and Gaussian bubble size distributions have been reported, a normal bubble size distribution is attained in forced circulation loop reactors with an air–water system over the entire range of operation. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry