Studies on the hydrodynamic behavior and mass transfer in a down‐flow jet loop reactor with a coaxial draft tube

The effects of certain pertinent parameters such as gas and liquid flow rates and nozzle position on the behavior of a down‐flow jet loop reactor (DJR) have been studied. The mean residence times of gas and liquid phases and the gas holdup within the reactor have been measured. In addition, the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient, and the influence of the gas flow rate and the position of the nozzle inside the draft tube on the latter has been determined. Correlations have been presented for the gas holdup and k_La which take into account the length of the draft tube and the nozzle immersion height. The k_La values obtained at different power per unit volume (P/V) values in the DJR used in the present study compare favorably with data presented for stirred tanks and bubble columns in the literature. The liquid residence time distribution (RTD) within the reactor has been studied by tracer analysis for various operating conditions and nozzle immersion height and the results are indicative of the high mixing intensities that can be obtained in such reactions. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrodynamics in down flow jet loop reactor

Gas holdup and liquid circulation time were measured in a down flow jet loop reactor for air–water system. It was observed that the circulation time decreases with an increase in nozzle diameter, draft tube to column diameter ratio and liquid velocity. Th gas holdup increases with an increase in gas and liquid velocities. The optimum draft tube to column diameter ratio was found to be 0.438. Correlations for gas holdup and circulation time involving operational and geometrical variables are presented.     

Influence of geometry on gas holdups in a reversed flow jet loop reactor

The effects of ratio of draft tube to reactor diameter (D_d/D), liquid nozzle diameter (d_N), aeration tube diameter (d_G) and immersion height of the two-fluid nozzle into the draft tube (H_N) on overall and annulus gas holdups for the air-water system were evaluated experimentally in a reversed flow jet loop reactor over wide ranges of gas and liquid flow rates. Both the gas holdups increased with increasing gas and liquid flow rates and with decreasing d_N and H_N. The influence of d_G on gas holdups is found to vary with gas flow rates. Correlations are proposed to predict gas holdups.     

Effect of liquid viscosity on gas holdups in a reversed flow jet loop reactor

The effect of draft tube diameter and liquid viscosity on overall and annulus gas holdups were studied in a reversed flow jet loop reactor. The draft tube diameter to reader diameter ratio (D_d / D) and liquid viscosity were varied in the ranges 0.34-0.67 and 1.5-43 mPa. s, respectively. The maximum gas holdup was obtained when the D_d / D value ranged btween 0.47 and 0.61. The gas holdup decreased with increasing viscosity. Empirical correlations are presented to predict the gas holdups.     

Hydrodynamics in an Internal Loop Airlift Reactor with a Convergence‐Divergence Draft Tube

Gas holdup and liquid circulation of one conventional draft tube and three different convergence‐divergence draft tubes in an internal loop airlift reactor were investigated. Experiments were carried out in two‐phase systems with air‐water and air‐CMC (carboxyl methyl cellulose) solution and three‐phase system with air‐water‐resin particles. The two‐phase drift‐flux model was used to estimate gas holdup for three‐phase Newtonian and two‐phase non‐Newtonian systems. It is shown that gas holdup in convergence‐divergence draft tubes is higher than that in a conventional draft tube and increases with superficial gas velocity. Variation of the structural parameters of convergence‐divergence draft tubes has little effect on gas holdup in the two‐phase and three‐phase system. The mathematical model, which is based on a drift‐flux model, was developed to describe the liquid circulation velocity in the reactor satisfactorily.     

Gas holdup and overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient in a modified reversed flow jet loop reactor

Experiments were conducted in a modified reversed flow jet loop reactor having the liquid outlet at the top of the reactor to determine the gas holdup and overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient in the air-water system. The influence of gas and liquid flow rates, and the draft tube to reactor diameter ratio were studied. It was observed that both gas holdup and volumetric mass transfer coefficient increased with increased gas and liquid flow rates and were found to be significantly higher in the modified reactor compared to the conventional one. The optimum draft tube to reactor diameter ratio was found to be in the range of 0.4 to 0.5. Empirical correlations are presented to predict gas holdup and overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient in terms of operational and geometrical variables.     

缩放型导流筒气升式内环流生物反应器流体力学与传质特性

从气相含率、液体循环速度和体积氧传质系数方面研究缩放型导流筒气升式内环流生物反应器内的流体力学与传质特性。实验结果表明,与传统圆柱形导流筒相比较,缩放型导流筒气相含率和体积氧传质系数分别提高８％和１０％以上。气相含率和体积氧传质系数随固含率的增加而提高,液体循环速度随固含率的增加而减小;同一内管反应器随介质粘度的增加,体积氧传质系数减小。此外还在Ｈｉｇｂｉｅ穿透理论和Ｋｏｌｏｍｏｇｏｒｏｆｆ各向同     

Development of airlift bubble column dispersed with micro‐bubbles

Micro‐bubbles were dispersed in the bubble column with draft tube, and the length and diameter of draft tube were changed. The flow characteristics in air–water system were measured. Ozone gas and methylene‐blue aqueous solution were used, and the decomposition performance was examined. With increasing draft tube length, both the gas holdup and liquid velocity in the annular section increased. When the diameter ratio of draft tube to column was about 0.5, both the gas holdup and liquid circulation flow rate had maxima. For the decomposition by using ozone, the installation of draft tube enhanced the mass transfer and decomposition performance.     

Hydrodynamic behaviour of a draft tube gas-liquid-solid spouted bed

Experiments were conducted using various types of solid particles to investigate the hydrodynamic properties of a gas-liquid-solid spouted bed with a draft tube. The hydrodynamic properties under study include flow modes, pressure profile and pressure drop, bubble penetration depth, overall gas holdup, apparent liquid circulation rate and bubble size distribution. Three flow modes were classified: a packed bed mode, a fluidized bed mode and a circulated bed mode. It was found that the friction factor accounting for the friction loss in the bed varies linearly on a logarithmic scale with the Reynolds number defined based on the apparent liquid circulation rate. The bubble penetration depth in the annular region, overall gas holdup and apparent liquid circulation rate increase with an increase in gas or liquid velocity. At high gas flow conditions an optimal solids loading exists which yields a maximum apparent liquid circulation rate. A model was proposed to describe the liquid circulation behaviour in the draft tube three-phas spouted bed. The average bubble size in the draft tube region is higher than that in the annular region for both the dispersed bubble regime and the coalesced bubble regime in the draft tube region.     

下喷式环流反应器环隙气含率影响因素

下喷式环流反应器是一种用于强化气-液两相反应过程的新型装置，虽然已在工业上有了较广泛的应用，但对其理论研究远未成熟，其工业装置的设计仍依赖于实验和经验。本文借助实验室自制实验装置，对下喷式环流反应器环隙气含率的影响规律进行了研究。首先，对喷射器的吸气量进行了测量，获得了不同条件下喷射器最大吸气量的性能曲线；在此基础上，分别研究了气相流量、液相流量以及喷射器安装位置对环隙气含率的影响规律。结果表明：气相流量和液相流量对气含率具有重要的影响，随着气相流量和液相流量的增大，气含率快速提高，而喷嘴位置对气含率的影响相对较小；考虑到增加气相流量和液相流量所需要的能耗和设备代价，通过增加液相流量来达到提高气含率的目的是优选方案。     

连续内环流三相反应器局部流动特性

在φ200 mm×2500 mm连续内环流三相反应器内,考察了空气 水 玻璃珠体系反应器内局部流动参数随操作条件的变化规律。结果表明,导流筒内截面平均气含率随表观气速的增大而增大,较之气液两相流,在低固含率时,加入固体对气含率影响不明显,而在较高固含率下,气含率有明显降低,但固体再增加时对气含率变化影响不大。在较低表观气速下,进料浆速对导流筒内气含率轴向分布趋势有一定的影响,但在较高表观气速下影响不大,导流筒内的气含率大于环隙内的气含率且随气速增大差别更加明显,浆相连续有利于气相分散并增大环隙内的气含率。导流筒内循环浆速径向分布呈抛物状,中心高、近壁处低,受进料浆速和入口固含率影响都不大。浆相循环强度最低为20,高可达180。固含率轴、径向分布受表观气速和进料浆速的影响,固含率轴、径向分布基本均匀,随进料浆速增加,反应器内固含率降低。     

Hydrodynamics and mass transfer behavior in multiple draft tube airlift contactors

The draft tube configuration significantly affected the performance of an airlift contactor. The multiple draft tube configuration was demonstrated to give a better gas-liquid mass transfer when compared with a conventional one-draft-tube system. The airlift with a larger number of draft tubes allowed a higher level of bubble entrainment, which rendered a high downcomer gas holdup. This resulted in a higher overall gas holdup in the contactor. Liquid velocity was also enhanced by increasing the number of draft tubes. The ratio between downcomer and riser cross sectional areas, A _d /A _r , had a great effect on the system performance, where a larger A _d /A _r led to a lower downcomer liquid velocity and smaller quantity of gas bubbles being dragged into the downcomer. This resulted in low gas holdup, and consequently, low gas-liquid interfacial mass transfer area, which led to a reduction in the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient. The presence of salinity in the system drastically reduced the bubble size and subsequently led to an enhancement of gas entrainment within the system. As a result, higher gas holdups and gas-liquid interfacial area were observed, and hence, a higher rate of gas-liquid mass transfer was obtained.     

Effect of geometrical parameters of draft tubes and clear liquid height on gas holdup in a bubble column for gas dispersion into tubes

The effects of the geometrical parameters of draft tubes and the clear liquid height on the average gas holdup E_G in a 0.16 m I.D. bubble column for gas dispersion into the tubes were experimentally studied in an airtap water system. The gas holdup depended on the superficial gas velocity U(ING), the kinds of gas spargers, the diameter and length of the draft tubes, clearance C_b between the lower end of the draft tube and the bottom of the bubble column, and the clear liquid height H_L. E_G increased with decreasing hole diameter of the gas sparger at a small gas velocity U_G, but did not depend on the kinds of gas spargers at a large U_G. E_G decreased with increasing clear liquid height H_L. The effect of H_L on E_G was well expressed by the modified three-region model. The experimental data of E_G were correlated.     

Bed density and circulation mass flowrate in a novel annulus-lifted gas–solid air loop reactor

Air loop reactors (ALR) have been widely used as promising and high-efficiency gas–liquid and gas–liquid–solid reactors. Extensive research on ALR has been conducted, but mostly limited to gas–liquid and gas–liquid–solid systems. Work associated with gas–solid systems has been rare and mainly focused on draft tube-lifted spouted bed treating coarse Geldart B, D particles. The present paper proposed a novel gas–solid air-loop reactor treating fine Geldart A particles and operating in a new annulus-lifted mode, with bubbling or turbulent bed upward flow in the annulus in parallel with bubbling bed downward flow in the draft tube. In view of these differences, distinct hydrodynamic behaviour can be anticipated for the gas–solid annulus-lifted air-loop reactor. The influence of operating conditions and geometric configuration on the distribution of bed density is discussed in a cold model annulus-lifted air loop reactor. A mechanistic model for the circulation mass flowrate is established based on an energy balance and resistance analysis. Nearly 50% and 30% of the energy dissipation rate occurs in the bottom and top regions, respectively. With increasing draft tube height, the energy dissipation rate increases in the annulus and draft tube regions, while it decreases in the top and bottom regions. The circulation mass flowrate decreases with increasing draft tube height. Analysis of the distribution of bed density and energy dissipation rate leads to suggestions regarding optimization of the design and axial location of the ring distributor and gap height.     

Hydrodynamic characteristics of a horizontal flow ejector in a rectangular chamber

The effects of the volumetric flow rate of primary motive water, water height, and the geometric parameters of the hydrodynamiccharacteristics of the gas suction rate and gas phase holdup were investigated in a rectangular chamber (0.22×0.26×1.2 m-high) with a horizontal flow ejector. Gas suction rate increased with increasing volumetric flow rate of the primary motive water, mixing tube length and diffuser length, but it decreased with increasing water height and nozzle diameter. The gas phase holdup was directly proportional to gas suction rate, indicating its corresponding increase with the volumetric flow rate of the primary motive water. Conversely, it decreased with increasing water height and nozzle diameter. However, the mixing tube length affected the gas phase holdup minimally compared to other operating parameters. Both the gas suction rate and gas phase holdup correlated with the dimensionless equations of operating parameters.     

HYDRODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND GAS-LIQUID MASS TRANSFER IN A DRAFT TUBE SLURRY REACTOR

Fundamental characteristics of hydrodynamics and mass transfer have been measured in an air lift slurry reactor with a draft tube. The solid suspension capacity, i.e., the critical solid holdup, the gas holdup and the volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient were measured in the two draft tube columns of 0.1485 and 0.10?m in diameter. Four activated carbon beads ranging in size from 0.25 to 2.19?mm in average diameter were utilized as suspended solids in the experiments.

The critical solid holdup in the draft tube slurry column is found to be much greater than that in the conventional bubble column. An empirical correlation is developed to account for the critical solid holdup behavior in the draft tube column. The gas holdup in the draft tube column agrees well with that in the bubble column. The overall gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient, k₁awas measured by the oxygen probe method. The effect of solid holdup on k₁a is found to be negligible in the present system. The empirical equation is developed to correlate k₁a in the draft tube slurry reactor.     

超细粉在导向管喷动床中的固体循环速率

Ultra-fine powders are difficult to be fluidized due to the strong particle to particle cohesiveness.However, the authors‘ experiments showed that the ultra-fine powder CaCO3 could be stably fluidized in a spouted bed with a draft tube. The effects of geometric and operating parameters on solid circulation rate of ultra-fine powder CaCO3 were investigated in a 120 mm diameter transparent semicircular spouted bed with a draft tube. Three draft tubes with different sizes were used in this study. It was found that the solids circulation rate was mainly dependent on the drawing rate of the gas jet from the nozzle, then on the gas transport capacity in the draft tube. With increasing gas feed rate, distance between the nozzle and the draft tube inlet and draft tube diameter, the solids circulation rate could be increased. Based on the jet theory, a quantitative correlation was proposed for predicting the solid circulation rate of ultra-fine powders in a spouted bed with a draft tube by taking into account the gas transport capacity in the draft tube.     

洗涤冷却室气液两相流的模拟及结构优化

洗涤冷却室是激冷式煤气化炉的重要组成部分,对气化室内生成的高温合成气进行降温及洗涤。目前的洗涤冷却室在工业上依然存在诸多问题,如液位及压力波动较大、装置运行不稳定、洗涤效率不够高等,需要对其结构进行优化改进。采用三维欧拉-欧拉模型对三种不同结构的洗涤冷却室进行了CFD模拟。三种洗涤冷却室的结构分别为无内构件、含有支管内构件及新型耦合支管与导流筒内构件。与文献实验数据的对比表明,模型能较准确地预测洗涤冷却室内的气含率分布。支管的加入分流了部分气量,使部分气体能够从鼓泡区域中心上升,促进了气体的径向扩散,有助于维持装置的稳定运行;而导流筒内构件的加入增大了支管气体分流的比例,提升了洗涤冷却室液面下的全局气含率,增强了气液回流,从而进一步强化洗涤效果。     

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     

Gas holdup,bubble size distribution,and mass transfer in an airlift reactor with ceramic membrane and perforated plate distributor

The airlift reactor is one of the most commonly used gas–liquid two-phase reactors in chemical and biological processes. The objective of this study is to generate different-sized bubbles in an internal loop airlift reactor and characterize the behaviours of the bubbly flows. The bubble size, gas holdup, liquid circulation velocity, and the volumetric mass transfer coefficient of gas–liquid two-phase co-current flow in an internal loop airlift reactor equipped with a ceramic membrane module (CMM) and a perforated-plate distributor (PPD) are measured. Experimental results show that CMM can generate small bubbles with Sauter mean diameter d₃₂ less than 2.5 mm. As the liquid inlet velocity increases, the bubble size decreases and the gas holdup increases. In contrast, PPD can generate large bubbles with 4 mm < d₃₂ < 10 mm. The bubble size and liquid circulation velocity increase as the superficial gas velocity increases. Multiscale bubbles with 0.5 mm < d₃₂ < 10 mm can be generated by the CMM and PPD together. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient k_La of the multiscale bubbles is 0.033–0.062 s⁻¹, while that of small bubbles is 0.011–0.057 s⁻¹. Under the same flow rate of oxygen, the k_La of the multiscale bubbles increases by up to 160% in comparison to that of the small bubbles. Finally, empirical correlations for k_La are obtained.