Liquid phase mixing in trayed bubble column reactors

The compartmentalization of conventional bubble columns by perforated trays constitutes a very effective method to reduce the liquid backmixing. The effect of tray design and operating conditions on the overall liquid mixing was studied in a bench-scale trayed bubble column. The extent of liquid backmixing in the column was investigated in light of liquid-phase tracer response experiments. In average, a three fold reduction in the liquid backmixing was achieved in the trayed column as compared to the column without the trays. Moreover, the tray open area and the superficial liquid velocity were found to have the strongest effects on the liquid backmixing. The N-CSTR with Backmixing Model was found to match the experimental tracer response curves better than the Axial Dispersion Model.     

Liquid phase axial mixing in bubble columns operated at high pressures

Liquid phase axial mixing was measured in a 100 mm i.d. bubble column operated in the pressure range of 0.1-0.5 MPa. Water, ethanol and 1-butanol were used as the liquid phase and nitrogen as the gas phase. The temperature and superficial gas velocity were varied in the range of 298-323 K and 0.01-0.21 m/s, respectively. The axial dispersion coefficient increased with an increase in the gas density due to pressure. The temperature had surprisingly a small effect. A CFD model was developed for the prediction of flow pattern in terms of mean velocity and eddy diffusivity profiles. The model was further extended for the prediction of residence time distribution and hence the axial dispersion coefficient (D_L). The predictions of axial dispersion coefficient agree favorably with all the experimental data collected in this work as well as published in the literature. The model was extended for different gas-liquid systems. The predicted values of axial dispersion coefficient were found to agree very well with all the experimental data.     

Gas hold-up in non-newtonian solutions in a bubble column with internals

Bubble characteristics and gas hold-up were studied in a two phase (air-aqueous CMC solution) bubble column provided with helical coils and straight tubes as internals. The effects of superficial gas velocity, rheological properties, and volume fraction covered by the internals, on gas hold-up were studied. Hold-up values determined directly and by simultaneous pressure drop measurements matched well. Enhancement of gas hold-up values up to 55 per cent was achieved in systems using internals. The gas hold-up results were also compared with the values obtained from correlations reported in the literature.     

Effect of mixing behaviour on gas-liquid mass transfer in highly viscous,stirred non-newtonian liquids

When declaring and using process engineering data such as, for exmple, mixing times or k_La values, it is assumed that these apply to the entire reactor contents. The condition of uniform mixing, necessary for this, is generally met in the regime of turbulent flow. When highly viscous and, above all, strongly non-Newtonian liquids are stirred in small reactors, there are frequently also regions of laminar flow and completely stagnant zones, which are only partially mixed or not at all. The present paper pursues the question to what extent is the gas-liquid mass transfer in stirred, highly non-Newtonian liquids influenced by the mixing behaviour of the reactor. The results show that, below certain Reynolds numbers, three relatively distinct regions exist, with different mixing intensities. Between an almost ideally mixed region in the vicinity of the stirrer and a completely stagnant and dead one, there is a zone of very slight motion. This finding demonstrates that the usual determination of integral or volume-based data in the literature is neither logical nor adequate for the case under consideration. Thus, the gas-liquid mass transfer takes place mainly in the relatively well mixed region. Therefore, use of a k_La value also requires the volume of this region to be declared. Only the knowledge of this volume enables us to correlate the k_La values in such a way that the sorption characteristics thus obtained appear suitable for scale-up. This procedure, which is illustrated by numerous examples of measured results for different stirrers, is important whenever design data for highly viscous liquids are to be worked out on the basis of laboratory measurements. Only when larger equipment is used, in which turbulent flow can be achieved, this problem does not arise because of the relatively uniform mixing of reactor contents.     

脉冲筛板萃取柱中连续相的轴向混合

通过示踪剂实验方法对38mm脉冲筛板萃取柱中连续相的轴向混合进行了研究。分别采用亚甲基蓝溶液和氯化钾溶液为示踪剂。实验过程中,首先采用"扰动-响应"技术实测了示踪剂的停留时间分布(RTD)曲线,然后依照轴向扩散模型(ADM)应用最小二乘法拟合求出连续相的轴向混合系数Ec,并分析了连续相表观流速、分散相表观流速、脉冲强度对于Ec的影响。实验结果表明,示踪剂浓度、径向取样位置和轴向取样位置对轴向混合系数Ec值的影响可以忽略,轴向混合系数Ec随着脉冲强度和两相表观流速的增加而增大。最后在本实验参数范围内,拟合出了连续相的轴向混合系数随操作参数变化的经验关系式,与实验结果对比,相对偏差在±20%以内。     

Catalyst mixing in bubble column slurry reactors

The reported experimental data of Pandit and Joshi (1984) on axial and radial steady-state catalyst concentration in a semibatch bubble column slurry reactor is interpreted by the dispersion model. The elliptic partial differential equation with its associated boundary conditions is solved analytically for catalyst concentration by the method of separation of variables. The proposed model adequately fits the experimental data.     

Experimental determination of axial dispersion coefficient in a bubble column

A new graphical method of finding axial dispersion coefficients in a bubble column is developed. This method requires only the area above an experimental curve, thus is simpler than the conventional method of curve fitting. The new method is used to find the dimensionless dispersion number in the bubble column and shows that the dispersion number decreases with column Reynolds number due to increasing coalescence of bubbles at higher gas flow-rates.     

Single bubble formation at orifices submerged in viscous liquids

This paper concerns the slow formation of gas bubbles at circular orifices submerged in liquids with viscosities ranging from 10 to 1000 poise. A mathematical model is developed for predicting the bubble lift-off size as a function of, basically, Froude, Weber and Reynolds numbers; it is analytical and does not depend on semi-empirical coefficients. To check the validity of this model, experiments involving various gas flow rates and orifice diameters were performed in several liquids. The model consistently underestimates the experimentally obtained bubble size; the error of estimate varies from 10 to 25%. For bubble formation in a regime between the constant flow and constant pressure regimes, both the chamber pressure and the flow rate into the bubble vary. Furthermore, the instantaneous gas flow rate into the bubble can be many times greater than the average flow rate in the piping far upstream of the orifice exit. The former flow rate is important in determining the forces acting on the bubble and a method is given for obtaining its average value.     

Liquid phase mixing and gas hold-up in a multistage-agitated contactor with co-current upflow of air/viscous fluids

A hydrodynamic study is carried out in a multistage-agitated contactor with cocurrent upflow of air/viscous fluids. The liquid phase backmixing is characterized through a residence time distribution study in various viscous fluids (up to 20 mPa s). The liquid Reynolds number with respect to the impeller applied in the investigation ranges from 1000 to 50 000. A cascade of stirred tanks with back flow model satisfactorily fits all experimental residence time distribution curves in the present study. It is found that the increase in the liquid viscosity reduces the backmixing in the liquid phase due to its dampening effect on turbulence. The presence of the gas phase helps in reducing the backmixing by the straightening effect and entrainment effect in a co-current operation manner. The gas hold-up measured in the present study is comparable to the literature data. A new type of correlation taking into account the influence of the gas phase is proposed to predict the backmixing in a multistage-agitated contactor.     

A model for two-phase turbulent mixing in a jet bubble column

Mixing behavior of the two phase air-water turbulent flow in a jet bubble column is examined. The time evolution of the mixing behavior of a liquid tracer in a turbulent air-water flow within a jet bubble column is predicted using a model based on the fundamental governing equations of fluid motion. The predictions of the model are compared with experimental measurements. Measured residence time distributions (RTD) of the liquid tracer within the cone agree well with the predicted values given by the model. For the range of parameters considered in the study, lack of radial mixing and large axial mixing are evident within the cone of the jet bubble column. Use of fundamental mathematical models for the study of hydrodynamics in a two-phase conventional bubble column has been reported earlier (Torvik, 1990; Jakobsen et al., 1993). The present paper extends the use of such models to predict the mixing characteristics in a jet bubble column.     

Correlations for liquid-phase mass transfer coefficients in bubble column reactors with newtonian and non-newtonian fluids

The earlier work of Calderbank and Moo-Young (1961) dealing with the liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient in gas-liquid dispersions is examined. Their well-known empirical correlations for small and large bubbles which are free to move under gravity are theoretically derived. The analyses are based on the approach for natural convection mass transfer, and include the case where the fluid is non-Newtonian. The predictions of the models are compared with reported experimental data and correlations.     

Bubble properties and mixing characteristics in an airlift bubble column with redistributor

The effects of gas velocity liquid velocity redistributor and their free surface area on bubble properties (size rising velocity size distribution) and mixing characteristics (mixing time circulation time) were studied in an internal airlift bubble column Bubble properties were measured by resistivity probe method, and mixing characteristics were obtained by salt-base impulse method in air-water system. The empirical correlations between bubble properties, mixing characteristics and various operating parameters were proposed The disk type redistnbutor was more effective to redisperse coalesced bubbles than the perforated plate type Especially, the disk type with 19.5% free surface area had given the best result.     

PDA measurements in a three‐phase bubble column

Phase Doppler anemometry was used to quantify the flow characteristic of a three phases (liquid, solid, and bubbles) cylindrical bubble column driven by a point air source made of a 30‐mm diameter perforated air stone centrally mounted at the bottom. The cylindrical bubble column had an inner diameter of 152 mm and was filled with liquid up to 1 m above the point source. Acrylic beads with a nominal diameter of 3 mm were used as the solid phase. To match the density of the solid phase which was 1.05 kg/m³, the liquid density was raised to about 1.0485 kg/m3 by added salt. The bubble diameters generated were within the range of 600–2400 µm. The detailed turbulent characteristics of the liquid‐phase velocity, bubble diameter, bubble velocity, and solid velocity were measured at three different air rates, namely 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 L/min (corresponding to average gas volume fraction of 0.0084, 0.0168, and 0.0258, respectively) for the homogeneous bubble column regime. With the addition of the solid phase, the flow field was found to be relatively steady compared to the two‐phase column referencing the probability density functions for both the liquid and bubble velocities. An analysis based on the determination of the drag forces and transversal lift forces was performed to examine the flow stability in the three‐phase bubble column. The analysis illustrated that how the added solid phase effectively stabilized the flow field to achieve a steady circulation in the bubble column and a generalized criterion for the flow stability in the three‐phase bubble column was derived. Further investigation for the transition and the heterogeneous bubble column regime with air rates at 2.0 and 4.0 L/min shown that this criterion can also be used as a general prediction of flow stability in this three‐phase bubble column. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2286–2307, 2013     

Gas holdup in tapered bubble column using pseudoplastic non-Newtonian liquids

Experimental studies on the gas holdup in two tapered bubble columns using non-Newtonian pseudoplastic liquid have been reported. The effects of different variables such as gas flow rate, liquid viscosity, bed height, and orifice diameter of sieve plate on gas holdup have been investigated. An empirical correlation has been developed for the prediction of the gas holdup as a function of various measurable parameters of the system. The correlation is statistically acceptable.     

Liquid mixing by large gas bubbles in bubble columns

Liquid mixing by large gas bubbles of spherical cup was investigated for co- and counter-current contact of air-water system with bubble columns of 5 and 10 cm dia. The results obtained are that for the column of 5 cm dia., the longitudinal dispersion coefficient ranges from 5 to 20 cm²/sec for superficial gas velocity from 0·07 to 8 cm/sec and that for the one of 10 cm in diameter it ranges from 9 to 45 cm²/sec for that from 0·035 to 8 cm/sec. Liquid mixing under the coexistence of large and small bubbles was also investigated and it was found that the gas holdup was fairly well explained by an equation derived on the assumption that the mixture of small bubbles and liquid behaves independently of large bubbles. The expansion model was applied to the experimental results on the longitudinal dispersion coefficient and it was observed that there should be the lower limit in the holdup of small bubbles where this model can be applied.     

Quality of mixing in a downflow bubble column based on information entropy theory

Quality of mixing in a modified downflow bubble column has been analyzed by using information entropy theory. Mass transfer efficiency based on quality of mixing has also been enunciated in this work. Empirical models have been developed for downflow system with the parameters which affect the quality of mixing and mass transfer efficiency. The developed correlation for quality of mixedness in the downflow bubble column was interpreted by the mass transfer phenomena. The present analysis on the quality of mixing in downward two-phase flow in bubble column may give insight into a further understanding and modeling of multiphase reactors in industrial applications.     

Gas hold-up in highly viscous pseudoplastic non-newtonian solutions in three phase sparged reactors

Gas hold-up structure was studied in a three phase sparged reactor of 200 mm diameter. Air and aqueous solutions of carboxymethyl cellulose were used as gas and liquid phases. Spherical glass beads formed the solid phase. The superficial gas velocity, rheological properties, particle size and solid loading were varied over a wide range and their effects on gas hold-up structure were studied. A correlation for the estimation of the gas hold-up as a function of superficial gas velocity, apparent liquid viscosity, particle settling velocity and solid loading was established.