A structured catalytic bubble column reactor: hydrodynamics and mixing studies

This paper reports the results of a comprehensive experimental study of the hydrodynamics and mixing in two bubble column reactors of 0.1 and 0.24 m in diameter with KATAPAK-S^® as packing material. Total gas hold up and axial dispersion coefficients were measured in the structured bubble columns and the values were compared with experimental results obtained in the same work with empty bubble columns. The results reveal that the gas hold up in structured bubble columns is practically the same as in empty bubble columns when compared at the same superficial gas velocity based on open area available for gas–liquid dispersion. The presence of the structured elements in the bubble column reactor reduces the liquid phase backmixing by one order of magnitude.     

多级鼓泡塔中液相返混系数与交换速度的研究

采用示踪方法对高2 000 mm,内径282 mm多级筛板鼓泡塔内液相返混系数进行测量研究,并通过扩散-返混模型以及RTD曲线给出鼓泡塔内筛板上下二侧液体交换速度,同时考查了表观气速、开孔率等因素对轴向扩散系数与液体交换速度的影响.根据实验得出鼓泡塔内轴向返混系数以及液体交换速度与表观气速、开孔率有很大关系,均随表观气...     

Effect of backmixing on the performance of bubble column reactors

The dispersion model was used to account for the effect of backmixing in the liquid phase on the performance of a bubble column reactor. It was assumed that gas phae moves in the plug flow and gas absorption is accompanied by a fast general order reaction. An analytical solution can be obtained when the liquid phase is assumed to move in plug flow. However, for a general case the relevant differential equations were solved numerically. The effect of pertinent variables is discussed.     

三相流化床的流体力学特性研究

利用空气、水和玻璃珠颗粒为工作介质,对三相流化床流态化操作的流体力学特性进行了研究,主要研究了气体速度、液体速度、颗粒投加量与气含率的关系,以及气体速度与床层高度及气泡直径的关系。     

Liquid-phase backmixing in bubble columns, structured by introduction of partition plates

Installation of perforated sieve plates into a bubble column has the effect of introducing structure into an otherwise chaotic hydrodynamic behaviour. In this study, we focus on the reduction of backmixing of the liquid phase in compartmentalised bubble columns. Liquid-phase residence time distribution (RTD) measurements were carried out in bubble columns with diameters D_T=0.10, 0.15 and 0.38 m with air–water system operating at superficial gas velocities of U_G=0.05–0.4 m/s. Partition sieve plates with open areas of 18.6 and 30.7% were used in the studies. The measured data on RTD were interpreted in terms of an axial dispersion model extended to allow for liquid interchange between compartments. The interchange velocity was found to be strongly dependent on the free area of the plates but practically independent of the column diameter.     

Flüssigphase-Rückvermischung in gepackten Blasensäulen

Liquid phase backmixing in packed bubble columns . Correlations for the axial liquid phase dispersion coefficient in bubble columns packed with metal Raschig rings and Pall rings are given as Pe_g = f (Ga, Re_g, H/D). The dependencies on physical and operational properties are discussed in detail with the aid of diagrams. Pall rings are not able to completely suppress greater turbulences and backmixing in columns of diameters D > 20 cm. A rule of thumb is also given for the apparent dispersion coefficient in this range. Raschig rings, however, are well suited for suppressing backmixing. The problems of adequate fulfilling of the model and undisturbed measurement of the backmixing behaviour are dealt with in detail.     

三相循环流化床中的气液相界面积和传质系数

采用溶氧法测量了三相循环流化床中液相溶氧浓度的轴向分布,并按轴向扩散模型处理实验数据,优化得到气液体积传质系数kLa,同时用光纤探头测量了体系中的气含率和气泡大小分布,计算得到了气液相界面积a和气液传质系数kL,并研究了主要操作条件(表观气速、表观液速和固含率)对气液传质系数的影响规律.     

HYDRODYNAMICS, MIXING AND MASS TRANSFER IN A LARGE DIAMETER JET BUBBLE COLUMN

Experimental measurements for the axial and radial variations in gas holdup, axial and radial dispersion coefficients, volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient and liquid phase circulation velocity in a cone of a large diameter (122 cm) jet bubble column are presented. Two diameters of the inlet nozzle, namely 10.16 cm and 15.24 cm, three superficial gas velocities (based on cylinder diameter), 3 cm/sec, 6 cm/sec and 8 cm/sec and two superficial liquid velocities, 0.3 cm/sec and 0.6 cm/sec, are examined. The experimental data are obtained for two different bed heights.

The experimental data showed significant axial and radial variations in the gas holdup. The volumetric average gas holdup was higher at higher gas velocity and larger nozzle diameter and somewhat higher at lower liquid velocity. The axial dispersion was high while the radial dispersion was low. The volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient was larger at higher gas velocity and larger nozzle diameter. The liquid recirculation begins only at the upper end of the cone. In general, experimental data indicate that a jet bubble column provides a high degree of mixing and transport rates.     

Experimental analysis and development of correlations for gas holdup in high pressure slurry co-current bubble columns

The effect of liquid and gas velocities, solid concentrations, and operating pressure has been studied experimentally in a 15 cm diameter air-water-glass beads bubble column. The superficial gas and liquid velocities varied from 1.0 to 40.00 cm/s and 0 to 16.04 cm/s, respectively, while the solid loading varied from 1 to 9%. The gas holdup in the column was reduced sharply as we switched from batch to co-current mode of operation. At low gas velocity, the effect of liquid velocity was insignificant; while at high gas velocity, increasing liquid velocity decreased the gas holdup. Drift flux approach was applied to quantify the combined effect of liquid and gas velocities over gas holdup. For co-current three phase flows, the gas holdup decreased with increase in solid loading for all pressures. But for batch operations, when solid loading was 5% or more, settling started leading to higher gas holdup. Increasing pressure from atmospheric conditions increased the gas holdup significantly, flattening asymptotically.     

Calculation of flow fields in two and three-phase bubble columns considering mass transfer

The dimension of bubble column reactors is often based on empirical correlations. Very popular is the axial dispersion model. However, the applicability of these models is limited to the experimental conditions for which the dispersion coefficients are measured, because backmixing depends strongly on the columns dimension and the flow regime. This paper presents a numerical method for the calculation of the three-dimensional flow fields in bubble columns based on a multi-fluid model. Therefore, the local bubble size distribution is considered by a transport equation for the mean bubble volume, which is obtained from the population balance equation. For comparison with experimental results, the axial dispersion coefficients in the liquid and gas phase are calculated from the instationary, three-dimensional concentration fields of a tracer. The model is then extended to include mass transfer between the gas and liquid phase. Increasing mass transfer rates significantly influence the flow pattern. For several applications, a dispersed solid phase is added. For the calculation of three-phase gas-liquid-solid flow, the solid phase is considered numerically by an additional Eulerian phase.     

GAS-LIQUID MASS TRANSFER IN JET BUBBLE COLUMN

The jet bubble column consists of a conical entrance section which expands to a cylindrical column. Gas and liquid are co-currently introduced at the bottom of the column by a small diameter inlet pipe which acts like an ejector. The kinetic energy of the gas and liquid jet together with the conical geometry at the lower section of the column cause the formation and dispersion of small bubbles.

Gas-liquid mass transfer in the jet bubble column (61 cm diameter) was measured by a dynamic response technique, in which a step change was made in the gas phase oxygen concentration and the aqueous dissolved oxygen concentration response was measured at various axial and radial locations. It was found that a continuous stirred tank reactor model could be used to evaluate experimental results. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient in this type of system was found to increase with increasing gas flow rate and was about 1.5 times larger than the values obtained at similar conditions in conventional bubble columns. Preliminary measurements and calculations indicate negligible effects of liquid velocity and bed height on the mass transfer coefficient.     

PHASE DISTRIBUTION AND MIXING IN A JET BUBBLE COLUMN

This paper describes the results of an experimental study to evaluate phase holdups and RTD for a jet bubble column. The experimental data were obtained in a 61 cm diameter jet bubble column with a conical inlet. Air and water were used as a two-phase system. The ranges of gas and liquid velocities examined were 0 to 9 cm/sec and 0 to 0·6 cm/sec respectively, both based on the cylinder diameter. The experimental data indicate that in the conical section of the column, the gas holdup first decreases with an increase in distance away from the cone inlet, achieves a minimum and then increases until it reaches a somewhat constant value within the cylinder. Gas holdup varies radially with the maximum at the center and the minimum near the wall. Radially-averaged gas holdup increased with gas velocity and remained essentially unchanged with liquid velocity. The RTD measurements were correlated by a two-dimensional dispersion model. The axial dispersion coefficient increased linearly from the cone inlet to the cylinder. It also increased with the gas velocity. The radial dispersion coefficients were considerably smaller than the axial dispersion coefficients.     

规整填料在高压精馏条件下的传质性能

Performance of Mellapak 250Y and 350Y corrugated structured packing in distillation applications at pressures ranging from 0.3 to 2.0MPa is analysed by using HTU-NTU method.These data are obtained in distillation column with 0.15m diameter operated with n-butane/n-pentane system at total reflux.In considering the axial backmixing effects.the height of an overall gas phase transfer unit,HTUOG,is divided into two parts.One part represents the height of an overall gas phase transfer unit,without backmixing, designated as HUTOG,and the other part,designated as the height of a backmixing unit(HBUO),accounts for the backmixing effects.The HTUOG is evaluated from the measured concentration profile of n-butane in liquid phase.The HBUO obtained experimentally is correlated in terms of the properties of the materials being separated and the equivalent diameter of the structured packing.Our result shows that HBUO varies from 0.12 to 0.34m as pressure increases from 1.0 to 1.9MPa.It indicates that the overall efficiency of the structured packing decreas gradually at high pressure,as a result of the vapor backmixing.     

Effect of Rotor Disc Diameter on Holdup,Axial Dispersion and Droplet Size in a Taylor‐Couette Disc Contactor

Application of liquid‐liquid extraction is on a steady rise. Although there are considerable designs of extraction devices, equipment design and optimization is still on the research agenda. Utilization in the biorefinery industry or metallurgy requires robust technologies and equipment. The simple design and stable operation performance of the Taylor‐Couette disc contactor suffices the technical needs for these harsh operation conditions. The effect of different rotor disc diameter on the dispersed phase holdup, axial dispersion, and droplet size was investigated. It was shown that with smaller rotor disc diameter stable operation is still feasible but higher axial backmixing has to be expected.     

Measurement of local specific interfacial area in bubble columns via a non-isokinetic withdrawal method coupled to electro-optical detector

Precise measurement of gas-liquid interfacial surface area is essential to reactor design and operation. Mass transfer from the gas phase to the liquid phase is often a key feature that controls the overall process. Measurement of gas-liquid interfacial area is often made through a separate measurement of the gas holdup and bubble size with complex and/or sophisticated methods. In this work, an inexpensive method is presented for the simultaneous determination of both local gas holdup and bubble diameter. The method is based on the withdrawal of the air-liquid dispersion under non-isokinetic conditions and on bubble counting via a simple optical device. The method was calibrated in a bubble column with several withdrawal pressures using coalescing and non-coalescing media. During the same calibration experiment, gas holdup was also measured manometrically and individual bubble diameters were measured by a photographic method. With a vacuum pressure of 3 kPa, local interfacial area measured with the withdrawal method produced a relative error below 13%, compared to the manometric/photographic method. The method was then used to characterize local specific interfacial area in a bubble column under several operating conditions with coalescing and non-coalescing media. In coalescing media and with superficial gas velocities (v_g) from 0.25 to 3.5 cm/s, the average interfacial area ranged from 17 to . With non-coalescing media the average interfacial area ranged from 40 to . Under the test condition it was observed that gas holdup is a parameter that has a greater distribution (standard deviation from 30% to 70%) than the volume-mean bubble diameter (standard deviation from 6% to 12%). It is shown that a model previously developed for characterizing gas holdup homogeneity is also suitable for characterizing interfacial area homogeneity.     

Effects of sparger height and orifice orientation on solids dispersion in a slurry bubble column

The effects of gas distributor height and the orientation of its orifices are investigated on solids dispersion and gas holdup profiles in a three-phase slurry bubble column. The height of the distributor was varied to cover locations from near column bottom to above the settled solids bed height. The orifice orientations were changed from upward facing to downwards facing directions. The measurements were conducted in a Plexiglas column of 0.15 m ID and 2.5 m height. The gas phase was oil-free compressed air while tap water was used as liquid phase. Glass beads with an average particle diameter of 35 μm and density of 2450 kg/m³ constituted the solid phase. The settled bed height was about 0.4 m which provided an average slurry concentration of about 15% (v/v) when all solids were dispersed. Both axial and column average phase holdups were measured. Effects of sparger location, gas jets formation and liquid circulation patterns on gas holdups and solids dispersion are analyzed. Empirical correlations are developed to relate sparger location to solids dispersion as a function of gas velocity. Optimum sparger height and orifice orientation is proposed based on the measurement of this study.     

Analysis of dispersion coefficient of bubble motion and velocity characteristic factor in down and upflow bubble column reactor

Dispersion coefficient of bubble motion based on velocity distribution theory has been analyzed in up and downward gas-liquid two-phase contactor. The intensity of dispersion of phase depends on motion of the dispersed phase and the characteristics of velocity distribution. In this paper the effects of operating and geometric variables on the dispersion coefficient of bubble motion and the characteristic factor of velocity distribution have been analyzed within the range of column diameter 0.10-2.5 m, superficial liquid velocity, 0.04-0.21 m/s and superficial gas velocity 0.41-3.16 mm/s. From the different developed model of longitudinal dispersion coefficient of liquid, comparison of dispersion coefficient of bubble motion and characteristic feature of velocity distribution in down and upflow two-phase contactor has been reported. Also the functionalities of dispersion coefficient of bubble motion and velocity characteristic factor have been developed with operating variables. The condition for dispersion based on velocity pattern has also been discussed in the present work. The present analysis on the dispersion coefficient of bubble motion and velocity distribution factor associated with the knowledge of the liquid phase dispersion in two-phase contactor can give insight into a further understanding and modeling of multiphase reactor in industrial applications.     

GAS MIXING IN SLUGGING AND TURBULENT FLUIDIZED BEDS

The gas phase mixing in a fluidized bed of glass beads (d_p = 0.362 mm) in the slugging and turbulent flow regimes has been studied in a 0.1 m-ID × 3.0 m high Plexiglas column.

The gas dispersion in the downstream of the bed has been described by a diffusion process with the axial and radial dispersion coefficients. The radial dispersion coefficient of the gas phase is nearly constant with the variation of gas velocity in the slugging flow regime, but it increases with an increase in gas velocity in the turbulent flow regime.

Appreciable backmixing of the gas phase is pronounced in the slugging flow regime whereas the lower gas backmixing is produced in the turbulent flow regime. The gas backmixing coefficient increases with an increase in gas velocity in the slugging flow regime, but it decreases slightly with an increase in gas velocity in the turbulent flow regime.

The radial mixing and backmixing coefficients of the gas in terms of Peclet numbers have been correlated with the relevant dimensionless parameters (U_g/U_mf, p_s/p_g, d_p/D_t).

The gas flow pattern in the bed has been well represented by a simplified model based on the two gas phases in the dilute and dense phases which are percolating through the bed in plug flow. The present model can predict the gas exchange coefficient between the phases, the fractions of the dilute phase, the interstitial gas in the dense phase, and the interstitial gas velocity in the bed.     

EFFECT OF OPERATING CONDITIONS ON GAS HOLDUP IN SLURRY BUBBLE COLUMNS WITH A FOAMING LIQUID

This work presents experimental data on gas holdup in slurry bubble columns with a foaming liquid. The effects of solids concentration, solid particle size, superficial phase velocities and column dimensions on the gas holdup are analyzed. At low superficial gas velocities (less than 4cm/s), for which the liquid does not foam, the presence of solids with small particle size does not affect the gas holdup whereas solids with large particle size induce foam formation and thus their presence increases the gas holdup. In the foaming regime, an increase of solids concentration decreases the gas holdup. The operating mode has a strong effect on the gas holdup: the semi-batch operating mode (stagnant liquid-solid suspension) increases the ability of the liquid to foam with respect to the continuous mode. Regarding the effect of column dimensions, the results presented show that the height of the bubble column does not affect at an appreciable extent the gas holdup in the range 6 < LID < 12. At high gas velocities (greater than 6 cm/s) the gas holdups obtained in a 30 cm-internal diameter column are the same as those measured in a 10 cm-internal diameter column.     

Effects of floating contactors on oxygen transfer and hydrodynamics in a bubble column

This study investigates the adoption of floating contactors to promote the rate of oxygen transfer from non-uniform air bubbles to liquid in a bubble column with continuous operation. The volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient and axial dispersion coefficient of a liquid phase have been analyzed based on the axial dispersion model. Attention was focused on the effects of the volume fraction of the floating contactors on the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient, axial dispersion coefficient of a liquid phase, and gas phase hold-up in the bubble column. The results have shown that the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient and gas phase hold-up can increase by up to 25% and 13%, respectively, while the axial dispersion coefficient of a liquid phase decreases by up to 30% by adding floating contactors in the column.