Residence time distribution and liquid holdup in Kenics KMX static mixer with hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber solution and hydrogen gas system

A Kenics^® KMX static mixer that has curved-open blade internal structure was investigated to study its hydrodynamic performance related to residence time distribution and liquid holdup in a gas/liquid system. The static mixer reactor had 24 mixing elements arranged in line along the length of the reactor such that the angle between two neighboring elements is 90°. The length of the reactor was 0.98 m with an internal diameter of 3.8 cm and was operated cocurrently with vertical upflow. The fluids used were hydrogen (gas phase), monochlorobenzene (liquid phase) and hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber solution (liquid phase). In all the experiments, the polymer solution was maintained as a continuous phase while hydrogen gas was in the dispersed phase. All experiments were conducted in the laminar flow regime with the liquid side hydraulic Reynolds number in the range of 0.04-0.36 and the gas side hydraulic Reynolds number in the range of 3-18. Different polymer concentrations and different operating conditions with respect to gas/liquid flow rates were used to study the corresponding effects on the hydrodynamic parameters such as Peclet number (Pe) and the liquid holdup (ε_L). Empirical correlations were obtained for the axial dispersion coefficient (D_a) and liquid holdup in liquid system alone and for the gas/liquid system separately. It was observed that the Peclet number decreased with the introduction of gas in to the reactor while in the liquid system alone, an increase in viscosity decreased the Peclet number. The liquid holdup was empirically correlated as a function of the physical properties of the fluids used in addition to the operating flow rates.     

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.     

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     

Local time-averaged gas holdup in a fluidized bed with side air injection using X-ray computed tomography

Local time-averaged gas holdup in a 10.2 cm diameter fluidized bed is determined using X-ray computed tomography (CT) over a range of superficial gas velocities (U_g), side air injection flow rates (Q_side), and fluidized bed material. Without side air injection, only small variations in the local time-averaged gas holdup are observed for beds composed of glass beads, ground walnut shell, or ground corncob. With the introduction of side air injection, which simulates the immediate volatilization of biomass in a fluidized bed gasifier, a distinctive plume is observed along the reactor wall above the side injection port. The plume gradually expands toward the center of the bed as height increases; the expansion is found to increase with increasing Q_side. As U_g increases, fluidization becomes more uniform and the effect of the side air injection on the fluidization hydrodynamics is less pronounced. Additionally, increasing U_g increases overall gas holdup and bed expansion. Of the three bed materials examined, ground corncob fluidization is the least affected by side air injection and shows the highest overall gas holdup while glass bead fluidization is much more affected by side air injection and has the lowest overall gas holdup. This study demonstrates the usefulness of X-ray CT in noninvasively visualizing detailed internal features of fluidized beds. These results will be used in future studies to validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of fluidized beds.     

RTD studies in trickle bed reactors packed with porous particles

The residence time distribution (RTD) for liquid phase in a trickle bed reactor (TBR) has been experimentally studied for air-water system. Experiments were performed in a 15.2 cm diameter column using commerical alumina extrudates with D/d_p ratio equal to 75 to eliminate the radial flow differences. The range of liquid and gas flow rates covered was 3.76 < Re_L < 9.3 and 0 < Re_G < 2.92. The axial dispersion model was used to compute axial dispersion coefficient. The effect of liquid and gas flow rates on total liquid holdup and axial dispersion was investigated. The total liquid holdup has been correlated to liquid and gas flow rates.     

Gas holdup for high gas velocities in a gas–liquid cocurrent upward‐flow system

Gas holdup has been measured in an 83‐mm diameter, 2.2‐m high column at high gas superficial velocities — 0.22 to 2.7 m/s — and at liquid (water) superficial velocities of 0 to 0.47 m/s, by means of a differential pressure transducer. The equation of Hills (1976) based on the slip velocity gives good predictions of the gas holdup for 0.1 ≤ E_g ≤ 0.4. However, the holdups predicted by this approach are considerably higher than the experimental values at gas velocities high enough that E_g > 0.4. Other equations from the literature are also shown to be inadequate. The new data and earlier data at high gas velocities are therefore correlated with a new dimensional equation for U_l ≤ 0.23 m/s.     

Electrodiffusional direction-specific probe for measuring local velocity of aerated aqueous systems

A three-segment direction specific probe based on the electrodiffusion measuring technique was used to measure local liquid velocities in gas-liquid flow. Dissolved oxygen was employed as depolarizer instead of the usually applied redox system ferro-ferricyanide in water. The concentration of the auxiliary electrolyte K₂SO₄ was so low that coalescence behaviour of the gas-liquid system was not influenced. It was possible to measure liquid velocities up to ca 100cm s^–1. The probe showed satisfying sensitivity to flow direction. Furthermore, unequivocal discrimination between signals from the liquid and gas phases was achieved.Notation a _ij,b _ij Fourier coefficients - D diameter (cm) - E potential (V) - I _i single segment current (A) - k number of probe segment - Re Reynolds number - Sc Schmidt number - Sh Sherwood number - t time (s) - T temperature (°C) - u, v liquid velocity (ms^–1) - flow angle (°) This paper was presented at the Workshop on Electrodiffusion Flow Diagnostics, CHISA, Prague, August 1990.     

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.     

A study on the flow characteristics in a pulsed doughnut-disc type plate extraction column

The axial dispersion coefficients in the continuous phase and holdup of dispersed phase have been studied in a 4.2 cm inside diameter and 200 cm height pulsed doughnut-disc type plates extraction column. The axial concentration gradient in a continuous extraction column was expressed mathematically in terms of Peclet number by axial dispersion model. Peclet numbers have been calculated from response curves using KC1 solution as an impulse input fracer. Experimental data have been taken for both continuous and dispersed phase with plate spacing, pulsing amplitudes, frequencies, and superficial velocities as system variables. Modified axial dispersion coefficients have been correlated by regression analysis of experimental data, and following equations were obtained. 1. Axial dispersion coefficient (single phase) E_c = 3.5H^-13 A^1.5.1 f + 30.95 U_c 2. Axial dispsion coefficient (two phase) E_c = 2.36 H^{-0 8} A^1.34 f + 20.89 U_c 3. Fractional holdup of the dispersed phase Φ_d = 4 2xl0^-5H^-0.44 Af^1.28U_d ^0.93     

Effects of internals on phase holdup and backmixing in a slightlyexpanded-bed reactor with gas-liquid concurrent upflow

Five different internals were designed, and their effects on phase holdup and backmixing were investigated in a gas-liquid concurrent upflow reactor where the spherical alumina packing particles of three diameters (3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 mm) were slightly expanded under the conditions of varied superficial gas velocities (6.77×10^-2-3.61×10^-1 m·s^-1) and superficial liquid velocities (9.47×10^-4-2.17×10^-3 m·s^-1). The experimental results show that the gas holdup increases with the superficial gas velocity and particle size, opposite to the variational trend of liquid holdup. When an internal component is installed amid the upflow reactor, a higher gas holdup, a less liquid holdup and a larger Peclet number characterizing the weaker backmixing are obtained compared to those in the bed without internals under the same operating conditions. Additionally, the minimal backmixing is observed in the reactor equipped with the internals with a novel multi-step design. Finally, empirical correlations were proposed for estimating gas holdup, liquid holdup and Peclet number with the relative deviations within 11%, 12% and 25%, respectively.     

Dimensional similitude for scale-up of hydrodynamics in a gas-liquid-(solid) EL-ALR

This study tests the scaling approach for gas-liquid-(solid) external loop airlift reactor (EL-ALR) hydrodynamics based upon geometric and dynamic similitude with a limited number (6) of dimensionless groups. A sixth dimensionless group for sparger characteristic (Scp) is developed. Scp is a convenient parameter to characterize fluid flow performance of EL-ALR and a large cold-flow 0.86 m diameter column. To our knowledge, there is more ambiguity concerning its definition for EL-ALR and a large cold-flow 0.86 m diameter column especially when different sparger structures are used. In this study, reliability of the modified Reynolds and Scp are proposed for such an EL-ALR and a large cold-flow 0.86 m diameter column used different sparger structures. The Scp is based on the pitch and angle between hole normal vector and horizontal line as the characteristic parameters. Experiments were carried out in two systems in which all six dimensionless groups were matched: a 55 wt% aqueous glycerol solution with ceramic catalyst particles in an industrially operated large cold-flow 0.86 m diameter column (system 1) and silicone oil with cylindrical aluminum particles in Taishan Scholar Lab (TSL) EL-ALR with a riser (0.47 m diameter and 2.5 m height) and two downcomers (0.08 m diameter and 2.5 m height) (system 2) with air as the gas in both cases. The micro-conductivity probe and the 3D Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA) techniques were, respectively, implemented to measure local gas holdup (α_Gr) and Peclet number (Pe) in the riser over a wide range of operation conditions. Although Peclet number was slightly different for the two systems, trends were similar. Gas holdups were always slightly higher for system 1. The dimensionless transition velocities from dispersed to coalesced flow were similar. Differences between the two systems are significant, but generally less than 15%, so the dimensionless similitude approach gives a reasonable basis for estimating global hydrodynamic parameters under the present operating conditions. The differences between the two systems are attributed to the complex coalescence behavior of liquid mixtures and the different sparger structures chosen, suggesting that additional dimensionless groups are needed to fully characterize the local dynamic bed behavior. This agreement proves that the proposed modified dimensionless numbers can be well adapted for engineering purposes and used to compare the flow performance between the two systems.     

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.     

BACK MIXING AND LIQUID HOLD-UP IN A COCURRENT UP-FLOW PACKED BED BIOREACTOR

The hydrodynamics of an up-flow three phase packed bed bioreactor were investigated experimentally using tracer techniques. The effects of the liquid and gas velocities, and the particle size on the Peclet number (Pe) and on the liquid hold-up (ε_L) were determined. While the range of gas and liquid flow rate were chosen according to biotic conditions. It was found that the Pe was not influenced from liquid flow rate, however decreased with increasing gas flow rate and particle/reactor diameter ratio (d_p/D_c). Also, it was found that liquid hold-up was not influenced from gas flow rate, however increased with increasing liquid flow rate and decreased with increasing d_p/D_c ratio. The correlation which connected the Bodenstein number to gas phase particle Reynolds number and d_p/D_c ratio and the correlation which connected the liquid hold-up, liquid phase particle Reynolds number and d_p/D_c ratio were found using Marquardt-Levenberg approach.     

Ozone Contactor Hydrodynamics

Tracer tests were conducted at the 6,000 pounds of ozone per day Tucson, CAP Water Treatment Plant in Tucson, Arizona. The tests were designed to determine T₁₀ values through the contactors at various operating conditions. The tests were modeled using three techniques. Peclet Number was calculated for each of the runs, which would indicate the hydrodynamic conditions inside the ozone contactor. The results indicated that the increase in water flow rate and the number of cells with gas flow increased Peclet Number. The flow rate of liquid seemed to impact the Peclet Number more than gas flow. The headloss in each cell appeared to be important in controlling the distribution of liquid and gas through the cell. A correlation was developed between the product of gas and liquid phase Reynolds Number and Peclet Number.     

FORMATION AND FLOW OF GAS BUBBLES IN A PRESSURIZED BUBBLE COLUMN WITH A SINGLE ORIFICE OR NOZZLE GAS DISTRIBUTOR

The characteristics of gas bubbles in a 5 cm diameter bubble column equipped with a single orifice of 1,3 or 5 mm diameter were investigated under system pressure of 0.1-15 MPa. The formation of gas bubbles was strongly affected by the system pressure. Under high pressures a dispersed gas jet was formed at gas velocities where spherical gas bubbles would have been formed at atmospheric pressure. The critical gas velocity between the bubbling regime and the jetting regime was correlated with the liquid phase Weber number and the gas phase Reynolds number based on the gas velocity at the orifice. Bubble size and gas holdup in the main part of the bubble column were also affected by the bubble formation pattern at the distributor     

Investigation of hydrodynamic performance and effective mass transfer area for Sulzer DX structured packing

The hydrodynamic performance in terms of pressure drop (?P) and liquid holdup (h_L), and tshe effective mass transfer area (a_e) of Sulzer DX structured packing were investigated at 293.15 K and 101.3 kPa. In addition, the flooding velocity (u_F) was also calculated based on the experimental results of liquid holdup, and the effective voidage correction factor (?) was obtained by combining the Billet model and the experimental effective fraction. The liquid volume method and pressure difference from just below to above the column packing approach are used to describe the hydrodynamic performance in a structured packing column. Experimental results showed that the operational conditions in terms of gas flow rate, liquid flow rate, viscosity, and liquid systems strongly affect the hydrodynamic performance. The experimental comparison between the pressure drop profiles in air‐water (polyethylene oxide [PEO]) and MEA‐H₂O‐CO₂ systems indicated that both the reacting MEA and CO₂ partial pressure can enhance the pressure drop value. In addition, the Bain‐Haugen correlation model was developed to predict the flooding velocity data with an acceptable AARD of 8.1%, and a model was also successfully proposed to predict the values of liquid holdup with an AARD of 11.8%, which is lower than 14.7% in Billet model. Furthermore, the effective mass transfer area was found to be increased by increasing both the liquid and gas flow rate by using NaOH‐H₂O‐CO₂ system. A model was also proposed to calculate the experimental a_e with an acceptable AARD% of 19.52, and this built model (Eq. 39) can reasonably explain the experimental phenomenon. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 3625–3637, 2018     

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.     

Liquid circulation characteristics in jet loop reactors

Liquid-velocity profile measurements in the annular region of a jet-loop reactor for a gas liquid system are reported, which facilitate evaluation of local phenomena. The range of variables studied included superficial gas velocities of 0-16 cm · s^?1 and superficial liquid velocities of 0-0.6 cm · s^?1. The main observations made with respect to the radial profile of axial liquid velocity are: a) a trend reversal in the changeover from a liquid phase system to a gas-liquid system; b) at low gas loading rates of 1-3 cm · s^?1 it is insensitive to liquid injection rates; c) at high liquid injection rates it shows a minimum. A correlation has been proposed to predict the circulation Reynolds number for the two-phase system.     

Settling length for turbulent flow of air in an annulus

The settling length, or distance downstream from the entrance required for the development of the velocity profile, has been determined for four square entrance sectioned annuli, with diameter ratios of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7. Using air, a Reynolds number range of 5,000 to 50,000 was covered, and correlations have been obtained relating the settling length, equivalent diameter, Reynolds number and diameter ratio. The expression L/De = 0.795 R_e³⁷⁴(D₁/D₂)^?0.60 correlated the data for Reynolds numbers lower than 22,000 and for Reynolds numbers greater than this the relation was L/D_e = 15.96 R_e^.077(D₁/D₂)^?624.