Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a packed column: Case of toluene absorption with a viscous absorbent

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) cause nuisance to humans and the environment. Recent legislation encourages industrialists to set up equipment for treating their VOC-loaded gaseous effluents. This piece of research studies the absorption process, using a viscous organic absorbent (di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate=DEHA) to treat a toluene-loaded vent gas, in terms of hydrodynamics and mass transfer. It is shown that DEHA does not lead to an excessive pressure drop. Correlations predicting hydrodynamic parameters from previous literature are summarised and tested against experimental results. It is shown that acceptable prediction accuracy can be achieved for counter-current pressure drop and liquid hold-up. Treatment efficiency for the toluene-loaded vent gas is shown to be very good. Calculation of mass transfer constants (k_La) enables to test literature correlations against the experimental results. The mass transfer is supposed to be limited by the liquid-side resistance. Our experimental results showed that the k_La of the system depends on the liquid velocity but also on the gas velocity. This behaviour has also been observed by the few authors who have used viscous fluids in their experiments, but is contrary to all the authors who have work on low-viscosity fluids. It is therefore clear that the influence of viscosity on the phenomenon is considerable. Not one current correlation is currently accurate in the case of a viscous absorbent.     

Static mixers for laminar flow reactors with low aspect ratios

Conventional static mixers typically require high length to diameter ratios to be effective. This paper considers static mixers design to increase first appearance times in short, fat reactors. Three types are considered: conical baffles and annular baffles for tubular reactors and axial baffles for reactors with a rectangular cross-section. Relatively simple designs allow production increases (or reactor volume decreases) on the order of 20–50%.     

Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in gas-liquid flow through static mixers

The objective of this study was to characterize the two-phase flow hydrodynamic behaviour and mass transfer in a static mixer in a horizontal pipe. Different arrangements of elements of the static mixer were tested and their performances compared. The pressure drop, bubble diameters and mass transfer coefficient were measured. The influence of operating conditions was also studied. A different correlations are proposed and compared with other correlations found in the literature.     

Hydrodynamics and volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient of a stirred vessel equipped with a gas-inducing impeller

Hydrodynamic and mass transfer characteristics of a gas-liquid stirred tank provided with a radial gas-inducing turbine were studied. The effect of the rotation speed and the liquid submergence on global hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters such as the critical impeller speed, the induced gas flow rate, the gas holdup, the power consumption and the volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient were investigated. The experiments are mainly conducted with air-water system. In the case of critical impeller speed determination, two liquid viscosities have been used. The volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient k_La has been obtained by two different techniques. The gas holdup, the induced gas rate and the volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient are increasing functions with the rotation speed and decreasing ones with the liquid submergence. The effects of these operating parameters on the measured global parameters have been taken into account by introducing the dimensionless modified Froude number and correlations have been proposed for this type of impeller.     

Using in-line static mixers to intensify gas-liquid mass transfer processes

A novel static mixer design (screen-type elements) capable of taking advantage of the interfacial characteristics of industrial gas/liquid systems was developed. The interfacial area of contact, and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient, were investigated using a 25.4 mm pipe loop in which liquid superficial velocities of up to 2.0 m/s (and gas holdups as high as 0.15) were tested. Volumetric mass transfer coefficients as high as were achieved. The ability of this design to achieve high energy utilization efficiencies is validated by achieving oxygen transfer rate as high as 4.2 kg/kWh in the presence of surfactants.Depending on the process requirements and the interfacial properties of the system, high volumetric oxygen transfer coefficients or high energy utilization efficiencies can be achieved by modifying the contactor design and/or operating conditions.     

Gas-liquid mass transfer in a slurry bubble column operated at gas hydrate forming conditions

Gas-liquid interphase mass transfer was investigated in a slurry bubble column under CO₂ hydrate forming operating conditions. Modeling gas hydrate formation requires knowledge of mass transfer and the hydrodynamics of the system. The pressure was varied from 0.1 to 4 MPa and the temperature from ambient to 277 K while the superficial gas velocity reached 0.20 m/s. Wettable ion-exchange resin particles were used to simulate the CO₂ hydrate physical properties affecting the system hydrodynamics. The slurry concentration was varied up to 10%vol. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k_la_l) followed the trend in gas holdup which rises with increasing superficial gas velocity and pressure. However, k_la_l and gas holdup both decreased with decreasing temperature, with the former being more sensitive. The effect of solid concentration on k_la_l and gas holdup was insignificant in the experimental range studied. Both hydrodynamic and transport data were compared to best available correlations.     

Treatment of gas containing hydrophobic VOCs by a hybrid absorption-pervaporation process: The case of toluene

The work focuses on a hybrid process for treating air charged with a hydrophobic volatile organic compound (VOC), coupling an absorption process with membrane pervaporation in order to reuse the absorbent. Toluene was chosen as the target VOC. Four topics were investigated: choice of the absorbent, hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a packed column, regeneration by pervaporation and finally analysis of the coupling of the two processes. In a previous study, 7 absorbents were compared with regard to experimental data (gas-liquid equilibrium constants, viscosity) and data from the literature. Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) was shown to be the most suitable absorbent. In the first part of this work, experiments in a packed column showed that the viscosity of DEHA led to an increase in pressure drop, which nevertheless remained at a reasonable level. Mass transfer experiments were performed and kinetic constants (K_La) calculated. It was proven than washing with DEHA is highly efficient for toluene absorption. The most innovative part of the work is the regeneration of used absorbent by pervaporation. PDMS was chosen as the active membrane layer. Pervaporation flow rates of toluene were measured for the DEHA-toluene solutions corresponding to column foot concentrations. Transfer resistance is mainly controlled by the liquid boundary layer close to the membrane. The system was modelled and several interesting conclusions deduced. Solving the equations by means of a numerical method enabled calculation of the column height and membrane surface area required to treat a gas flow charged with of toluene.     

Hydrodynamic and mass transfer performance of a new aero-ejector with its application to VOC abatement

The aero-ejector, an in-house developed gas-liquid contactor, ensures an improved gas-liquid contact, favorable to a high mass transfer in a small volume: its transfer capacity enables the elimination of 90% of pollutants from gaseous effluents in a single treatment. Through its characteristics, its use as a transfer device into a treatment process has distinct advantages. However, such an application needs modifications to make the contactor suitable for use in an industrial context (efficiency, compactness and low pressure drop). The aim of this research is to improve the contactor geometry in order to enhance its performances. Modifications have resulted in an energy improvement since an inlet gaseous pressure of was reached for a Q_G/Q_L ratio in excess of 10 and with a small loss of transfer efficiency. The study of the effect of operating parameters has identified a sizing criterion, the “useful volume”. This can be used to determine an optimal configuration for the gas-liquid contactor taking into account constraints such as pollutant solubility, pressure drop or compactness.     

Hydrodynamics,Mass Transfer and Gas Scrubbing in a Co‐current Droplet Column Operating at High Gas Velocities

The main objective of this work was to propose a new process for household fume incineration treatment: the droplet column. A feature of this upward gas‐liquid reactor which makes it original, is to use high superficial gas velocities (13 m s^–1) which allow acid gas scrubbing at low energy costs. Tests were conducted to characterize the hydrodynamics, mass transfer performances, and acid gas scrubbing under various conditions of superficial gas velocity (from 10.0 to 12.0 m s^–1) and superficial liquid velocity (from 9.4·10^–3 to 18.9·10^–3 m s^–1). The following parameters characterized the hydrodynamics: pressure drops, liquid hold‐ups, and liquid residence time distribution were identified and investigated with respect to flow conditions. To characterize mass transfer in the droplet column, three parameters were determined: the gas‐liquid interfacial area (a), the liquid‐phase volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k_La) and the gas‐phase volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k_Ga). Gas absorption with chemical reaction methods were applied to evaluate a and k_Ga, while a physical absorption method was used to estimate k_La. The influence of the gas and liquid velocities on a, k_La, and k_Ga were investigated. Furthermore, tests were conducted to examine the utility of the droplet column for the acid gas scrubbing, of gases like hydrogen chloride (HCl) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂). This is a process of high efficiency and the amount of pollutants in the cleaned air is always much lower than the regulatory European standards imposed on household waste incinerators.     

Comparison of Concentration Profiles for Boundary Layers in Absorption with Chemical Reaction Processes

An analysis of five different systems of absorption‐with‐chemical‐reaction in gas‐liquid reactors, commonly encountered in various industrial processes, is presented. To analyze the interphase mass transfer from gas to liquid, the rate limiting parameters and the concentrations at the gas‐liquid interface were determined on the basis of pertinent theories. The calculations presented, are based on the Whitman theory for gas and liquid phase mass transfer coefficients and Henry equilibrium constants. The necessary diffusion coefficients were calculated from existing correlations, and the corresponding chemical reaction rate constants were obtained from the literature, assuming pseudo first order chemical reaction. The process parameters required (pressure, temperature, and the gas‐liquid contact time) were within the values that occur in industrial processes. The results presented, are the concentration profiles in the boundary layers for the systems studied, calculated and graphically presented, together with the gas and liquid film thicknesses and Hatta numbers, obtained from calculations for the liquid phase mass transfer. The results may contribute to a better understanding of the absorption‐with‐chemical‐reaction processes in industrial plants, thus lowering the operational costs of these processes and alleviating the ecological problems of existing technologies.     

New absorption liquids for the removal of CO2 from dilute gas streams using membrane contactors

A new absorption liquid based on amino acid salts has been studied for CO₂ removal in membrane gas-liquid contactors. Unlike conventional gas treating solvents like aqueous alkanolamines solutions, the new absorption liquid does not wet polyolefin microporous membranes. The wetting characteristics of aqueous alkanolamines and amino acid salt solutions for a hydrophobic membrane was studied by measuring the surface tension of the liquid and the breakthrough pressure of the liquid into the pores of the membrane. The dependence of the breakthrough pressure on surface tension follows the Laplace-Young equation. The performance of the new absorption liquid in the removal of CO₂ was studied in a single fiber membrane contactor over a wide range of partial pressures of CO₂ in the gas phase and amino acid salt concentrations in the liquid. A numerical model to describe the mass transfer accompanied by multiple chemical reactions occurring during the absorption of CO₂ in the liquid flowing through the hollow fiber was developed. The numerical model gives a good prediction of the CO₂ absorption flux across the membrane for the absorption of CO₂ in the aqueous amino acid salt solutions flowing through the hollow fiber.     

The Effect of Ozone Gas-Liquid Contacting Conditions in a Static Mixer on Microorganism Reduction

The effect of gas-liquid contacting conditions in a static mixer on ozone transfer efficiency and reduction of Bacillus subtilis spores was studied in an experimental ozone contactor. An empirical mathematical model was developed that related the transfer efficiency in the experimental system to the superficial liquid velocity in the mixer, the gas-liquid flow rate ratio and the height of the down-stream bubble column. Spore reduction was determined primarily by the dissolved ozone concentration-time (C_avgt_m) product in the reactive flow segment and was independent of the gas-liquid contacting conditions in the static mixer. In an integrated ozone contacting system, the static mixer should be designed to maximize ozone mass transfer while the reactive flow segment should be designed for efficient microorganism reduction.     

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.     

Gas Sparger Orifice Sizes and Solid Particle Characteristics in a Bubble Column – Relative Effect on Hydrodynamics and Mass Transfer

The relative effects of the size of gas sparger orifices and properties of solid particles on gas‐liquid mass transfer are not yet fully understood. Here, the impact of sparger orifice sizes, solid particle shapes, and their loading amounts in a bubble column reactor on the absorption of oxygen in tap water was investigated. Their influence on the mass transfer coefficient and bubble hydrodynamic parameters was evaluated. The results show that the addition of solid particles can have both positive and negative effects on hydrodynamics and mass transfer, depending on the orifice size of the gas sparger. The introduction of ring‐shaped solid particles can improve the mass transfer rate by up to 28 % without requiring any significant additional power.     

Hydrodynamics and Mass Transfer in Gas‐Liquid‐Solid Circulating Fluidized Beds

Although extensive work has been performed on the hydrodynamics and gas‐liquid mass transfer in conventional three‐phase fluidized beds, relevant documented reports on gas‐liquid‐solid circulating fluidized beds (GLSCFBs) are scarce. In this work, the radial distribution of gas and solid holdups were investigated at two axial positions in a GLSCFB. The results show that gas bubbles and solid particles distribute uniformly in the axial direction but non‐uniformly in the radial direction. The radial non‐uniformity demonstrates a strong factor on the gas‐liquid mass transfer coefficients. A local mass transfer model is proposed to describe the gas‐liquid mass transfer at various radial positions. The local mass transfer coefficients appear to be symmetric about the central line of the riser with a lower value in the wall region. The effects of gas flow rates, particle circulating rates and liquid velocities on gas‐liquid mass transfer have also been investigated.     

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     

气体搅拌的萃取塔气—液—液系统流体力学性能和传质特性

１引言采用机械搅拌的萃取塔已广泛地应用在石油和化学工业生产中。近年来,一些研究学者又开发了用气体进行搅拌的萃取过程［１～３］,与机械搅拌相比,采用气体搅拌具有塔内无运动部件、操作稳定、结构简单、能耗低等特点,无疑给操作带来方便。如果在塔内装入静态混合...     

Potentials of pervaporation to assist VOCs’ recovery by liquid absorption

Gas treatment by liquid absorption is a well-known process to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from industrial waste gases. Usually the liquid is an organic solvent of high boiling point; however, after VOCs’ absorption it must be regenerated for the possible reuse and this step is classically achieved by heating the liquid. The paper presents the work directed to investigate an alternative regeneration step based on a liquid-vapour membrane separation, i.e. pervaporation. Because most of the energy required in pervaporation processes is consumed to remove the minor component from the initial mixture by selective permeation through the membrane, one can expect a significant energy cut in the operational costs linked to the regeneration of the liquid if the pervaporation step can substitute the heating one. The results reported here show that the technological possibility to use pervaporation is first governed by the stability of the membrane in the absorption liquid. The viability of the overall process is actually controlled by the mutual affinity between the VOCs, the solvent phase and the polymeric material. As a matter of fact, whereas VOCs have to exhibit strong affinities to both the solvent and the membrane material, the polymer has to be well resistant and even repellent to the solvent to avoid the possible sorption in the membrane that would drastically depress the pervaporation efficiency. In other words the membrane transport properties must be specific for the VOCs. This goal was reached following several experimental approaches, going from membrane modifications to the selection of suitable heavy protic solvents. Hence it has been shown for the case of dichloromethane (DCM) that low molecular weights polyalcohols (e.g. glycols) appeared to be suitable media to allow in particular the specific transport of DCM. On the other hand, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based membranes were selected for their stability in these polyglycols and for their marked affinity for DCM. The simulation of the hybrid gas treatment process at pilot-scale was also achieved by a simple model relying on experimental data for both vapour liquid equilibria and permeation flux. A simple comparison of the energy needed to regenerate the heavy solvent by each possible step has also been made.