Simultaneous heat and mass transfer for multicomponent distillation in a wetted-wall column

A simultaneous heat and mass transfer model was applied to multicomponent distillation in a wetted-wall column. Experiments were carried out, using the benzene-toluene-ethylbenzene ternary system, in a wetted-wall column of 2.2 cm i.d. and 100 cm long equipped with special probes designed for simultaneous liquid sampling and temperature measurements. The experimental results show that the bulk liquid phase was saturated, indicating no resistance to mass transfer in the liquid film. Confirmation of the liquid phase saturation was made through a comparison of the experimentally measured liquid temperature with the calculated bubble point temperature. The average deviation between the measured and calculated temperatures was found to be 0.26°C.Individual mass transfer rates were evaluated locally by measuring compositions and temperatures as functions of column height and were compared to theoretical predictions using the exact film model solution of the Maxwell-Stefan multicomponent equations developed by Krishna and Standart. The comparison shows good agreement with average deviations of 15.76% for benzene, 23.09% for toluene and 23.23% for ethylbenzene.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer from a single sphere to a turbulent air stream

A study of the simultaneous heat and mass transfer from a single sphere to a turbulent air stream has been made. The aim of the investigation is to evaluate the effect of mass transfer on the rate of heat transfer. Results are compared with pure heat transfer data under similar conditions as well as those obtained by the evaporation of liquids from porous spheres.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in spouted beds

The results of a fluid-particle heat and mass transfer study in air spouted beds of silica gel and activated coal particles, using a 9 cm I.D. column with a 30° and 90° conical base, are reported. The effects of gas velocity, particle size, bed depth and cone angle on the heat and mass transfer coefficients are discussed. Equations correlating heat and mass transfer coefficients have been established. The ratio (jn)_s/(j_D)₈ has been found to be dependent on the Reynolds number and the system of spouting.     

Fractionation with condensation and evaporation in wetted-wall columns

A model is presented to describe the behavior of falling film fractionators with evaporation or condensation. Experimental measurements of vapor composition, vapor temperature and wall temperature profiles were made. Close agreement suggests that the model is applicable to both adiabatic and nonadiabatic conditions.     

Simultaneous measurement of flow pattern and mass transfer coefficient in bubble columns

Mass transfer studies were carried out in a bubble column using the chemical method. Catalytic oxidation of sodium sulfite was chosen for the studies and the corresponding specific rates of oxidation were obtained using a stirred cell. Laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) was used to measure the instantaneous velocities in the same stirred cell as well as in bubble columns (100 and i.d.). An efficient algorithm based on the multiresolution analysis of the velocity-time data using wavelets was used for the isolation of data belonging to the gas and liquid phases. Eddy isolation model was used for the characterization of the eddy motion including the estimation of the energy dissipation rate. Using the knowledge of eddy motion, a methodology was developed for the prediction of true mass transfer coefficient (k_L) in a stirred cell as well as in bubble columns. The predicted values of k_L have been compared with the experimental values obtained by the chemical method.     

Mathematical modeling of turbulent heat and mass transfer with chemical conversions

A transient model of heat and mass transfer with nonlinear sources (sinks) caused by first-and second-order chemical reactions is developed. The model uses a matching condition (equal temperature and local flux values) at the reaction zone-coolant interface. A finite-difference numerical solution to the problem is obtained using the alternating direction method. The model is tested by application to fast polymerization processes. The effect of the coolant velocity, reactor radius, and coolant temperature at the reactor inlet on the polymerization efficiency is studied.     

Exclusion of gas sparger influence on mass transfer in bubble columns

Gas phase CO₂ concentration profiles were measured in two sizes of bubble columns with different gas spargers and with the liquid phase (tap water) entrance or exit (cocurrent or countercurrent flow) at a certain height above the gas distributor. The region of high turbulence intensity near the sparger was locally separated from the region of high mass transfer rates in such columns. A modified back flow cell model was applied to describe the experimental data. The k_L-values obtained from fitting the profiles agreed for both columns and, in addition, did not differ for cocurrent and countercurrent flow. This is in remarkable contrast to previous findings(10,11). The large influence of the gas sparger on the k_L-values even in tall bubble columns was thus demonstrated. It is thought that this may probably be one of the reasons why correlations for prediction of k_L differ so significantly.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in a packed binary distillation column

A simultaneous heat and mass transfer model was applied to a binary system in a 3-in. distillation column packed with $\text{1}\text{4}$in. Raschig Rings. MaThe experiments carried out with the toluene-trichloroethylene system show that the liquid phase is saturated, indicating no resistance to mass transfe     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer with liquid film vacuum distillation

The problem of simultaneous heat and mass transfer associated with the vacuum distillation of a thin liquid film is solved by analyzing the system as a conjugated boundary value problem. The solution is developed in terms of well-known tabulated functions using a Green's function approach. The effects of heat transfer, liquid phase diffusion and effusion at the surface on the rate processes are elucidated, and separation efficiencies are predicted as functions of the length of the heated wall over which the film flows. The theoretical analysis is applied to calculate mass transfer rates for the separation of fatty acids from tall oil.     

Penetration theory solution for gas absorption and chemical reaction in cocurrent and countercurrent flow wetted-wall columns

Penetration theory solutions are provided for gas absorption with or without a (pseudo) first-order irreversible chemical reaction in cocurrent and countercurrent flow wetted-wall columns, taking into account a constant gas-film resistance as well as the axial decrease in gas composition due to absorption, while assuming non-rippling laminar flow for the liquid phase and plug flow for the gas phase. Limiting solutions are also obtained for situations when either the gas phase resistance or the axial variation of gas composition is negligible. The results are suitable for ϕ ≥ 3 and can be used for both Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in binary distillation—II: Experimental

A theoretical study of simultaneous heat and mass transfer in binary distillation has shown that heat and mass transfer coefficients can be appropriately evaluated if liquid phase temperatures and compositions are measured as functions of height in a column. In this study, the experiments were carried out in a wetted-wall column using a methanol-water binary system at one atmosphere.Special probes were designed to determine the state of the liquid phase. Temperatures were measured with microthermocouples and liquid samples were analyzed with a high precision refractometer. The liquid phase was found to be saturated which indicated, in accordance with the conclusions from a theoretical study, that all the resistance to mass transfer was in the vapor phase. Local transfer coefficients were calculated using the composition data as a function of column height. The results were correlated by an equation showing close agreement with the Chilton-Colburn equation. $\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{y}}\text{a}{}_{\mathrm{m}}\text{V}\text{= 0.039}\text{Sc}{}_{\mathrm{y}}$^{?$\text{2}\text{3}$}Re_y^?0.20 cm^?1.It is concluded that mass transfer in the vapor phase is the controlling resistance in distillation and that there is no additional evaporation within the liquid phase caused by heat transferred from the vapor phase as proposed by some previous investigators.     

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer in binary distillation—I: Theory

Binary distillation in continuous contact equipment is modeled as a simultaneous heat and mass transfer process. In order to account for the interactions between heat and mass transfer between the two phases, the equations developed from enthalpy and material balances are analyzed simultaneously and it is revealed that the individual phase mass transfer coefficients can be evaluated rigorously by measuring liquid phase compositions and temperatures in distillation experiments. Using the theoretical relations, it is proved that the liquid phase in a distillation column will be saturated if and only if there is negligible resistance to mass transfer in the liquid film. For the case of comparable resistances in both phases, the possible amount of superheat in the liquid phase would be considerable and thus convenient to determine experimentally. The liquid phase temperatures are shown to be important in experimental analysis (i.e. in determining the individual phase transfer coefficients) but not in design applications. For the latter case, the model equations reduce to the conventional mass transfer relations which are not as sensitive to temperatures.     

Coupled turbulent heat and mass transfer in fast polymerization processes in a tubular reactor

A model of turbulent heat and mass transfer with nonlinear sources for the modeling of fast poly-merization processes under matching conditions (equality of the values of temperatures and local flows) on the reactor—coolant interface was developed. The finite-difference numerical solution was obtained via the method of alternating directions. The influence of the turbulent viscosity coefficients on the polymerization process was investigated. It was shown that the separate entrance of the catalyst and monomer into the reactor leads to their mixing both during transient and steady-state modes. It was determined that the polymerization process during catalyst and monomer joint entry occurs practically by the ideal displacement mechanism.     

Predicting mass transfer in packed columns

Countercurrent-flow columns are widely used in production processes in the chemical industry and their application in ecological engineering is of increasing importance. A theoretical model is presented here that allows mass transfer to be described in terms of packing geometry and physical properties which influence the gas-liquid or vapour-liquid systems in absorption, desorption and rectification columns. The relationships derived from the model can be applied to all countercurrent-flow columns, regardless of whether the packing has been dumped at random or arranged in a geometric pattern.     

Oxygen mass transfer in bubble columns

The mass transfer of oxygen between air and water has been studied in a bubble column over wide ranges of liquid and gas velocity. An oxygen probe was used to map the steady-state liquid phase concentration of oxygen throughout the column.At any given point in the column, the oxygen concentration increased with gas velocity. Minima were observed in plots of concentration against liquid velocity.Two distinct absorption regions were observed. Close to the distributor the concentration decreased rapidly with height and volumetric mass transfer coefficients ranged from about 0.2 to 2.1 s^?1. These high values were attributed to enhanced mass transfer due to turbulence induced by the liquid and gas jets in the grid region. In the bulk of the column, axial concentration gradients were much smaller and the mass transfer coefficients were up to two orders of magnitude lower than in the grid region.     

Gas-liquid mass transfer in bubble columns with a T-junction nozzle for gas dispersion

Bubble break-up, gas holdup, and the gas-liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient are studied in a bubble column reactor with simultaneous injection of a gas and liquid through a T-junction nozzle. The theoretical dependence of bubble break-up and the volumetric mass transfer coefficient on liquid velocity in the nozzle is developed on the basis of isotropic turbulence theory. It is shown that correlations which are developed based on liquid jet kinetic power per nozzle volume explain average gas holdup and the volumetric mass transfer coefficient within an error of 15% for all gas and liquid flow rates and nozzle diameters used. Experiments with a larger scale column, height 4.64 m and diameter 0.98 m, show a transition from homogeneous to heterogeneous flow at a certain liquid flow rate through the nozzle. Liquid composition was found to have a significant effect on gas-liquid mass transfer. A phenol concentration of 10–30 mg/l in water increases the volumetric mass transfer coefficient of oxygen by 100%. This phenomenon may have significance in the chemical oxidation of wastewater.     

Friction and heat and mass transfer for turbulent pseudoplastic non-newtonian fluid flows in rough pipes

Friction factor and heat and mass transfer coefficient correlations are developed for turbulent pseudoplastic (purely viscous or inelastic) non-Newtonian fluids flowing through rough pipes. A correlation for friction factor which is applicable in the region of transition from the smooth to the fully-rough regime is proposed. It is obtained by adding the two correlations for the limiting situations, i.e. smooth pipes and fully-rough pipes. The predictions of the proposed correlation are compared with published experimental data and other previous correlations. A model for heat and mass transfer is developed on the basis of the Levich three-zone model. It is found that the proposed model is capable of predicting satisfactorily heat and mass transfer coefficients for Newtonian and pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluid flow in rough pipes.