Influence of impeller diameter on overall gas dispersion properties in a sparged multi-impeller stirred tank☆

The impeller configuration with a six parabolic blade disk turbine below two down-pumping hydrofoil propellers, identified as PDT + 2CBY, was used in this study. The effect of the impeller diameter D, ranging from 0.30T to 0.40T (T as the tank diameter), on gas dispersion in a stirred tank of 0.48 m diameter was investigated by experimental and CFD simulation methods. Power consumption and total gas holdup were measured for the same impeller configuration PDT + 2CBY with four different D/T. Results show that with D/T increases from 0.30 to 0.40, the relative power demand (RPD) in a gas–liquid system decreases slightly. At low superficial gas velocity V_S of 0.0078 m·s^-1, the gas holdup increases evidently with the increase of D/T. However, at high superficial gas velocity, the systemwith D/T=0.33 gets a good balance between the gas recirculation and liquid shearing rate, which resulted in the highest gas holdup among four different D/T. CFD simulation based on the two-fluid model along with the Population Balance Model (PBM) was used to investigate the effect of impeller diameter on the gas dispersion. The power consumption and total gas holdup predicted by CFD simulation were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.     

垂直管内通气空泡掺气过程仿真分析简

A semi-empirical gas entrainment model was proposed for the ventilated cavity in vertical pipe, based on which, a complete numerical scheme was established by coupling with the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model to predict the multiscale flow field created by ventilated cavity. Model predictions were validated against experimental measurements on void fraction and bubble size distributions. Simulations were carried out to explore the effect of ventilation rate and inlet turbulence intensity on the macroscale cavity shape and the bubbly flow downstream of the ventilated cavity. As the ventilation rate increasing, a reverse trend was observed for the void fraction and bub- ble size distributions. It is concluded that the average void fraction in the pipe flow region is determined by the volumetric ratio between liquid and gas. However, the bubble size evolution is dominated by the breakage effect induced by turbulence in the vortex region. Furthermore, simulations were conducted to analyze geometric scale effect based upon Froude similitude. The results imply that the velocity distributions were properly scaled. Slight scale effect was seen for the void fraction caused by faster dispersion of bubbles in the larger size model. The com- paratively greater bubble size was predicted in the smaller model, implying significant scale effects in terms of tur- bulence and surface tension effect. It reveals that empirical correlations valid in wide range are required for the ex- trapolation from small-size laboratory models.     

Hydrodynamics and bubble behaviour in a three-phase two-stage internal loop airlift reactor

Local hydrodynamics of a gas–liquid–solid system,such as bubble circulation regime,gas holdup,liquid velocity and axial profile of solid concentration,are studied in a two-stage internal loop airlift reactor.Empirical correlations for gas holdup and liquid velocity are proposed to ease the reactor design and scale-up.Different bubble circulation regimes were displayed in the first(lower) and second(upper) stages.Increasing superficial gas velocity and solid loading can promote regime transition of the second stage,and the gas holdup of the second stage is higher than that of the lower stage.In addition,the effects of solid loading on bubble behaviour are experimentally investigated for each stage.It is found that bubble size in the downcomer decreases with the presence of solid particles,and bubble size distribution widens under higher superficial gas velocity and lower solid loading.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of scale-up effects on the hydrodynamics of slurry bubble columns

Experiments and simulations were conducted for bubble columns with diameter of 0.2 m(180 mm i.d.), 0.5 m(476 mm i.d.) and 0.8 m(760 mm i.d.) at high superficial gas velocities(0.12–0.62 m·s-1) and high solid concentrations(0–30 vol%). Radial profiles of time-averaged gas holdup, axial liquid velocity, and turbulent kinetic energy were measured by using in-house developed conductivity probes and Pavlov tubes. Effects of column diameter, superficial gas velocity, and solid concentration were investigated in a wide range of operating conditions. Experimental results indicated that the average gas holdup remarkably increases with superficial gas velocity, and the radial profiles of investigated flow properties become steeper at high superficial gas velocities. The axial liquid velocities significantly increase with the growth of the column size, whereas the gas holdup was slightly affected. The presence of solid in bubble columns would inhibit the breakage of bubbles, which results in an increase in bubble rise velocity and a decrease in gas holdup, but time-averaged axial liquid velocities remain almost the same as that of the hollow column. Furthermore, a 2-D axisymmetric k–ε model was used to simulate heterogeneous bubbly flow using commercial code FLUENT 6.2. The lateral lift force and the turbulent diffusion force were introduced for the determination of gas holdup profiles and the effects of solid concentration were considered as the variation of average bubble diameter in the model. Results predicted by the CFD simulation showed good agreement with experimental data.     

常温及热态通气条件下多层桨三相搅拌反应器中局部气含率分布

Vertical distributions of void fraction in gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solid stirred tanks have been measured in a fully baffled dished base vessel of 0.48 m diameter, using a conductivity probe. The impeller configuration (a hollow half elliptical blade dispersing turbine below two up-pumping wide blade hydrofoils, identified as HEDT+2WHU) recommended in previous work has been used in this work. The operating temperatures were 24°C and 81°C, identified as cold and hot respectively. The effects of superficial gas velocity, agitator speed and the corresponding power input on the local void fraction in two-phase systems are investigated and discussed. Results show that the increasing of agitator speed or gas flow rate leads to an increase in local void fraction at the majority of measurement points in both cold and hot systems. However, the uniformity of gas dispersion does not always increase as the rais-ing of agitator speed and power input. In either cold or hot sparged conditions, the two- and three-phase systems have similar vertical profiles for void fraction, with maxima in similar locations; however, the void fractions are significantly lower in hot sparging than with cold. In cold operation the presence of particles leads to a lower void fraction at most points, although the local void fractions increase a little with the addition of solid particles at high temperature, in good agreement with the global gas holdup results, and the possible reasons are discussed in this paper. This work can give a better understanding of the differences between cold-gassed and hot-sparged three phase stirred tanks.     

基于MUSIG模型的竖直圆管内液氮过冷沸腾数值模拟研究(英文)

Multiple size group （MUSIG） model combined with a threedimensional twofluid model were em ployed to predict subcooled boiling flow of liquid nitrogen in a vertical upward tube. Based on the mechanism of boiling heat transfer, some important bubble model parameters were amended to be applicable to the modeling of liquid nitrogen. The distribution of different discrete bubble classes was demonstrated numerically and the distribu tion patterns of void fraction in the wallheated tube were analyzed. It was found that the average void fraction in creases nonlinearly along the axial direction with wall heat flux and it decreases with inlet mass flow rate and sub cooled temperature. The local void fraction exhibited a Ushape distribution in the radial direction. The partition of the wall heat flux along the tube was obtained. The results showed that heat flux consumed on evaporation is the leading part of surface heat transfer at the rear region of subcooled boiling. The turning point in the pressure drop curve reflects the instability of bubbly flow. Good agreement was achieved on the local heat transfer coefficient aalnst experimental measurements, which demonstrated the accuracy of the numerical model.     

Experimental Determination and Modeling of Bubble Size Distributions in Bubble Columns

Using a five point conductivity technique local values of bubble size,bubble velocity and gas fractionhave been experimentally determined in a 288 mmID and 4.3 m high bubble column as a function of axial andradial position for the air/water and CO_2/N_2/aqueous MDEA systems.The experimental results are comparedwith predictions from a fundamental two-fluid model.The implementation of a non-steady lateral drag term inthe two-fluid model has been shown.In addition to improving the physical realism of the model,it is found togive slight improvements in the predictions of the distributions of local bubble size.Predictions of bubble size arefound in reasonable agreement with experimental values in the heterogeous flow regime,whereas they are stil1found to be unreliable at low gas velocities.Local void predictions are found in reasonable agreement with experi-mental values,but deviations occur in the homogeneous flow regime towards the wall.This is attributed to defi-ciencies in the simplified bubble size mode     

Local Measurement of Gas-Liquid Bubbly Flow with a Double-Sensor Probe

A double-sensor probe was used to measure local interfacial parameters of a gas-liquid bubbly flow in a horizontal tube. The parameters included void fraction, interfacial concentration, bubble size distribution, bubble frequency and bubble interface velocity. The authors paid special attention to the probe design and construction for minimizing measurement errors. Measures were also taken in the design of sensor ends for preventing corrosions in the flow. This is an effort to improve the current double-sensor probe technique to meet the ever-increasing needs to local varameter measurements in gas-liquid two-phase flows.     

气-液-固三相下喷环流反应器局部气相流动特性

The local gas-phase flow characteristics such as local gas holdup (εg), local bubble velocity (Vb) and local bubble mean diameter (db) at a specified point in a gas-liquid-solid three-phase reversed flow jet loop reactor was experimentally investigated by a five-point conductivity probe. The effects of gas jet flow rate, liquid jet flow rate, solid loading, nozzle diameter and axial position on the local εg, Vb and db profiles were discussed. The presence of solids at low solid concentrations not only increased the local εg and Vb, but also decreased the local db. The optimum solid loading for the maximum local εg and Vb together with the minimum local db was 0.16 × 10-3 m3, corresponding to a solid volume fraction, εS = 2.5%.     

Experimental and Numerical Study of Gas-Liquid Flow in a Sectionalized External-Loop Airlift Reactor

The external loop airlift reactor(EL-ALR) is widely used for gas-liquid reactions. It's advantage of good heat and mass transfer rates compared to conventional bubble column reactors. In the case of fermentation application where a medium is highly viscous and coalescing in nature, internal in riser helps in the improvement of the interfacial area as well as in the reduction of liquid-phase back mixing. The computational fluid dynamic(CFD) as a tool is used to design and scale-up of sectionalized external loop airlift reactor. The present work deals with computational fluid dynamics(CFD) techniques and experimental measurement of a gas hold-up, liquid circulation velocity, liquid axial velocity, Sauter mean bubble diameter over a broad range of superficial gas velocity 0.0024≤U_G≤0.0168 m·s~(-1). The correlation has been made for bubble size distribution with specific power consumption for different plate configurations. The effects of an internal on different mass transfer models have been completed to assess their suitability.The predicted local mass transfer coefficient has been found higher in the sectionalized external loop airlift reactor than the conventional EL-ALR.     

Effects of Orifice Orientation and Gas-Liquid Flow Pattern on Initial Bubble Size

In many gasliquid processes, the initial bubble size is determined by a series of operation parameters along with the sparger design and gasliquid flow pattern. Bubble formation models for variant gasliquid flow pat terns have been developed based on force balance. The effects of the orientation of gasliquid flow, gas velocity, liquid velocity and orifice diameter on the initial bubble size have been clarified. In ambient airwater system, thesultable gasllquid flow pattern is important to obtain smaller bubbles under the low velocity liquid crossflow con ditions with stainless steel spargers. Among the four types of gasliquid flow patterns discussed, the horizontal orifice in a vertically upward liquid flow produces the smallest initial bubbles. However the orientation effects of gas and liquid flow are found tobe insgnifican whenliq.uid velocity is.higher than. 3.2 m;sa or theorifice diameter is small enough.     

垂直管内气液两相弹状流含气率研究

In order to investigate the influence of the entrance effect on the spatial distribution of phases, the experiments on gas-liquid two-phase slug flow in a vertical pipe of 0.03m ID were carried out by using optical probes and an EKTAPRO 1000 high speed motion analyzer. It demonstrates that the radial profile of slug flow void fraction is parabolic. Influenced by the falling liquid film, the radial profile curve of liquid slug void fraction in the wake region is also parabolic. Since fully turbulent velocity distribution is built up in the developed region,the void fraction profile in this region is the saddle type. At given superficial liquid velocity, the liquid slug void fraction increases with gas velocity. The radial profiles of liquid slug void fraction at different axial locations are all saddle curves, but void fraction is obviously high around the centerline in the entrance region. The nearer the measuring station is from the entrance, the farther the peak location is away from the wall.     

THE EFFECT OF LIQUID PHYSICAL PROPERTIES ON DRIFT VELOCITY

Drift velocity is a very important paramcter for predictirg the pool volumetric void fraction. Two-phase system of gas and high viscous liquids pool is encountered in various engineering applications. A review of the literature shows no data for explaining the effect of highly viscous liquids on the drift velocity. This paper's analysis shows that there is a considerable influence. It is shown that the foaming behaviour of liquids is dependent on the surface properties. For some highly viscous liquids at a given superficial gas velocity, the viscosity changes with time. The effect of "foam" and "time" on drift velocity is clearly elucidated.     

Hydrodynamics of air–kerosene bubble column under elevated pressure in homogeneous flow regime

A multiphase computational fluid dynamics(CFD) model coupled with the population balance equation(PBE) was developed in a homogeneous air–kerosene bubble column under elevated pressure(P). The specific pressure drop(DP/L), gas holdup(a_G), and Sauter mean diameter(d_(32)) were experimentally measured in the bubble column with 1.8 m height and 0.1 m inner diameter, which was operated at a superficial gas velocity of 12.3 mm·s~(-1), and P = 1–35 bar(1 bar = 10~5 Pa). A modified drag coefficient model was proposed to consider the effect of bubble swarm and pressure on hydrodynamics of the bubble column.The Luo breakage model was modified to account for liquid density, viscosity, surface tension and gas density. The DP/L, a_G, and d_(32) obtained from the CFD model were compared with experimental data,and the gas density-dependent parameters of the CFD model were identified. With increasing P from 1 to 35 bar, the aGvaried from 5.4% to 7.2% and the d_(32) decreased from 2.3 to 1.5 mm. The CFD-PBE model is applicable to predict hydrodynamics of pressurized bubble columns for gas–organic liquid in the homogeneous regime.     

Experimental determination of gas holdup and volumetric mass transfer coefficient in a jet bubbling reactor

The hydrodynamics and mass transfer characteristics of a lab-scale jet bubbling reactor(JBR) including the gas holdup, volumetric mass transfer coefficient and specific interfacial area were assessed experimentally investigating the influence of temperature, p H and superficial gas velocity. The reactor diameter and height were 11 and 30 cm,respectively. It was equipped with a single sparger, operating at atmospheric pressure, 20 and 40℃, and two p H values of 3 and 6. The height of the liquid was 23 cm, while the superficial gas velocity changed within 0.010–0.040 m·s~(-1) range. Experiments were conducted with pure oxygen as the gas phase and saturated lime solution as the liquid phase. The liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient was determined under unsteady-state oxygen absorption in a saturated lime solution. The gas holdup was calculated based on the liquid height change, while the specific interfacial area was obtained by a physical method based on the bubble size distribution(BSD) in different superficial gas velocities. The results indicated that at the same temperature but different p H, the gas holdup variation was negligible, while the liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient at the p H value of 6 was higher than that at the p H = 3. At a constant p H but different temperatures, the gas holdup and the liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficients at 40℃ were higher than that of the same at 20℃. A reasonable and appropriate estimation of the liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficient(kla) in a pilot-scale JBR was provided which can be applied to the design and scale-up of JBRs.     

Experimental research on steady-state operation characteristics of gas–solid flow in a 15.5 m dual circulating fluidized bed system

Gas-solid hydrodynamic steady-state operation is the operating basis in a chemical looping dual-reactor system. This study reported the experimental results on the steady-state operation characteristics of gas–solid flow in a 15.5 m high dual circulating fluidized bed(CFB) cold test system. The effects of superficial gas velocity, static bed material height and solid returning modes on the steady-state operation characteristics between the two CFBs were investigated. Results suggest that the solid distributions in the dual CFB test system was mainly determined by the superficial gas velocity and larger solid inventory may help to improve the solid distributions. Besides, cross-returning mode coupled with self-returning is good for steady-state running in the dual-reactor test system.     

The Effect of Sparger Geometry on Gas Bubble Flow Behaviors Using Electrical Resistance Tomography

By electrical resistance tomography （ERT） the cross sectional profiles of gas hold-up in a φ56mm bubble column are obtained with four designs of gas sparger. The effect of sparger geometry on the bubble distribution is revealed by applying a sensitivity conjugated gradients reconstruction method （SCG）. Experimental results show that overall hold-up obtained by ERT is generally in good agreement with those measured with the pressure transducer and the ERT system produces informative evidence that the radial profiles of hold-up is very similar to the sparger design in the lower section of bubble column. Meanwhile, the rise velocity of bubble swarm and the Sauter mean bubble size are evaluated using ERT based on dynamic gas disengagement theory. The experimental results are in good agreement with correlations and conventional estimation obtained using pressure transmitter methods.     

气固循环流化床提升管环核区颗粒质量传递系数的估计

Based on analysis of energy dissipation in the core region of gas-solid fluidized bed risers,a simplified model for determination of core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient was developed according to turbulent diffu- sion mechanism of particles.The simulation results are consistent with published experimental data.Core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient decreases with increasing particle size,particle density and solids circulation rate, but generally increases with increasing superficial gas velocity and riser diameter.In the upper dilute region of gas-solid fiuidized bed risers,core-annulus solids mass transfer coefficient was found to change little with the axial coordinate in the bed.     

喷动床中气体停留时间分布的研究

In a spouted bed of 80mm in ID and 1700mm in height, the gas residence time distributions at different radial positions in both spout and annular area were measured with five different kinds of particles as spouting material, air as spouting gas, and hydrogen as tracer. The effects of superficial gas velocity, operating pressure, particle size and its category on gas residence time distribution were discussed. It was found that the gas velocity profile in spout was more uniform than that in annulus. It could be concluded that the gas flow in the spout could be treated as a plug-flow, while that in the annulus inhibited a strong non-ideal flow behavior. Increasing the superficial gas velocity and decreasing the operating pressure, the particle density and its size gave rise to spouting disturbance, thus the measured tracer concentrations vs. time curves fluctuated. The variances of residence time distribution curves could be taken as a measure of the gas fluctuation degree.     

Experimental study by online measurement of the precipitation of nickel hydroxide:Effects of operating conditions

The objective of this work is using the online measurement method to study the process of precipitation of nickel hydroxide in a single-feed semi-batch stirred reactor with an internal diameter of D=240 mm. The effects of impeller speed, impeller type, impeller diameter and feed location on the mean particle size d43 and particle size distribution (PSD) were investigated. d43 and PSD were measured online using a Malvern Insitec Liquid Pro-cess Sizer every 20 s. It was found that d43 varied between 13μm and 26μm under different operating conditions, and it decreased with increasing impel er diameter. When feeding at the off-bottom distance of D/2 under lower impeller speeds, d43 was significantly smaller than that at D/3. PSDs were slightly influenced by operating conditions.