CFD simulation of hydrodynamics and mass transfer in an internal airlift loop reactor using a steady two-fluid model

Abstract

Steady state simulation of the hydrodynamics and mass transfer in bubbly flow in an axisymmetric internal airlift loop reactor (IALR) with the special treatment of interphase decoupling and outlet boundary conditions is performed, which is based on a Favre averaging two-fluid model for multiphase flow. Different models of mass transfer coefficient are compared and validated with the literature data. A model for describing the mass transfer for a wide range of superficial gas velocity is chosen and the predicted mass transfer coefficient agrees well with the experimental data in the literature. The numerical procedure can be used as a tool for the design and scale-up of IALRs.