Comparison of pressure-drop and mass-transfer characteristics of two kinds of packing in countercurrent rotating packed bed

Abstract

With the air-water and absorption of SO 2 by phosphate buffer solution as experimental systems, a comparative study of pressure drop and mass transfer in a countercurrent rotating packed bed (RPB) was carried out. Results show that the wet-bed pressure drop increases with increasing gas flow and high gravity factor, but slightly increases with increasing the liquid flow. Within the experimental range, the pressure drop of both packings doesn't appear a big difference, and both of which are below 750 Pa. The K y a of both packings increases with the increase of liquid spraying density, empty-bed average gas velocity and high gravity factor. When U=6 m3/ (m2·h), u=0.73 m/s, β=85 and above these conditions, the K y a of θ ring is 25% higher than that of wave wire packing, which indicates that the mass transfer characteristic of θ ring is better than that of wave wire packing. In addition, the wet pressure drop and mass transfer correlations of countercurrent RPB for each packing were obtained. The results have important implications for the design and model selection of RPB.