Effect of pressure fluctuations on the heat transfer characteristics in a pressurized slurry bubble column

Abstract

The hydrodynamics and heat transfer characteristics were investigated in a slurry bubble column reactor whose diameter was 0.0508 m (ID) and 1.5 m in height. Effects of gas velocity (0.025-0.1 m/s), pressure (0.1-0.7 MPa), solid concentration (0-20 vol%) and liquid viscosity (1.0-38.0 mPa s) on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer char- acteristics were examined. The pressure difference fluctuations were analyzed by means of attractor trajectories and correlation dimension to characterize the hydrodynamic behavior in the column. The gas holdup increased with in- creasing gas velocity or pressure, but decreased with increasing solid concentration or liquid viscosity. It was found that the attractor trajectories and correlation dimension of pressure fluctuations were effective tools to describe the hydro- dynamic behaviors in the slurry bubble column. The heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing pressure or gas velocity, but decreased with increasing solid concentration or viscosity of slurry phase in the slurry bubble column. The heat transfer coefficient value was well correlated in terms of operating variables and correlation dimension of pressure fluctuations in the slurry bubble column.