Abstract
This work presents a brief introduction on the basics of fiber-optical sensors and an overview focused on the applications to measurements in multiphase reactors. The most commonly principle utilized is laser back scattering, which is also the foundation for almost all current probes used in multiphase reactors. The fiber-optical probe techniques in two-phase reactors are more developed than those in three-phase reactors. There are many studies on the measurement of gas holdup using fiber-optical probes in three-phase fluidized beds, but negative interference of particles on probe function was less studied. The interactions between solids and probe tips were less studied because glass beads etc. were always used as the solid phase. The vision probes may be the most promising for simultaneous measurements of gas dispersion and solids suspension in three-phase reactors. Thus, the following techniques of the fiber-optical probes in multiphase reactors should be developed further: (1) online measuring techniques under nearly industrial operating conditions; (2) corresponding signal data processing techniques; (3) joint application with other measuring techniques.
Highlights
Multiphase reactors are the most important equipment in the chemical industry, where chemical reactions take place involving several reactants in different phases
To describe and design multiphase reactors, traditional approaches based on empirical rules and correlations rely to a large extent on the measurements made under conditions as relevant as possible to industrial practice
Modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD), which has been extensively used for the numerical simulation of multiphase reactors [1,2,3,4,5], requires the information on local and transient flow characteristics to build precise physical models
Summary
Multiphase reactors are the most important equipment in the chemical industry, where chemical reactions take place involving several reactants in different phases. Invasive measuring techniques cannot be avoided though non-invasive techniques are intensively developed for the analysis of multiphase flows. This is true for highly turbulent systems, due to two main reasons: (i) in case of nearly industrial operating conditions (particular physico-chemical environment, opaque walls, high gas holdups or solid concentrations, etc.), non-invasive techniques become ineffective; (ii) non-invasive techniques are often difficult and expensive for industrial applications. Progresses in fiber-optical sensor technique open a door for the measurements of multiphase reactors and can offer many important measurement opportunities and great potential applications in this area. The aim of this paper was to review the most significant developments and applications of fiber-optical probes for multiphase reactors. Significant developments and applications of fiber-optical sensors/probes for multiphase reactors (involving gas-solid, liquid-solid, gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, gas-liquid-solid systems) will be introduced. The future research trends in the field of fiber-optical sensors/probes for multiphase reactors will be discussed and summarized
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