Gas-liquid mass transfer and hydrodynamics in a vertically-oscillating multiphase reactor

Abstract

Gas-liquid mass transfer and hydrodynamics were studied experimentally and numerically in a vertically-oscillating vessel with an internal diameter of 33 mm and a height of 114 mm. The amplitude was 57 mm and frequency ranged from 2.8 to 3.7 Hz. The dissolution of pressurized oxygen into water was measured between 3 and 6 MPa. Simulations were performed using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with partial interface capturing by a compressive-interface volume-of-fluid method. A new surface area reconstruction algorithm for unstructured meshes was developed and implemented into OpenFOAM. Predicted radial phase distributions were within one standard deviation of experimental values, while predicted axial distributions at high oscillation frequencies matched more closely than when approaching the onset of splashing. Mass transfer predictions performed without the use of a sub-grid model were underpredicted. Sub-grid mass transfer predictions using an eddy cell model were more scalable than a model based on penetration theory.