Investigating pressure drop across wire mesh mist eliminators in bubble column

Abstract

Effects of design parameters on pressure drop across the wire mesh mist eliminators were experimentally investigated in 15cm bubble column. The pressure drop across the demister pad was evaluated as a function of wide ranges of operating and design parameters. These parameters include: specific surface area (236–868m2/m3), void fraction (97–99%), wire diameter (0.14–0.28mm), packing density (130–240kg/m3), and superficial gas velocity (0.109–0.118m/s). All demisters were 15cm in diameter with 10cm pad thickness, made from 316L stainless steel layered type. Experiments were carried out using air–water system at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The measurements of the pressure drop were done using a U-tube manometer device. The pressure drop across the demister pad is a combination of dry and wet pressure drops. In this work, the experimental investigations showed that the dry pressure drop is nil. The wet pressure drop was found to increase with increasing the demister specific surface area, packing density, and superficial gas velocity. In contrast, it was found to increase with decreasing the demister void fraction and wire diameter. The pressure drop is correlated empirically as a function of the design parameters. A good agreement was obtained between the measured values and the correlation predictions with ±15% accuracy.