Pressure drop and flooding in rotating packed beds

Abstract

Rotating packed beds (RPB) are an intensified alternative to conventional absorption columns. RPBs could substantially reduce costs associated with reactive-absorption processes, such as post-combustion CO2 capture. This study presents internal radial pressure profiles obtained experimentally from inside a rotating packed bed. This approach allows the individual contributions to the overall pressure drop to be investigated in greater detail than previous studies. Experiments examined the effect of rotation speed, gas flow and liquid flow on pressure drop in RPBs. The result illustrated the pressure drop can be described well using a simple 1D pressure drop contribution model. The casing pressure drop is due in part to a free vortex that forms in the RPB eye, along with entrance and exit losses. This result improves understanding of gas pressure drop, and how these factors affect the performance and design of full-scale RPBs.