Simulation of Flooding Phenomenon in Packed Column using Electrical Capacitance Tomography

Abstract

Packed column flooding is caused by an excessive liquid enters a packed column, leading to a significant increase in pressure drop, liquid hold-up, and loss in separation efficiency. In this simulation study, electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is used to monitor the flooding phenomenon in a packed column by inferring the liquid hold-up from the reconstructed images. A simulation study is implemented to reconstruct the liquid phase distributions across the structured packed column by using ECT during the flooding process. The flooding phenomenon is simulated by adding a different amount of water droplets from the bottom of the packed column to above. The capacitances measured using the ECT sensor are then used to reconstruct the images of the liquid phase distributions. A significant difference in the liquid phase distributions and the liquid hold-up can be observed during the flooding region. Simulation results demonstrate that ECT is capable of monitoring and further predicting the flooding phenomenon with high-fidelity liquid phase distribution image and the calculated liquid hold-up.