Abstract
The computational fluid dynamics-population balance model (CFD-PBM) has been presented and used to evaluate the bubble behavior in a large-scale high pressure bubble column with an inner diameter of 300 mm and a height of 6600 mm. In the heterogeneous flow regime, bubbles can be divided into “large bubbles” and “small bubbles” by a critical bubble diameter dc. In this study, large and small bubbles were classified according to different slopes in the experiment only by the method of dynamic gas disengagement, the critical bubble diameter was determined to be 7 mm by the experimental results and the simulation values. In addition, the effects of superficial gas velocity, operating pressure, surface tension and viscosity on gas holdup of large and small bubbles in gas–liquid two-phase flow were investigated using a CFD-PBM coupling model. The results show that the gas holdup of small and large bubbles increases rapidly with the increase of superficial gas velocity. With the increase of pressure, the gas holdup of small bubbles increases significantly, and the gas holdup of large bubbles increase slightly. Under the same superficial gas velocity, the gas holdup of large bubbles increases with the decrease of viscosity and the decrease of surface tension, but the gas holdup of small bubbles increases significantly. The simulated values of the coupled model have a good agreement with the experimental values, which can be applied to the parameter estimation of the high pressure bubble column system.
Highlights
As a common multi-phase reactor, the bubble column reactor has been widely used in petrochemical, fermentation, waste water treatment, mineral processing and metallurgy industries due to its lack of mechanically operated parts, large phase-contacting area, easy operation, high mass transfer and heat transfer efficiency [1,2,3]
The results showed that the gas holdup of small bubbles increased rapidly with the increase of pressure, while the gas holdup of large bubbles basically remained unchanged or decreased slightly
The aim of this study was to divide the bubbles into large and small bubbles from the mesoscopic scale, and the coupling computational fluid dynamics-population balance model (CFD-PBM) model was used to simulate the results of the literature and present the effect of superficial gas velocity, operating pressure, surface tension, viscosity and other conditions on the gas holdup of large and small bubbles
Summary
As a common multi-phase reactor, the bubble column reactor has been widely used in petrochemical, fermentation, waste water treatment, mineral processing and metallurgy industries due to its lack of mechanically operated parts, large phase-contacting area, easy operation, high mass transfer and heat transfer efficiency [1,2,3]. It is closely related to the bubble size and the superficial gas velocity [5] These parameters will be more or less affected by the hydrodynamic characteristics, such as the style of the gas distributor [6], the column diameter, the liquid height [7] and the liquid properties [8]. It is a focus issue for the design, optimization and scale-up of the bubble column reactor to optimize these operation parameters to improve the gas holdup and phase interface area in the column
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