Simultaneous Momentum, Mass, and Energy Transfer Analysis of a Distillation Sieve Tray Using CFD Techniques: Prediction of Efficiencies

Abstract

Conventional models for distillation columns are based on equilibrium and nonequilibrium stage concepts. Although equilibrium and nonequilibrium stage models provide useful results, they neglect the fluid dynamics phenomena by assuming a perfect mixture on the plates in each phase. However, the flow pattern on a distillation tray is of great importance in terms of the mass and energy transfer mechanisms, and this influence can only be analyzed by carrying out a fluid dynamics study. The main objective of this study is to obtain experimental data of clear liquid height in a distillation sieve tray apparatus operating with air and water, and to apply a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model in a Eulerian−Eulerian framework for gas−liquid flows that is able to predict the momentum, mass, and thermal phenomena of multiphase flows. A two-phase, three-dimensional and transient model with chemical species, energy, and momentum conservation balances was applied to predict the volume fraction, velocity, pressure...