Taylor flow bubble transport characteristics of low partial pressure CO2 absorption in a serpentine micro contactor

Abstract

Due to small axial back-mixing, wide operating range and simple control, Taylor flow in microfluidic system has potentially used in many fields including chemical processing, environment control, biomedical engineering and thermal management. Quantifying and manipulating absorption characteristics is significant for Taylor flow during the mass transfer process, especially for CO2 purification or CO2 enrichment under low partial pressure CO2. Firstly, a physical model for the liquid film distribution around the bubble is raised, and a more applicable equation of liquid film thickness is established in case of low partial pressure CO2 in a serpentine micro contactor. Secondly, bubble transport characteristics during absorption process including bubble velocity, gas holdup and net leakage flow are systematically determined in the serpentine micro contactor. The influences of the physical properties, inertial effect and configuration of the micro contactor on the bubble transport characteristics are analyzed simultaneously. Thirdly, the prediction is also made for net leakage flow within the experimental scope of 0.001 < CaTP <0.055, 0.06 < WeTP < 9.10, 18 < ReTP < 460, 10 < Dn < 155. Thus, this work provide equations to quantify the absorption characteristics quickly and accurately based on the liquid film distribution model in the serpentine micro contactor, which is of fundamental importance for the low partial pressure CO2 physical absorption.