Bubble Flow Rate Research Articles

TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Inside Ultrafine Ti Tubes with an Aspect Ratio of 2500 for Sensing Needles: The Bubble Effect in a Confined Space.

Capillary metal tubes have attracted considerable interest for flexible electronics, portable devices, trace sampling, and detection. Tailoring the microstructure and wettability inside the capillary tubes is of paramount importance, yet it presents great difficulty because of the spatial confinement. Here, the coupling effect is revealed between the fluidic and electric field induced by bubble motion in a confined space during anodic oxidation. By controlling the bubble regeneration and flow rate, uniform and superhydrophilic TiO2 nanotube arrays are developed throughout the inner surface of an ultrafine Ti tube with a diameter of 0.4mm and length of 1000mm, equivalent to an aspect ratio of 2500 that is the largest value being ever reported. The inner surface of a capillary tube is further coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene layer and explored as a sensing needle for liquid detection in terms of concentration and species. This study provides an innovative approach to tailor the microstructure and wettability in a confined space for functional capillary tubes.

Analysis of Bubble-Flow Characteristics in Scavenge Pipe and Establishment of a Flow-Prediction Model

In the modern aerospace industry, the importance of a lubrication system is self-evident for aero-engines, and the aero-engine bearing chamber return line is an even more challenging environment, as it involves a complex two-phase flow. The designer of the scavenge pipe needs to have an accurate understanding of the flow conditions in the scavenge pipe. This paper establishes a visual scavenge pipe test system. The flow direction was vertical flow, the test temperature was 370 k, and a high-speed camera was used to take high-definition flow photographs, which can observe the three main flow types: bubble flow, slug flow, and annular flow. Code program was created to analyze many pictures taken to obtain the apparent flow rate and perimeter of bubbles in the pipe under different flow conditions and to explore the gas–liquid two-phase flow in the scavenge pipe. A support vector machine (SVM) was used for data regression prediction, and the converted velocities of the gas–oil phases were inputted as eigenvalues to obtain the predicted values of bubble-flow velocity. The bubble-flow analysis prediction model established in this paper has a good prediction effect with root mean square error RMSE = 0.0172, which can more objectively and accurately describe the bubble-flow characteristics in the scavenge pipe.

Microbubble Oxidation for Fe2+ Removal from Hydrochloric Acid Laterite Ore Leachate.

After the atmospheric hydrochloric acid leaching method is used to treat laterite ore and initially purify it, the extract that results often contains a significant amount of Fe2+ impurities. A novel metallurgical process has been proposed that utilizes microbubble aeration to oxidize Fe2+ ions in laterite hydrochloric acid lixivium, facilitating subsequent separation and capitalizing on the benefits of microbubble technology, including its expansive specific surface area, negatively charged surface attributes, prolonged stagnation duration, and its capacity to produce active oxygen. The study examined the impacts of aeration aperture, stirring speed, oxygen flow rate, pH value, and reaction temperature. Under optimized experimental conditions, which included an aeration aperture of 0.45 µm, stirring at 500 rpm, a bubbling flow rate of 0.4 L/min, pH level maintained at 3.5, and a temperature range of 75-85 °C, the oxidation efficiency of Fe2+ surpassed 99%. An analysis of the mass transfer process revealed that microbubble aeration markedly enhances the oxygen mass transfer coefficient, measured at 0.051 s-1. The study also confirmed the self-catalytic properties of Fe2+ oxidation and conducted kinetic studies to determine an apparent activation energy of 399 kJ/mol. At pH values below 3.5, the reaction is solely governed by chemical reactions; however, at higher pH values (>3.5), both chemical reactions and oxygen dissolution jointly control the reaction.

Evaluation of passive acoustic methods for ambient noise baseline and gas flow rate quantification at a proposed nearshore carbon capture and storage site in Australia

Measurement, monitoring, and verification (MMV) is an integral component of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. Within an operational MMV equipment, hydrophone-based passive acoustic techniques are used to establish ambient noise baseline and flow rate quantification at short range, specifically to facilitate “detect-attribute-quantify” sequence of an MMV program. However, nearshore environments are acoustically complex with different soundscape components that can disproportionately dominate ambient noise levels, potentially masking acoustic signatures of bubbles used to quantify seabed gas seeps. Therefore, a robust baseline describing ambient noise variability across the range of frequencies associated with acoustic emissions of gas seeps is required, from which changes can be detected and monitored. In this context, hydrophone measurements from a proposed nearshore CCS site in Australia are analyzed to establish a temporally resolved baseline, identifying key drivers causing overall ambient noise variability. These results are compared with acoustic bubble spectrum features and flow rate estimates from a controlled in situgas release experiment to understand the likelihood of detecting bubbles and quantifying flow rate at the proposed CCS site. Despite the complexities of nearshore environment, the evaluation highlights that passive acoustic methods can provide a practical solution to complement quantification component of operational MMV programs.

Evaluation of passive acoustic methods for ambient noise baseline and gas flow rate quantification at a proposed nearshore carbon capture and storage site in Australia

Measurement, monitoring, and verification (MMV) is an integral component of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, providing valuable feedback for management practices and assuring integrity. Within an operational MMV equipment, hydrophone-based passive acoustic techniques are used to establish ambient noise baseline and flow rate quantification at short range, specifically to facilitate ‘detect-attribute-quantify’ sequence of an MMV program. But nearshore environments are acoustically complex with overlapping components of biophony, geophony, anthropophony, and deployment noise resulting from multiple instruments used for MMV. These soundscape components can disproportionately dominate ambient noise levels, potentially masking acoustic signatures of bubbles used to quantify seabed gas seeps. Therefore, a robust baseline describing ambient noise variability across the range of frequencies associated with acoustic emissions of gas seeps is required, from which changes can be detected and monitored. In this context, multi-year hydrophone measurements (20 Hz to 24 kHz) from a proposed nearshore CCS site in Australia are analysed to establish a temporally resolved baseline, identifying key drivers causing overall ambient noise variability. These results are compared with acoustic bubble spectrum features and flow rate estimates from a controlled in situ gas release experiment. The experiment was performed using a custom-made bubble generator at 1, 10, and 25 m range from the hydrophone to understand the likelihood of detecting bubbles and quantifying flow rate at the proposed CCS site. Despite the complexities of nearshore environment, the evaluation highlights that low-cost hydrophone-based passive acoustic methods can provide a practical solution to complement quantification component of operational MMV programs.

Polarization Multiplexing Based UOWC Systems Under Bubble Turbulence

High-speed and turbulence-tolerant transmission links are required to meet the growing demand for underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC). However, most previous works were implemented in statically simulated underwater channels with uniform temperature and salinity gradients irrespective of bubble motion. This paper presents an experimental demonstration of a polarization multiplexing (PolMux) based UOWC system considering bubble-induced turbulence. A theoretical transmission model is built and experiments are carried out to investigate the impact of bubble turbulence on PolMux transmission. The general rules of bubble impairments are summarized by manipulating different bubble flow rates, positions and bubble-effected region thicknesses. Moreover, to mitigate these effects, subchannel pairwise coding is implemented to address the subchannel signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) imbalance issue, and subcarrier pairwise coding is utilized to overcome the subcarrier SNR imbalance, reaching a sum data rate of 8.58 Gbps. This work evaluates the performance of PolMux-UOWC links in the presence of air bubbles and demonstrates the feasibility of pairwise coding to achieve high-speed transmission in UOWC systems with bubble turbulence.

Characterizing bubble behavior in a pseudo‐2D fluidized bed of wet particles

AbstractBy applying digital image analysis on the bubble characteristics in a two dimensional wet‐particle fluidized‐bed, we report two‐stage evolution of bubble characteristics with increasing liquid content. In the first stage, bubble number and uniformity of bubble fraction increase, while bubble average diameter and aspect ratio decrease. In the second stage, these characteristics shift toward an opposite direction. This two‐stage evolution of bubble characteristics are analogous to that of reducing particle size in dry‐particle fluidization, and the fluidizing properties of particles shifts from Geldart Group B to Group A and then to Group C. Furthermore, liquid addition causes a continuous decrease of bubble fraction and bubble flow rate. This is different from dry‐particle fluidization, in which reducing particle size causes an increase trend. An explanation for this difference is that liquid addition increases the equivalent size of agglomerates in wet‐particle fluidization, which is opposite to the effect of reducing particle size.

Thermal performance analysis of ice thermal storage device based on micro heat pipe arrays: Role of bubble-driven flow

In this paper, bubble-driven flow mechanism is applied to an ice thermal storage device based on micro heat pipe arrays. A visual experimental system is established to investigate the effect of bubble-driven flow on the performance of proposed device. The temperature distribution of water/ice, charging/discharging time, charging/discharging power, real-time phase change behaviors and phase change rate without bubble injection and at different bubble flow rates are compared. Based on without bubble injection, the temperature uniformity are significantly promoted by 57.14% and 56.07% in the sensible heat charging/discharging stage, while the improvement of the latent heat charging/discharging stage is not obvious. In addition, the negative effect of bubble-driven flow in the latent heat charging stage is greater than the positive effect in the sensible heat charging stage, thereby the charging time increases by 19.46%, and the charging power decreases by 17.91%. However, bubble-driven flow is positive for the entire discharging process, especially for the latent heat discharging stage, bubbles boost the decomposition of ice layer, the discharging time decreases by 20%, and the discharging power raises by 31.07%. Therefore, the operation strategy of turning on bubble driven-flow during the discharging process and turning it off during the charging process is recommended.

Optical Properties and Photocatalytic Performance of Si/TiO2 Tandem Semiconductor Microwire Slurries

Semiconductor particle suspension reactors hold promise as a possible low-cost strategy for solar water-splitting, but they face several challenges that have inhibited their solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiencies. A tandem microparticle with a buried junction addresses some of these challenges and offers a pathway to high STH efficiency. As a slurry, the tandem microparticles need to be suspended and well dispersed with maximum light absorption for a minimal photoactive particle concentration. Herein, proof-of-concept Ni/np+-Si/FTO/TiO2 tandem microwire structures capable of unassisted solar water-splitting were investigated as a slurry using uplifting N2 carrier gas bubbles. Transmittance, reflectance, and absorptance of the slurry were characterized as a function of wavelength, bubble flowrate, and tandem microwire concentration using an integrating sphere. Notably, a slurry absorptance of 70–85% was achieved with only 1% of the solution volume filled with a photoactive material. Photochemical activity of the slurry was characterized with in situ monitoring of the photodegradation of methylene blue, including the effects of particle concentration, bubble flowrate, spectral mismatch, intermixed light scattering particles, and a back reflector.

Microbubble-Assisted Cleaning-in-Place Process for Ultrafiltration System and Its Environmental Performance

Membrane filtration is a key technology in dairy processing for the separation of dairy liquids to clarify, concentrate, and fractionate a variety of dairy products. Ultrafiltration (UF) is widely applied for whey separation, protein concentration and standardization, and lactose-free milk production, though its performance can be hindered by membrane fouling. As an automated cleaning process commonly used in the food and beverage industries, cleaning in place (CIP) uses large amounts of water, chemicals, and energy, resulting in significant environmental impacts. This study introduced micron-scale air-filled bubbles (microbubbles; MBs) with mean diameters smaller than 5 μm into cleaning liquids to clean a pilot-scale UF system. During the UF of model milk for concentration, cake formation was identified as the dominant membrane fouling mechanism. The MB-assisted CIP process was conducted at two bubble number densities (2021 and 10,569 bubbles per mL of cleaning liquid) and two flow rates (130 and 190 L/min). For all the cleaning conditions tested, MB addition largely increased the membrane flux recovery by 31-72%; however, the effects of bubble density and flow rate were insignificant. Alkaline wash was found to be the main step in removing proteinaceous foulant from the UF membrane, though MBs did not show a significant effect on the removal due to the operational uncertainty of the pilot-scale system. The environmental benefits of MB incorporation were quantified by a comparative life cycle assessment and the results indicated that MB-assisted CIP had up to 37% lower environmental impact than control CIP. This is the first study incorporating MBs into a full CIP cycle at the pilot scale and proving their effectiveness in enhancing membrane cleaning. This novel CIP process can help reduce water and energy use in dairy processing and improve the environmental sustainability of the dairy industry.

Ultrasonic Traveling Waves for Near-Wall Positioning of Single Microbubbles in a Flowing Channel.

Although microbubbles are used primarily in the medical industry as ultrasonic contrast agents, they can also be manipulated by acoustic waves for targeted drug delivery, sonothrombolysis and sonoporation. Acoustic waves can also potentially remove microbubbles from tubing systems (e.g., in hemodialysis) to prevent the negative effects associated with circulating microbubbles. A deeper understanding of the interactions between the acoustic radiation force, the microbubble and the channel wall could greatly benefit these applications. In this study, single air-filled microbubbles were injected into a flowing (polydimethylsiloxane) channel and monitored by a high-speed camera while passing through a pulsed ultrasonic wave zone (0.5 MHz). This study compared various bubble sizes, flow rates and acoustic pressure amplitudes to better understand the three physical regimes observed: free bubble translation (away from the wall); on-wall translation; and bubble-wall attachment. Comparison with a theoretical model revealed that the acoustic radiation force needs to exceed the combined repulsive forces (shear lift, wall lubrication and repulsive Van der Waal forces) for the dead state of bubble-wall attachment. The bubble dynamics revealed through this investigation provide an opportunity for efficient positioning of microbubbles in a channel flow, for either in vivo manipulation or removal in biological applications.

Irradiance penetration distribution and flashing light frequency simultaneously affected with microalgal cell absorption and CO2 bubble scattering in a raceway pond

In order to investigate light penetration and flashing light frequency for microalgal cell-CO2 bubble culture system in a raceway pond, user-defined function for CO2 mass transfer and bubble scattering models coupled with discrete ordinates radiation model were adopted to clarify simultaneous effects of microalgal cell absorption and CO2 bubble scattering. Light intensity along the microalgal suspension depth attenuated more rapidly with increased biomass concentration, decreased bubble generation diameter, increased CO2 gas content and incident light intensity. Ratio of light zone decreased from 81.13 % to 20.00 % when biomass concentration increased from 0 to 0.4 g/L because of light absorption and shading effects of microalgae. When bubble generation diameter increased from 0.1 to 1.6 mm, ratio of light zone increased from 37.95 % to 42.64 %, while microalgal flashing light cycle first decreased to a valley of 1.81 s at 0.8 mm and then increased. Local light intensity in the upper layers was more enhanced due to lots of CO2 bubbles gathering and reflecting more light with decreased bubble diameter and increased gas content. Light attenuated more rapidly in microalgal suspension with decreased bubble generation diameter and increased CO2 gas content because of increased bubble diffraction coefficient and contact area. When initial CO2 volume fraction increased from 0.02 to 0.2, flashing light frequency of microalgal cells decreased from 0.55 to 0.29 Hz and light zone time ratio φ decreased from 36.90 % to 18.40 %. At a biomass concentration of 0.1 g/L and a bubble flow rate of 0.1 m/s, the maximum light penetration and microalgal growth rate was achieved when bubble diameter, incident light intensity and gas content were optimally at 0.8 mm, 200 W/m2 and 0.02, respectively. This work provides data support and theoretical guidance for photobioreactor design and optimization of light energy utilization.

Experimental and Numerical Prediction of Wetting Fronts Size Created by Sub-Surface Bubble Irrigation System

A bubble irrigation system (BIS) is a subsurface irrigation method recently introduced that may provide a better mechanism in terms of flow regulation, as it involves mainly the exchange of water and air bubbles under slight negative pressure. The negative pressure flow was created using inverted closed plastic bottles (ICPB) that connected to an elevated closed tank. Understanding the characteristics of wetting fronts is key in designing this irrigation system. This paper mainly presents the principles of BIS, the experimental measurements and software simulation of BIS wetting patterns, and the development of statistical models for BIS wetting patterns dimensions estimation. Laboratory experiments were accomplished to measure the BIS’s sharp-wetting fronts variation with four diameters of contact areas of ICPB and two different soil types, namely SS1 and SS2. In addition, numerical simulations using a 2D HYDRUS were performed to explore the possibility of using the simulated non-sharp wetting fronts in predicting BIS wetting fronts. The experimental results and numerical simulations show that the soil properties and the area of contact have a significant impact on the bubble flow rate and the shape and size of the wetting patterns. The hydraulic conductivity and the density of soil SS2, which were 62 and 22 percent, respectively, higher than soil SS1, have resulted in average incremental ratios of wetted depth and width by 94 and 178 percent, respectively. Results also show that more than 50 percent of the growth of wetting fronts’ width and depth occurred rapidly at the early portion of irrigation time before flattening at the latter time, indicating the effectiveness of the air–water exchange in regulating the amount of water supplied and in controlling wetting fronts propagation. Furthermore, based on experimental and simulation results, regression models have been developed for estimation of bubble flow rates and the size of wetting fronts. The developed models can be reliably used to predict the bubble flow rate and size of wetting patterns with high accuracy.

Growth and pigment production of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under shear stress

AbstractCyanobacteria, such as Synechocystis, have recently become attractive hosts for sustainable production of biofuels and bio‐fixation of CO2 due to their genetic tractability and relatively fast growth. Cultivation of cyanobacteria requires shear stress, which is generated by mixing and air bubbling. In the present work, the impact of shear stress caused by stirring and air bubbling on the growth and pigment production of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is investigated. For this purpose, agitated and airlift bubble column photobioreactors were used. The results showed that the growth and yield production were improved by mixing the culture system. However, there is a limit to this improvement: In the case of air bubbling, increasing shear stress (by rising air bubbling flow rate) to more than 185 mPa did not show any significant growth enhancement, while increasing the shear stress from 40 to 185 mPa improved the yield production up to 85%. At the optimal stirring rate, the yield production in the stirred photobioreactors increased by about 60% as compared to that of unstirred culture. The measurements of chlorophylla and carotenoid showed a strong correlation between biomass production and total pigment content. The highest level of cellular pigment (pigment per cell) was detected at the early stages of culture growth when cells were preparing for the rapid exponential growth phase.

Critical Flux and Fouling Analysis of PVDF-Mixed Matrix Membranes for Reclamation of Refinery-Produced Wastewater: Effect of Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids Concentration and Aeration.

Fouling tends to cause a significant increase in hydraulic resistance, decreased permeate flux, or increased transmembrane pressure (TMP) when a process is operated under constant TMP or constant flux conditions. To control membrane fouling and maintain sustainable operation, the concept of critical flux has been discussed by several researchers. Various fouling mechanisms, such as macromolecule adsorption, pore plugging, or cake build-up, as well as hydrodynamic conditions, for example aeration, can take place at the membrane surface. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) concentration and air bubble flow rate (ABFR) on the critical flux and fouling behavior, when treating refinery-produced wastewater. To determine the critical flux values, the experimental flux-steps were the following: (1) the filtration began with a 30 min step duration at a low flux (10 to 20 L/m2h); (2) at the end of this step (after 30 min), the permeate flux was increased, (3) this step was repeated until the TMP did not remain constant at the constant permeate flux, (4) the critical flux was then achieved. A critical flux model with an R2 of 0.9 was, therefore, derived, which indicates that the particle properties were regulated by the suspended solids. The increase of MLSS concentration, from 3 mg/L to 4.5 mg/L, resulted in a decrease of the permeate flux by 18%. Moreover, an increase in ABFR, from 1.2 mL/min to 2.4 mL/min, increased the permeate flux, but this decreased with a greater flow rate of aeration. To assess the stability and reversibility of fouling during critical flux (Jc) determination using a mixed matrix membrane, flux-step methods were utilized. A step height of 14.3 L/m2h and 30 min duration were arbitrarily chosen. The flux increased to 32.5 L/m2h with a slight increase of trans membrane pressure (TMP), while the rate of increase became significant at a higher flux of 143.6 L/m2h, due to fouling. Overall, this study proved that the response of MLSS concentration and aeration affected the membrane performance, based on the critical flux and fouling behavior.

A micro-scale rheometer to study foam texture and flow resistance in planar fractures.

We designed and fabricated a new microfluidic device to better enable study of foam microstructure and rheology in planar fractures. The design phase included stress-strain finite element analysis to enhance the pressure tolerance of the device. The optimized design is a 2 cm wide by 7.75 cm long rough fracture that includes 25 posts to anchor the glass cover plate. The posts simulate asperities and provide structural support during bonding of a glass cover plate to the device. Importantly, the new design illustrates improved ability to sustain large differential pressure compared to previous designs in the literature. The rheometer permits study of the relationship among foam bubble morphology, pressure drop, and flow rates. Our findings validated the previous, sparse microvisual studies mentioned in the literature and confirmed that small quality foam, ranging from 20 to 50% gas by volume, contains dispersed bubbles separated by liquid lenses. In this range, the distribution of bubble sizes was roughly 80-90% small uniform bubbles and only 10-20% of larger and more elongated bubbles. Additionally, our studies reveal that foam apparent viscosity is a strong function of foam quality, velocity, and texture (i.e., bubble size). Apparent viscosity of foam ranged from 100 to 600 cP for the conditions studied. High quality foams in fractures are independent of gas flow rates but very sensitive to liquid flow rates. On the other hand, low quality foams are sensitive to gas flow rates but independent of liquid flow rates.

Experimental investigation of the heat transfer from the helical coil heat exchanger using bubble injection for cold thermal energy storage system

This study investigates cold thermal energy storage (CTES) using a helical coil heat exchanger modified with bubble injection. One of the effective methods for increasing the heat transfer rate in heat exchangers is using bubble injection. A helical coil heat exchanger is immersed inside a cylindrical water storage tank, where the helical coil is the evaporator of a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC) and provides the designed cooling. Experimental studies were carried out to examine the impact of bubble injection on Nusselt number, the temperature differences in the storage tank, exergy degradation in the evaporator, and cycle coefficient of performance (COP). The bubbles were injected from the bottom of the storage tank in four different geometries at airflow rates ranging from 3 to 11 L/min. The experimental results of this study revealed that bubble injection could significantly increase the COP and heat transfer rate from the storage tank, as well as the exergy destruction and Nusselt number (Nu). This increase was highly dependent on the geometry and flow rate of the bubble injection. The results also indicated that the bubble injection has an optimal flow rate value, which was 9 L/min in this study. More specifically, the COP of the refrigeration cycle and the Nu number increased by 124% and 452%, respectively, compared to the non-bubble injection mode. Finally, for calculating the outside Nusselt number of the helical coil, an empirical correlation as a function of bubble flow rate and bubble injection angle was proposed.

Dense upflow fluidized bed (DUFB) solar receivers of high aspect ratio: Different fluidization modes through inserting bubble rupture promoters

A fluidized bed of Geldart-A particles is promoted as heat transfer fluid in the tubular solar receivers of solar towers. A pressure-driven upward particle flow affects the hydrodynamic flow structure and properties of the fluidized bed. Experiments involved a tube of 0.05 m internal diameter but of very high height/diameter ratio (>120), representative of the future solar receiver and of numerous chemical reactors. Solid circulation fluxes and aeration velocities were varied. Configurations of a bare tube and a tube with bubble rupture promoters were compared. In the bare tube, freely bubbling is transformed into axi-symmetric slugging at a bed level of ~1 m. With bubble rupture promoters, freely bubbling prevails to about a bed level of 3 m, and a turbulent fluidization mode develops higher up the tube (a more chaotic two-phase system with elongated and unstable “gas voids” and “dense solid clusters”), without axi-symmetric slugging detected. Experimental results for both tube configurations were assessed and compared with CFD predictions by the Euler n-fluid code, NEPTUNE_CFD. A good agreement of bed properties was obtained for slug/void frequencies and solids volume fraction in both tube configurations. BRPs moreover enhance the bubble through flow of the fluidizing gas, thus limiting the visible bubble flow rate and bubble sizes while increasing the gas/particle contact, and hence important in designing multi-tube chemical reactors. Whereas slugging limits the heat transfer from the tube wall to the suspension at ~200 W/m2K, the presence of BRPs maintains a heat transfer coefficient in excess of 600 W/m2K.

Kinetics and mechanistic aspects of removal of heavy metal through gas-liquid sulfide precipitation: A computational and experimental study

The production of fine particles from extremely high supersaturation has challenged the application of sulfide precipitation in treating heavy metal wastewater due to the difficulty of solid-liquid separation. To this end, a gas-liquid sulfide precipitation reactor for the removal of Cu2+ was designed by controlling the mass transfer and supersaturation levels during sulfidation processes. Particularly, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the reactor, integrating sulfidation reaction kinetics with two-phase flow hydrodynamics, was first built, followed by examining the effects of H2S(g) bubble diameter and flow rate. Based on the CFD simulation, the rate-limiting step of the gas-liquid sulfide precipitation reaction is the gas-liquid mass transfer process. Either reducing H2S(g) bubble diameter or increasing H2S(g) flow rate can result in the control of reaction rate and supersaturation level in the system. In order to validate the CFD simulations, we measured Cu2+ concentrations during the sulfidation process with the batch experiments. The agreement between computational and experimental results indicated that our mechanistic model can provide a protocol for the design and optimization of the reaction system, allowing one to visualize the time-dependent reaction process and evaluate the performance of a reactor.

Regulation of electro-optical activities of nanostructured SnO2:Al powders by using a micro drop fluidized reactor

Nanostructured SnO2:Al powders were prepared and their electro-optical activities were regulated by using a micro drop fluidized reactor (MDFR), which were conducted continuously in a simple one-step process without additional calcination, annealing, and drying steps. The crystallite size and BET surface area (up to a 2.6 times) increased but bandgap energy of SnO2:Al powders decreased, respectively, by providing the unique pyro-hydraulic reaction conditions during the formation of powders. The micro shear force and strain generated due to the fluidization of micro drops could enhance the doping effects and surface activities of SnO2:Al powders. The analyzes of room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra, UV–vis photospectroscope and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) exhibited that the surface activities of SnO2:Al powders were enhanced considerably by regulating the excitation and separation of electrons and holes and increasing the oxygen vacancies at the surface of SnO2:Al powders by means of UMB control. The optimum amount of dopant of Al3+ ions (CAl) and flow rate of micro bubbles (UMB) for effective surface activities were 2.0at% and 1.0 L/min, respectively. The scheme of photocatalytic mechanism of SnO2:Al powders to degrade the methylene blue (MB) was discussed by means of surface charge transfer and morphology of the powders.