Effects of internals on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2024.10.005

中国化学工程学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 77 ›› Issue (1): 19-29.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2024.10.005

Effects of internals on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column

Shijie Liu¹, Jin Liang¹, Qin Li¹, Hui Yu¹, Haoliang Wang², Xiangyang Li¹, Chao Yang²

1. School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China;
2. CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Molecular & Process Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

收稿日期:2024-08-11 修回日期:2024-10-14 接受日期:2024-10-15 出版日期:2025-01-28 发布日期:2024-11-08
通讯作者: Xiangyang Li,E-mail:xyli2065@scu.edu.cn
基金资助:
National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178228, 22378271) are gratefully acknowledged.

Effects of internals on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column

Shijie Liu¹, Jin Liang¹, Qin Li¹, Hui Yu¹, Haoliang Wang², Xiangyang Li¹, Chao Yang²

1. School of Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China;
2. CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Molecular & Process Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Received:2024-08-11 Revised:2024-10-14 Accepted:2024-10-15 Online:2025-01-28 Published:2024-11-08
Contact: Xiangyang Li,E-mail:xyli2065@scu.edu.cn
Supported by:
National Natural Science Foundation of China (22178228, 22378271) are gratefully acknowledged.

摘要/Abstract

摘要： The effects of internals on liquid mixing and gas—liquid mass transfer have rarely been investigated in bubble columns, and the commonly used measurement method overestimates significantly overall gas holdup. Firstly, gas holdup measurement method is improved by conducting multi-point liquid level measurement and using net fluid volume instead of bed volume to calculate gas holdup. Then, a stable conductivity method for liquid macromixing has been established by shielding large bubbles using #16 nylon mesh. Subsequently, the influences of internal coverage (=12.6%, 18.9% and 25.1%) on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column with a free wall area are systematically investigated. It is found that the presence of internals has a notable effect on macroscopic fluid dynamics. The overall gas holdup and gas—liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient decrease, and the macromixing time decreases with the increase of internal cross-sectional area coverage. These are mainly caused by the uneven distribution of airflow due to the low resistance in the free wall area. This design makes maintenance easier, but in reality, the reactor performance has decreased. Further improvements will be made to the reactor performance based on such a configuration through flow guidance using baffles.

关键词: Bubble column, Internals, Macroscopic fluid dynamics, Mixing, Mass transfer

Abstract: The effects of internals on liquid mixing and gas—liquid mass transfer have rarely been investigated in bubble columns, and the commonly used measurement method overestimates significantly overall gas holdup. Firstly, gas holdup measurement method is improved by conducting multi-point liquid level measurement and using net fluid volume instead of bed volume to calculate gas holdup. Then, a stable conductivity method for liquid macromixing has been established by shielding large bubbles using #16 nylon mesh. Subsequently, the influences of internal coverage (=12.6%, 18.9% and 25.1%) on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column with a free wall area are systematically investigated. It is found that the presence of internals has a notable effect on macroscopic fluid dynamics. The overall gas holdup and gas—liquid volumetric mass transfer coefficient decrease, and the macromixing time decreases with the increase of internal cross-sectional area coverage. These are mainly caused by the uneven distribution of airflow due to the low resistance in the free wall area. This design makes maintenance easier, but in reality, the reactor performance has decreased. Further improvements will be made to the reactor performance based on such a configuration through flow guidance using baffles.

Key words: Bubble column, Internals, Macroscopic fluid dynamics, Mixing, Mass transfer

Shijie Liu, Jin Liang, Qin Li, Hui Yu, Haoliang Wang, Xiangyang Li, Chao Yang. Effects of internals on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column[J]. 中国化学工程学报, 2025, 77(1): 19-29.

Shijie Liu, Jin Liang, Qin Li, Hui Yu, Haoliang Wang, Xiangyang Li, Chao Yang. Effects of internals on macroscopic fluid dynamics in a bubble column[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2025, 77(1): 19-29.

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