Hydrodynamics and bubble behaviour in a three-phase two-stage internal loop airlift reactor

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2018.03.020

Abstract

Abstract: Local hydrodynamics of a gas-liquid-solid system, such as bubble circulation regime, gas holdup, liquid velocity and axial profile of solid concentration, are studied in a two-stage internal loop airlift reactor. Empirical correlations for gas holdup and liquid velocity are proposed to ease the reactor design and scale-up. Different bubble circulation regimes were displayed in the first (lower) and second (upper) stages. Increasing superficial gas velocity and solid loading can promote regime transition of the second stage, and the gas holdup of the second stage is higher than that of the lower stage. In addition, the effects of solid loading on bubble behaviour are experimentally investigated for each stage. It is found that bubble size in the downcomer decreases with the presence of solid particles, and bubble size distribution widens under higher superficial gas velocity and lower solid loading.

Key words: Two-stage internal loop airlift reactor, Hydrodynamics, Bubble, Multiphase flow

摘要： Local hydrodynamics of a gas-liquid-solid system, such as bubble circulation regime, gas holdup, liquid velocity and axial profile of solid concentration, are studied in a two-stage internal loop airlift reactor. Empirical correlations for gas holdup and liquid velocity are proposed to ease the reactor design and scale-up. Different bubble circulation regimes were displayed in the first (lower) and second (upper) stages. Increasing superficial gas velocity and solid loading can promote regime transition of the second stage, and the gas holdup of the second stage is higher than that of the lower stage. In addition, the effects of solid loading on bubble behaviour are experimentally investigated for each stage. It is found that bubble size in the downcomer decreases with the presence of solid particles, and bubble size distribution widens under higher superficial gas velocity and lower solid loading.

关键词: Two-stage internal loop airlift reactor, Hydrodynamics, Bubble, Multiphase flow

Dan Li, Kai Guo, Jingnan Li, Yiping Huang, Junchao Zhou, Hui Liu, Chunjiang Liu. Hydrodynamics and bubble behaviour in a three-phase two-stage internal loop airlift reactor[J]. Chin.J.Chem.Eng., 2018, 26(6): 1359-1369.

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