Bubble column applications

Two-phase gaslwater injector nozzles are mostly used in pilot- or full-scale bubble column applications (Krost, 1995) or in specialized, newly developed reactor types. An example is the Submerged Impinging Zone Reactor (IZR) (Gaddis and Vogelpohl, 1992 Air Products, 1998), which is constructed for very high mass-transfer rates. 

Juvekar and Sharma (50) only compared their results with those of Mashelkar (58) but found good agreement. However, unlike packed column, it is exceedingly difficult to accept the ideal flow pattern of Table 4 for many bubble column applications. Indeed, the backmixing in the liquid phase is unavoidable and it usually reduces the contactor performance. Many authors (7,59-64) have employed the axial dispersion model for the liquid phase -in some cases the gas phase too. One of the most sophisticated design procedure was described by Deckwer (63,64) who showed that... 

An extensive treaunent of gas-liquid flows encountered in industry applications, along with numerous design correlations can be found in Volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Fluid Mechanics - Gas-Liquid Flows (N. P. Cheremisinoff, editor. Gulf Publishing Co, Houston, TX, 1986). Further discussions in this volume can be found in Chapter 4 with regard to flow regimes typically encountered in bubble columns and similar devices. 

An investigation into the applicability of numerical residence time distribution was carried out on a pilot-scale annular bubble column reactor. Validation of the results was determined experimentally with a good degree of correlation. The liquid phase showed to be heavily dependent on the liquid flow, as expected, but also with the direction of travel. Significantly larger man residence times were observed in the cocurrent flow mode, with the counter-current mode exhibiting more chaimeling within the system, which appears to be contributed to by the gas phase. 

Pareek, V., M.P. Brungs, and A.A. Adesina, Photocausticization of Spent Bayer liquor A Pilot-Scale Study. Advances in Environmental Research, 2003. 7(2) p. 411-420. Bertola, F., M. Vanni, and G. Baldi, Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics to Multiphase Flow in Bubble Columns. International journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, 2003. 1 p. A3. 

The 1980 s and the early 1990 s have seen the blossoming development of the biotechnology field. Three-phase fluidized bed bioreactors have become an essential element in the commercialization of processes to yield products and treat wastewater via biological mechanisms. Fluidized bed bioreactors have been applied in the areas of wastewater treatment, discussed previously, fermentation, and cell culture. The large scale application of three-phase fluidized bed or slurry bubble column fermen-tors are represented by ethanol production in a 10,000 liter fermentor (Samejima et al., 1984), penicillin production in a 200 liter fermentor (Endo et al., 1986), and the production of monoclonal antibodies in a 1,000 liter slurry bubble column bioreactor (Birch et al., 1985). Fan (1989) provides a complete review of biological applications of three-phase fluidized beds up to 1989. Part II of this chapter covers the recent developments in three-phase fluidized bed bioreactor technology. 

The computation performed in this study is based on the model equations developed in this study as presented in Sections II.A, III.A, III.B, and III.C These equations are incorporated into a 3-D hydrodynamic solver, CFDLIB, developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Kashiwa et al., 1994). In what follows, simple cases including a single air bubble rising in water, and bubble formation from a single nozzle in bubble columns are first simulated. To verify the accuracy of the model, experiments are also conducted for these cases and the experimental results are compared with the simulation results. Simulations are performed to account for the bubble-rise phenomena in liquid solid suspensions with single nozzles. Finally, the interactive behavior between bubbles and solid particles is examined. The bubble formation and rise from multiple nozzles is simulated, and the limitation of the applicability of the models is discussed. 

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is rapidly becoming a standard tool for the analysis of chemically reacting flows. For single-phase reactors, such as stirred tanks and empty tubes, it is already well-established. For multiphase reactors such as fixed beds, bubble columns, trickle beds and fluidized beds, its use is relatively new, and methods are still under development. The aim of this chapter is to present the application of CFD to the simulation of three-dimensional interstitial flow in packed tubes, with and without catalytic reaction. Although the use of... 

Substituting for uc from equation 7.26 allows equation 7.27 to be written in the form of equation 7.25. This result expresses the interaction between the particles (or bubbles) and the liquid and is therefore applicable also to cases in which the net flux is non-zero, as in bubble columns. 

Sluny bubble column reactors have many applications in both industrial and environmental processes. For example, they are used in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis in industry, or in wastewater treatment. The most important applications of these reactors are presented in Table 3.8 (Shall et al, 1982). 

The most important applications of slurry bubble column reactors ... 

In this case, the model equations derived for the slurry bubble column reactor are applicable. Note that if the gas-phase concentration is constant, the gas-phase material balance is not needed (where the two reactors have different model equations). 

In this case, the material balance in the liquid phase (3.238) is not applicable as both reactants are gases. Furthermore, as in sluny bubble columns, if the liquid is batch, the overall rate based on the bulk gas-phase concentration is used and the overall mass-transfer coefficient K° is found in the solution of the model (Chapter 5). 

Continuous flow of both phases in upflow and complete mixing of phases For packed bubble columns (upflow of both gas and liquid phases), under the assumption of complete mixed flow, the backmixing model of Ramachandran and Chaudhari (1980) is applicable. The relevant equations are presented in Section 3.5.1 for the continuous flow of gas and slurry phases in complete mixed-flow conditions (slurry CSTR reactor). 

In connection with the engineering content of the book, a large number of reactors is analyzed two- and three-phase (slurry) agitated reactors (batch and continuous flow), two-and three-phase fixed beds (fixed beds, trickle beds, and packed bubble beds), three-phase (slurry) bubble columns, and two-phase fluidized beds. All these reactors are applicable to catalysis two-phase fixed and fluidized beds and agitated tank reactors concern adsorption and ion exchange as well. 

Standard correlations for in an aerated stirred tank and the bubble column were provided in Chapter 7. However, such correlations were obtained under simplified conditions and may not be applicable to real fermentors without modifications. Various factors that are not taken into account in those standard correlations may influence the k a values in aerobic fermentors used in practice. 

PVC is a very inexpensive material that can be used for lab-scale ozone reactors, however, it is slowly but progressively attacked by ozone. Bubble columns or tube reactors can easily be constructed from PVC tubes. Generally, gas tightness is best achieved by welding, but it can only be operated at ambient pressure (Pabs =100 kPa). Its use in full-scale applications has seldom been reported (see Table A 3-5). 

Bubble columns and various modifications such as airlift reactors, impinging-jet-reactors, downflow bubble columns are frequently used in lab-scale ozonation experiments. Moderate /qa-values in the range of 0.005-0.01 s l can be achieved in simple bubble columns (Martin et al. 1994 Table 2-4 ). Due to the ease of operation they are mostly operated in a cocurrent mode. Countercurrent mode of operation, up-flow gas and down-flow liquid, has seldom been reported for lab-scale studies, but can easily be achieved by means of applying an internal recycle-flow of the liquid, pumping it from the bottom to the top of the reactor. The advantage is an increased level of the dissolved ozone concentration cL in the reactor (effluent), which is especially important in the case of low contaminant concentrations (c(M)) and/or low reaction rate constants, i. e. typical drinking water applications... 

Stirred tank reactors (STR) are the most frequently used reactors in lab-scale ozonation, partially due to the ease in modeling completely mixed phases, but they are very seldom used in full-scale applications. There are various modifications with regard to the types of gas diffusers or the construction of the stirrers possible. Normally lab-scale reactors are equipped with coarse diffusers, such as a ring pipe with holes of 0,1-1.0 m3 diameter. The k/ a-values are in the range of 0.02 to 2.0 s (see Table 2-4 ), which are considerably higher than those of bubble columns. From the viewpoint of mass transfer, the main advantage of STRs is that the stirrer speed can be varied, and thus also the ozone mass transfer coefficient, independently of the gas flow rate. 

G. Vazquez, M.A. Cancela, C. Riverol, E. Alvarez, J.M. Navaza, Application of the Danckwerts method in a bubble column. Effects of surfactants on mass transfer coefficient and interfacial area, Chem. Eng. J. 78 (2000) 13-19. 

Dense-phase fluidized beds with bubbles represent the majority of the operating interests although the beds may also be operated without bubbles. The bubbling dense-phase fluidized bed behavior is fluidlike. The analogy between the bubble behavior in gas-solid fluidized beds and that in gas-liquid bubble columns is often applied. Dense-phase fluidized beds generally possess the following characteristics, which promote their use in reactor applications ... 

The techniques that have been used to characterise the mechanical properties of microparticles may be classified as indirect and direct. The former includes measurement of breakage in a "shear" device, for example, a stirred vessel (Poncelet and Neufeld, 1989) or bubble column (Lu et ah, 1992). However, the results from these indirect techniques are rather difficult to use since the mechanical breakage depends not only on the mechanical properties but also the hydrodynamics of the processing equipment, and the latter are still not well understood. To overcome this problem, a cone and plate viscometer that can apply well-defined shear stresses has been used to study breakage of hybridomas (Born et ah, 1992), but this is not a widely applied or applicable technique because the forces are too small to break most cells. 

Principles of ECT and the latest developments in the technology are highlighted with emphasis on the volume ECT (ECVT) for 3D imaging. The significance of ECT technique in process engineering is presented in the framework of industrial application. Fluidized beds, pneumatic solids conveying, and slurry bubble columns are examples of ECT s capability to provide quantitative and qualitative understanding of the internal process dynamics. 

Bubble columns. These are columns full of liquid into which gas is introduced by a perforated pipe or a sparger. Bubble columns are used for applications similar to stirred tanks, but their contact efficiency is lower. 

The bubble column is a typical gas-liquid heterogeneous reactor with the design also applicable to liquid-liquid systems. The bubbles rise through the liquid in plug flow. The liquid is well mixed by the bubbling gas and seldom follows plug flow assumptions. 

There are numerous applications for bubble columns, for example, gas-liquid columns include the absorption of isobutylene in sulfuric acid, and liquid-liquid columns are used for nitration of aromatic hydrocarbons. 

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