Dispersion Reynolds number

For hquid systems v is approximately independent of velocity, so that a plot of JT versus v provides a convenient method of determining both the axial dispersion and mass transfer resistance. For vapor-phase systems at low Reynolds numbers is approximately constant since dispersion is determined mainly by molecular diffusion. It is therefore more convenient to plot H./v versus 1/, which yields as the slope and the mass transfer resistance as the intercept. Examples of such plots are shown in Figure 16. 

Axial Dispersion and the Peclet Number Peclet numbers are measures or deviation from phig flow. They may be calculated from residence time distributions found by tracer tests. Their values in trickle beds are fA to Ve, those of flow of liquid alone at the same Reynolds numbers. A correlation by Michell and Furzer (Chem. Eng. /., 4, 53 [1972]) is... 

Impeller Reynolds number and equations for mixing power for particle suspensions are in Sec. 5. Dispersion of gasses into liquids is in Sec. 14. Usually, an increase in mechanical agitation is more effective than is an increase in aeration rate for improving mass transfer. 

Figure 3.2.1 illustrates the mixing in packed beds (Wilhelm 1962). As Reynolds number approaches the industrial range Rep > 100, the Peclet numbers approach a constant value. This means that dispersion is influenced by turbulence and the effect of molecular diffusion is negligible. 

Peclet number independent of Reynolds number also means that turbulent diffusion or dispersion is directly proportional to the fluid velocity. In general, reactors that are simple in construction, (tubular reactors and adiabatic reactors) approach their ideal condition much better in commercial size then on laboratory scale. On small scale and corresponding low flows, they are handicapped by significant temperature and concentration gradients that are not even well defined. In contrast, recycle reactors and CSTRs come much closer to their ideal state in laboratory sizes than in large equipment. The energy requirement for recycle reaci ors grows with the square of the volume. This limits increases in size or applicable recycle ratios. 

The distribution of tracer molecule residence times in the reactor is the result of molecular diffusion and turbulent mixing if tlie Reynolds number exceeds a critical value. Additionally, a non-uniform velocity profile causes different portions of the tracer to move at different rates, and this results in a spreading of the measured response at the reactor outlet. The dispersion coefficient D (m /sec) represents this result in the tracer cloud. Therefore, a large D indicates a rapid spreading of the tracer curve, a small D indicates slow spreading, and D = 0 means no spreading (hence, plug flow). 

The inverse of the Bodenstein number is eD i/u dp, sometimes referred to as the intensity of dispersion. Himmelblau and Bischoff [5], Levenspiel [3], and Wen and Fan [6] have derived correlations of the Peclet number versus Reynolds number. Wen and Fan [6] have summarized the correlations for straight pipes, fixed and fluidized beds, and bubble towers. The correlations involve the following dimensionless groups ... 

Figure 8-34. Correlation of dispersion to Reynolds number. (Source Levenspiel, 0 Ind. Eng. Chem., 50, 343, 1958.)...

The Peclet numbers decrease when the dispersion coefficients increase. In the Reynolds number range of 10-200, in a packed bed of pellets, Peii = 2 and PeH = 0.5 (119, 120). The dispersions in the transverse... 

Naturally, there are two more Peclet numbers defined for the transverse direction dispersions. In these ranges of Reynolds number, the Peclet number for transverse mass transfer is 11, but the Peclet number for transverse heat transfer is not well agreed upon (121, 122). None of these dispersions numbers is known in the metal screen bed. A special problem is created in the monolith where transverse dispersion of mass must be zero, and the parallel dispersion of mass can be estimated by the Taylor axial dispersion theory (123). The dispersion of heat would depend principally on the properties of the monolith substrate. Often, these Peclet numbers for individual pellets are replaced by the Bodenstein numbers for the entire bed... 

An agitated tank with a standard Rushton impeller is required to disperse gas in a solution of properties similar to those of water. The tank will be 3 m diameter (1 m diameter impeller), A power level of 0.8 kW/m3 is chosen. Assuming fully turbnlent conditions and feat the presence of fee gas does not significantly affect the relation between fee Power and Reynolds numbers ... 

This section has based scaleups on pressure drops and temperature driving forces. Any consideration of mixing, and particularly the closeness of approach to piston flow, has been ignored. Scaleup factors for the extent of mixing in a tubular reactor are discussed in Chapters 8 and 9. If the flow is turbulent and if the Reynolds number increases upon scaleup (as is normal), and if the length-to-diameter ratio does not decrease upon scaleup, then the reactor will approach piston flow more closely upon scaleup. Substantiation for this statement can be found by applying the axial dispersion model discussed in Section 9.3. All the scaleups discussed in Examples 5.10-5.13 should be reasonable from a mixing viewpoint since the scaled-up reactors will approach piston flow more closely. 

The parameter D is known as the axial dispersion coefficient, and the dimensionless number, Pe = uL/D, is the axial Peclet number. It is different than the Peclet number used in Section 9.1. Also, recall that the tube diameter is denoted by df. At high Reynolds numbers, D depends solely on fluctuating velocities in the axial direction. These fluctuating axial velocities cause mixing by a random process that is conceptually similar to molecular diffusion, except that the fluid elements being mixed are much larger than molecules. The same value for D is used for each component in a multicomponent system. 

At a close level of scrutiny, real systems behave differently than predicted by the axial dispersion model but the model is useful for many purposes. Values for Pe can be determined experimentally using transient experiments with nonreac-tive tracers. See Chapter 15. A correlation for D that combines experimental and theoretical results is shown in Figure 9.6. The dimensionless number, udt/D, depends on the Reynolds number and on molecular diffusivity as measured by the Schmidt number, Sc = but the dependence on Sc is weak for... 

In Chapter 11, we indicated that deviations from plug flow behavior could be quantified in terms of a dispersion parameter that lumped together the effects of molecular diffusion and eddy dif-fusivity. A similar dispersion parameter is usefl to characterize transport in the radial direction, and these two parameters can be used to describe radial and axial transport of matter in packed bed reactors. In packed beds, the dispersion results not only from ordinary molecular diffusion and the turbulence that exists in the absence of packing, but also from lateral deflections and mixing arising from the presence of the catalyst pellets. These effects are the dominant contributors to radial transport at the Reynolds numbers normally employed in commercial reactors. 

The terms Jga and Jsa are the diffusive fluxes of species a in the gas and solid phases, respectively. Note that in addition to molecular-scale diffusion, these terms include dispersion due to particle-scale turbulence. The latter is usually modeled by introducing a gradient-diffusion model with an effective diffusivity along the lines of Eqs. (149) and (151). Thus, for large particle Reynolds numbers the molecular-scale contribution will be negligible. The term Ma is the... 

In the intermediate range of Reynolds numbers, the effects of molecular diffusivity and of macroscopic mixing are approximately additive, and the dispersion coefficient is given by an equation of the form ... 

However, the two mechanisms interact and molecular diffusion can reduce the effects of convective dispersion. This can be explained by the fact that with streamline flow in a tube molecular diffusion will tend to smooth out the concentration profile arising from the velocity distribution over the cross-section. Similarly radial dispersion can give rise to lower values of longitudinal dispersion than predicted by equation 4.39. As a result the curves of Peclet versus Reynolds number tend to pass through a maximum as shown in Figure 4.6. 

The experimental results for dispersion coefficients in gases show that they can be satisfactorily represented as Peclet number expressed as a function of particle Reynolds number, and that similar correlations are obtained, irrespective of the gases used. However, it might be expected that the Schmidt number would be an important variable, but it is not possible to test this hypothesis with gases as the values of Schmidt number are all approximately the same and equal to about unity. 

EVANS, E. V. and KENNEY, C. N. Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng. 44 (1966) T189. Gaseous dispersion in packed beds at low Reynolds numbers. 

The values of Sherwood number fall below the theoretical minimum value of 2 for mass transfer to a spherical particle and this indicates that the assumption of piston flow of gases is not valid at low values of the Reynolds number. In order to obtain realistic values in this region, information on the axial dispersion coefficient is required. 

In liquids the effects of longitudinal dispersion are small, even at low Reynolds Numbers. 

The figure shows U >. S L in this region and Da is predominantly small. At the highest Reynolds numbers the region is entered only for very intense turbulence, U > SL. The region has been considered a distributed reaction zone in which reactants and products are somewhat uniformly dispersed throughout the flame front. Reactions are still fast everywhere, so that unbumed mixture near the burned gas side of the flame is completely burned before it leaves what would be considered the flame front. An instantaneous temperature measurement in this flame would yield a normal probability density function—more importantly, one that is not bimodal. 

Parameter for molecular diffusion model In a moving zone, equivalent to the reciprocal of Peclet number, dispersion number Reynolds number, Re Prandtle number, Pr Schmidt number Sc... 

With the same aspect ratio as before, this corresponds to a Reynolds number of about lO" and flow will again be turbulent. The reactor dispersion number is 0.002, which again implies that the performance of the actual reactor will be very close to that calculated on the basis of the plug-flow assumption. 

For a particular reactor, the dispersion number can be determined by analysis of the response at the reactor outlet to the injection of a tracer at the inlet. The procedure is fully described in Chap. 6. Alternatively, use may be made of published correlations [2], which give the reactor dispersion number as a function of either the Reynolds number or the product of the Reynolds and Schmidt numbers. Once a value of the reactor dispersion number is available, it can be used in one of the following ways to determine reactor performance for particular cases. 

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