Liquid in Gas Sprays

Mists and Sprays - There are numerous industrial chemical operations which involve liquid-in-gas dispersions. These operations generate mists and sprays that consist of particles in diameter ranges of 0.1 to 5,000 fim. Engineers most commonly encounter spray droplets which are particles often formed unintentionally in chemical plant operations. For example, vapors or fumes may condense onto piping, ducts, or stack walls. Under such conditions liquid films form. 

Recently, Razumovskid441 studied the shape of drops, and satellite droplets formed by forced capillary breakup of a liquid jet. On the basis of an instability analysis, Teng et al.[442] derived a simple equation for the prediction of droplet size from the breakup of cylindrical liquid jets at low-velocities. The equation correlates droplet size to a modified Ohnesorge number, and is applicable to both liquid-in-liquid, and liquid-in-gas jets of Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluids. Yamane et al.[439] measured Sauter mean diameter, and air-entrainment characteristics of non-evaporating unsteady dense sprays by means of an image analysis technique which uses an instantaneous shadow picture of the spray and amount of injected fuel. Influences of injection pressure and ambient gas density on the Sauter mean diameter and air entrainment were investigated parametrically. An empirical equation for the Sauter mean diameter was proposed based on a dimensionless analysis of the experimental results. It was indicated that the Sauter mean diameter decreases with an increase in injection pressure and a decrease in ambient gas density. It was also shown that the air-entrainment characteristics can be predicted from the quasi-steady jet theory. 

Liquid atomization (liquid-in-gas-dispersion) is an important unit operation which is employed in a variety of processes. They include fuel atomization, spray drying, the spraying of a lime suspension into combustion gases in power stations for S02 removal, powder metallurgy (metal powder production), coating of surfaces by spraying, and so on. 

Droplet flow y y y y y o o o o liquid droplets in gas spray towers... 

Figure 5 System to control precisely the dissolved gas concentration of liquids in a spray processor. Initiai experimental work utilized rotometers in place of the mass flow controls to control the OjiNj blend.

T. Single liquid drops in gas, gas side coefficient =2 + ANiS,Ni [E] Used for spray drying (arithmetic partial pressure difference). [88] p. 489... 

Gravity Settlers Gravity can act to remove larger droplets. Set-thng or disengaging space above aerated or boiling liquids in a tank or spray zone in a tower can be very useful. If gas velocity is kept low, all particles with terminal settling velocities (see Sec. 6) above the gas... 

FIG. 23-25 Typ es of industrial gas/Hqiiid reactors, (a) Tray tower, (h) Packed, counter current, (c) Packed, parallel current, (d) Falling liquid film, (e) Spray tower, if) Bubble tower, (g) Venturi mixer, h) Static in line mixer, ( ) Tubular flow, (j) Stirred tank, (A,) Centrifugal pump, (/) Two-phase flow in horizontal tubes. 

Liquid Dispersion Spray columns are used with slurries or when the reaction product is a solid. The absorption of SO9 by a hme slurry is an example. In the treatment of phosphate rock with sulfuric acid, offgases contain HF and SiF4. In a spray column with water, solid particles of fluorosilic acid are formed but do not harm the spray operation. The coefficient /cl in spray columns is about the same as in packed columns, but the spray interfacial area is much lower. Considerable backmixing of the gas also takes place, which helps to make the spray volumetri-caUy inefficient. Deentrainment at the outlet usually is needed. 

Fuels such as diesel and kerosene readily absorb hydrocarbon vapors, the total uptake and absorption rate depending on both chemical and physical factors. If a soluble test gas is introduced above a charged test oil the concentration of flammable test gas therefore decreases with time. Liquid mist and spray produced by charged liquid increase the absorption rate relative to a quiescent liquid surface. As discussed in A-5-4, absorption could lead to an underestimation of test gas MIE near the liquid surface unless the rate of test gas introduction is sufficiently high to offset the rate of removal. Table 3-8.1.2 shows solubilities of a selection of gases in a mineral-based transformer oil at ambient temperature and pressure [200]. 

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