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CFD‐Facilitated Flow Field Analysis of Bubble Columns with Concentric Plates for Biological Applications
Author(s) -
Lobatón H. F.,
Suárez C. A.,
Molina A.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.201000453
Subject(s) - computational fluid dynamics , mechanics , concentric , bubble , flow (mathematics) , column (typography) , mixing (physics) , eulerian path , yield (engineering) , chemistry , mechanical engineering , materials science , engineering , physics , mathematics , geometry , composite material , connection (principal bundle) , quantum mechanics , lagrangian , mathematical physics
Abstract As the hydrodynamic behavior in bubble columns is difficult to characterize, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a useful alternative tool for research and design. An experimental and computational analysis of the macromixing and gas holdup of a bubble column indicates that 3D simulations with CFD using an Eulerian‐Eulerian approximation yield results of the overall velocity field and gas holdup distribution that are suitable for engineering design purposes. Particularly, CFD simulations uncover that the inclusion of concentric solid plates into a bubbling column increase the gas holdup by 79 % and the mixing time by 48 % when compared with a column without plates operating at similar superficial gas velocities.