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Intensified operation of slurry bubble columns using structured gas injection
Author(s) -
Hooshyar Nasim,
Hamersma Peter J.,
Mudde Robert F.,
van Ommen J. Ruud
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.20338
Subject(s) - sparging , bubble , slurry , fraction (chemistry) , mechanics , materials science , homogeneous , secondary air injection , chromatography , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , thermodynamics , composite material , physics , organic chemistry
We investigate uniform gas injection using a needle sparger as a structuring methodology to reduce backmixing in slurry bubble columns. Using optical probes, we determined the gas fraction and the bubble behaviour in 2D and 3D slurry bubble columns with a uniform gas injection. Experimental results for air–water–glass beads ( d s = 108 µm, U sg = 0–0.10 m/s) indicate that a strong reduction in the vortical structures has been achieved and the homogeneous flow regime can be extended beyond 30% gas fraction. Increasing the solids concentration decreases the gas fraction and widens the bubble velocity distribution. Furthermore, we show by modelling that the reduced backmixing leads to a major improvement of the conversion in case of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis.