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Dispersion and hold‐up in bubble columns — comparison of rigid and flexible spargers
Author(s) -
Rice Richard G.,
Tupperainen Jorma M. I.,
Hedge Robyn M.
Publication year - 1981
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.5450590605
Subject(s) - sparging , bubble , mechanics , dispersion (optics) , impulse (physics) , materials science , natural rubber , optics , composite material , physics , chemistry , classical mechanics
The performance of a new type of bubble generating device, the rubber sheet sparger, is contrasted and compared with rigid spargers. Impulse response tests were analyzed using the weighted‐moments method to determine voidage and dispersion coefficients in counter‐current bubble columns of nominal diameters two, four, six and twelve inches. The flexible rubber sheet sparger produced more uniform emulsions, smaller bubbles and larger voidages than perforated plates, while dispersion coefficients were reduced for a range of superficial gas velocities. The dispersion data seem to fit the isotropic turbulence model, with slight modifications. It is demonstrated that the rubber sheet sparger is self‐regulating, with hole size increasing in direct proportion to pressure drop across the sparger.