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Gas—liquid pressure drop studies in a reciprocating plate column
Author(s) -
Rama Rao N. V.,
Baird M. H. I.
Publication year - 1986
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.5450640106
Subject(s) - froude number , pressure drop , reciprocating motion , reynolds number , materials science , amplitude , mechanics , drop (telecommunication) , analytical chemistry (journal) , phase (matter) , emulsion , composite material , chemistry , flow (mathematics) , chromatography , thermodynamics , optics , turbulence , physics , electrical engineering , organic chemistry , gas compressor , engineering , biochemistry
Abstract Two‐phase pressure drop in a 93 mm diameter reciprocating plate column (RPC) was studied for the air‐water system, and to a lesser extent for air‐kerosene. Amplitudes (strokes) in the range 14 to 63.5 mm and frequencies from 0.75 to 4.0 Hz were investigated for between 2 and 10 brass plates with hole diameters from 3 to 8 mm and free flow area between 0.09 and 0.306. Continuous phase velocity was varied from 1.24 to 3.72 cm s −1 and dispersed phase velocity varied from 0.04 to 5.10 cm s −1 . The measured pressure head was subjected to a static head correction based on the measured holdup of the dispersed phase and densities of the phases. The data were correlated by regression analysis as a friction factor expressed in terms of loading ratio, Reynolds number and Froude number; they were also compared with an earlier theoretical prediction by Noh and Baird for single phase flow in a RPC. The two‐phase pressure drop was found to increase with agitation both in the mixer‐settler and emulsion regions and reached a maximum at vibrating speeds around 10 cm s −1 . Beyond this point, it decreased in the unstable region preceding flooding. It was concluded that the RPC could be effectively used in the emulsion region for optimum performance.