Abstract

A comparative study has been made on the hydrodynamics and gas-liquid mass transfer performances of upflow and downflow bubble columns. Gas-liquid distributions in the column are made by an ejector system using liquid as motive fluid and gas is used as secondary fluid for both the cases. The two-phase hydrodynamic studies have been done with water and aqueous solutions of carboxy methyl cellulose at different concentrations and air as gas phase. The volumetric mass transfer coefficients have been measured by absorbing air-carbon dioxide mixture in aqueous solutions of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate. For downflow system, experiments are carried out at natural suction of air through the ejector; whereas for upflow system, air is forced through the secondary entrance of the ejector from a high pressure tank at any desired rate. The effect of gas and liquid flowrates on gas holdup, frictional pressure drop and mass transfer coefficients have been investigated. All the experiments have been performed in the homogeneous flow regime for a stable operation.

Recommended Citation

Mandal, Ajay; Kundu, Gautam ; and Mukherjee, Dibyendu (2005) "Comparative Study of Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flow in the Ejector Induced Upflow and Downflow Bubble Column," International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering: Vol. 3: A13.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/ijcre/vol3/A13