Marangoni effect on hydrodynamics and mass transfer behavior in an internal loop airlift reactor under elevated pressure

AbstractThe Marangoni effect on the hydrodynamics and mass transfer was studied in an internal loop airlift reactor with the addition of ethanol under elevated pressure. The overall gas holdupαg increased by ~10% and the gas –liquid volumetric mass-transfer coefficientkla increased by ~20% on average for each one bar increase in pressure. When the mole fraction of ethanolxE increased from 0 to 0.012,αg increased by ~110% andkla increased by ~50%. However, whenxE increased from 0.012 to 0.11,αg decreased by ~40% andkla decreased by ~25%. This volcano-shaped relationship between both hydrodynamics and mass transfer behavior and ethanol concentration was determined by the Marangoni effect. Semi-empirical correlations ofαg andkla were proposed by including the Marangoni effect in a wide range of ethanol concentration and operating conditions. These correlations gave good predictions ofαg andkla compared with extensive experimental data in the literature.

Source: AIChE Journal - November 13, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Yuelin Wang, Xiankun Shen, Huahai Zhang, Tiefeng Wang Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research