A hydrodynamic study of cylindrical metal foam packings: residence time distribution and two phase pressure drop

Publication date: Available online 27 February 2017 Source:Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification Author(s): Farzad Lali The present study deals with hydrodynamic characterization of a cylindrical metal foam packings in terms of wetting efficiency, residence time distribution and pressure drop. It was shown that the operation of foam packings in liquid downward flow does not lead to an optimal wetting efficiency according to very high void volume and is very sensitive to the wall issues i.e. fabrication tolerances in the range of 100μm, Therefore, the study was performed for an upward flow operation mode. The RTD measurements in liquid upward flow and gas/liquid co-current upward flow revealed that the axial backmixing in the foam packing was less than in a vertical pipe with the same diameter. Furthermore, it was shown that the two phase pressure drop for 30 PPI and 45 PPI pore densities were below 250Pam−1 and 350Pam−1 respectively. The energy dissipation of 30 and 45 PPI foam packings were below 1Wm−3 indicating a very energy efficient type of packing. Graphical abstract
Source: Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research