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Article
Liquid and Solids Phase Backmixing in a Bubble and Slurry Bubble Column using a Virtual Tracer Response Methodology based on the Trajectory Data of the Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT) Technique
Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering
  • Lu Han
  • Premkumar Kamalanathan
  • Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

Virtual tracer response methodology developed based on the trajectory data of the computer aided radioactive particle tracking (CARPT) technique was demonstrated. The demonstrated virtual tracer technique has advantages of non-invasiveness, near perfect injection/sampling, and flexibility in choosing the sampling/injection boundaries in a specific spatial pattern. With the developed virtual tracer technique, liquid and solids back mixing was investigated at the conditions mimicking Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Experiments were conducted at different pressure, solids loading, and superficial gas velocity. The axial dispersion model (ADM) and recirculation and cross flow dispersion (RCFD) models were used to model the liquid mixing. Transient sedimentation dispersion model (SDM) was used to model the solids mixing. It was found that the measured axial dispersion coefficient (Dl) in the ADM model increases with increase in the pressure. The increase of dispersion coefficient was explained with the experimental values of mean axial diffusivity and mean recirculation velocity. Axial dispersion coefficients (Dz,uDz,d) in the RCFD model (compartment model) were apparently lower than the Dl, due to the decoupling of global recirculation from the dispersion coefficients in the RCFD. Further, it was found that the dispersion coefficients in the RCFD model follow the trend of the axial eddy diffusivity with change in the operating conditions revealing the dominance of the turbulence in the upflow and downflow compartments. From the solids backmixing study, axial dispersion coefficient (Ds) of solids was found to increase with increase in the solids loading, pressure, and superficial gas velocity at the studied conditions.

Department(s)
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Comments

Statoil, Grant None

Keywords and Phrases
  • backmixing,
  • dispersion,
  • high pressure slurry bubble column,
  • virtual tracer
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2023 Wiley, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
5-1-2022
Publication Date
01 May 2022
Citation Information
Lu Han, Premkumar Kamalanathan and Muthanna H. Al-Dahhan. "Liquid and Solids Phase Backmixing in a Bubble and Slurry Bubble Column using a Virtual Tracer Response Methodology based on the Trajectory Data of the Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT) Technique" Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 100 Iss. 5 (2022) p. 1026 - 1037 ISSN: 1939-019X; 0008-4034
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/muthanna-al-dahhan/167/