TITLE: Slurry Bubble Column Dynamics.

AUTHOR: D. N. Smith;   J. A. Ruether;   G. J. Stiegel.

INST.  AUTHOR: Department of Energy, Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center.

SPONSOR: Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

LANGUAGE: English

PUB.  TYPE: Technical Report

PUB.  COUNTRY: United States

SOURCE: Department of Energy [DE],  1983,  28p.

NTIS ORDER NO.: DE85013228/INW

NOTES: DOE contractors' conference on indirect liquefaction, Washington, PA, USA, 12 Oct 1983.

ABSTRACT:

A novel approach utilizing an electrical conductivity twin-probe technique is described for obtaining important gas-phase characteristics such as: bubble size, velocity ad holdup fraction. A 10 cm internal diameter by 310 cm height glass column is employed to investigate the  bubble dynamics measured with this probe. The liquid phase is composed of a mixture of ethanol and water that may have substantial ''surface activity'' which results in a dynamic surface tension effect on the rate of bubble coalescence. Measurements of gas holdup, bubble size,and velocity indicate the influence of surface activity onthe gas phase characteristics. Possible implications of these results on the hydrodynamics of Fischer-Tropsch reactors are given. An experimental technique and subsequent analysis have been developed to determine the bubble size and velocity distributions in a slurry bubble column cold model. Dynamic surface tension effects have been observed for a two component liquid mixture. The maximum frothing ability of a ''surface-active'' species qualitatively agrees with a dynamic surface tension model. Increased gas holdup and interfacial area are observed with the addition of a ''surface-active'' component. In addition, increased gas holdup and interfacial area are observed with a sintered plate distributor compared to a perforated plate. The presence of solids reduces the gas holdup and increases the bubble size. 11 refs., 11 figs. (ERA citation 10:048313)

REPORT  NUMBER: CONF-8310401-1