Gas and liquid distribution in the monolith film flow reactor

A.K. Heibel, F.J. Vergeldt, H. van As

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

49 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The gas-liquid distribution in a monolith film flow reactor is investigated in the scope of this work. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a customized liquid collection method hate been successfully applied to determine the liquid distribution over the monolith cross-section. Using a well-positioned spray nozzle liquid distributor, very uniform distributions are found which address the needs for applications that require high single-pass conversions. Due to the lack of radial convective flow in monoliths, the initial distribution propagates through the reactor. With a correct positioned spray nozzle distributor, a far more uniform distribution than the natural one for trickle beds is obtained. MRI, applied to study the local gas-liquid distribution in a monolith channel, clearly shows the accumulation of the liquid in the corners of the individual channel with an arc-shaped gas-liquid interface. Differences in local liquid holdup over the channel corners were found, which is described as channel scale nonuniformities. The experimental results are in good agreement with a fundamental hydrodynamic model based on the Navier-Stokes equations. The average liquid saturation is conveniently described with an engineering correlation ßL = 6.6 . (Fr2Ls/ReLs)0.46, as a function of the liquid phase Reynolds and Froude number
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3007-3017
JournalAIChE Journal
Volume49
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2003

Keywords

  • mass-transfer
  • porous-media
  • packed-columns
  • maldistribution
  • hydrodynamics
  • performance
  • dispersion
  • scale

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