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Hydrodynamics and mass transfer of gas-liquid flow such as pressure drop, liquid holdup, and gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient in micropacked bed reactors (μPBRs) with metal foam packing are investigated with an automated platform. Parametric studies are conducted varying gas and liquid superficial velocities, pore diameters of foam packing, and liquid physical properties. Experimental results show that μPBRs with foam packing have comparative mass transfer rate and 10 times lower pressure drop compared to the microparticles. The values of mass-transfer coefficient for three types of foam packing in μPBRs are 1-2 orders of magnitude larger than those in large-scale trickle bed reactors with foam packing. Furthermore, empirical correlations of pressure drop, liquid holdup, and gas-liquid mass-transfer coefficient in μPBRs with foam packing are proposed and the predicted values are found to be in good agreement with the experimental values.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) material, which is well-known for its excellent anticorrosion properties, was used as wire mesh packing in a rotating packed bed (RPB). The effective interfacial area (a e ) and the volumetric liquid-side mass-transfer coefficient (k L a e ) of the RPB with PTFE packing was studied experimentally by a NaOH−CO 2 chemical absorption system and an oxygen−water physical desorption system, respectively. Experimental results showed that both a e and k L a e increased with decreasing fiber diameter and pore size. As for material, mass-transfer performance of the PTFE packing was lower than that of the stainless steel wire mesh packing but is applicable in some high-corrosion and -viscosity environments. Moreover, correlations for a e and k L a e were proposed.

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