Dispersion behavior of liquid–liquid and gas–liquid two‐phase flow in micro‐packed beds

Abstract

Micro‐packed beds have the advantages of excellent heat and mass transfer efficiency and high safety, which have been successfully applied to hydrogenation and oxidation reactions. The dispersion behavior of multiphase flow is closely related to mass transfer and reaction performance. However, the study of dispersion law in micro‐packed beds is not sufficient. This work investigated the dispersion behavior of gas–liquid/liquid–liquid two‐phase flow in micro‐packed beds. The average size and distribution of droplets/bubbles were measured in different systems. Key parameters that affect the dispersion characteristics of the two phases were observed experimentally, including gas/liquid phase flow rate, size of the packing, and physical parameters of the systems. The experimental results showed that gas–liquid and liquid–liquid dispersion processes exhibited different characteristics due to the different physical parameters of liquid and gas as the dispersed phase. The fracture driving force of the gas–liquid process was mainly from the continuous liquid phase, while the fracture driving force of the liquid–liquid process came from both the dispersed phase and the continuous phase.