Investigation of Plume Offset Characteristics in Bubble Columns by Euler–Euler Simulation

Abstract

<jats:p>Based on low-cost and easy to enlarge, the bubble column device has been widely concerned in chemical industry. This paper focuses on bubble plumes in laboratory-scale three-dimensional rectangular air-water columns. Static behavior has been investigated in many experiments and simulations, and our present investigations consider the dynamic behavior of bubble plume offset in three dimensions. The investigations are conducted with a set of closure models by the Euler–Euler approach, and subsequently, literature data for rectangular bubble columns are analyzed for comparison purposes. Moreover, the transient evolution characteristics of the bubble plume in the bubble column and the gas phase distribution in sections are introduced, and the offset characteristics and the oscillation period of the plume are analyzed. In addition, the distributions of the vector diagram of velocity and vortex intensity in the domain are given. The effects of different fluxes and column aspect ratios on bubble plumes are studied, and the offset and plume oscillation period (POP) characteristics of bubbles are examined. The investigations reveal quantitative correlations of operating conditions (gas volume flux) and aspect ratios that have not been reported so far, and the simulated and experimental POP results agree well. An interesting phenomenon is that POP does not occur under conditions of a high flux and aspect ratio, and the corresponding prediction values for the conditions with and without POP are given as well. The results reported in this paper may open up a new way for further study of the mass transfer of bubble plumes and development of chemical equipment.</jats:p>

Special Issue on “Chemical Process Design, Simulation and Optimization”

“…Simulation and experimental results are favorably compared. Cheng et al [9] also use a computational fluid dynamics code to better understand bubble columns, which are frequently used in process industries and whose behaviour is complex and not totally predictable. They use the Euler-Euler approach, consisting in obtaining mean local properties to describe the bubble plume, and compare their simulation results to laboratory experiments.…”

Influence of Aeration Pipe Length on Oxygen Mass Transfer Efficiency in Terms of Bubble Motion Flow Field

“…Li et al used PIV to measure the velocity field in the plume and obtained the influence of the plume width, centerline velocity, volume flux, momentum flux, momentum amplification factor, and entrainment coefficient on plume motion. Cheng and Meng , discussed the effects of aspect ratio, porosity and pressure on plume flow field; Cheng et al studied the bubble plume in a laboratory-scale three-dimensional bubble column. The influence of different ventilation flow rates, hole spacings, and transverse flow velocities on the stability of the bubble plume is discussed .…”