Flow behaviors of multi-scale bubbles with porous ceramic membrane
distributors: Visualization and Modeling
Abstract
The distribution of gas-liquid two-phase flow is one of significant
effects on heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Ceramic membrane gas
distributors (CMGD) were applied in improving gas-liquid distribution,
and flow behavior of gas as dispersed phase in liquid phase was
visualized via high-speed photograph. The average diameters of
multi-scale bubbles were measured and modeled ranging from 10-5 to 10-2
m. The coalescence and trajectory of bubbles during rising process were
observed, and two typical trajectories straight and spiral types were
tracked. In order to inhibit coalescence of bubbles during rising
process, internals manufactured by 3D printing were installed in the
channel of ceramic membrane. The average bubble size of CMGD decreases
12 % from 392 to 345 μm compared to that of the original CMGD. The CMGD
with internals enhances the heterogeneous catalytic reaction performance
via providing large quantity of stabile multi-scale bubbles which could
match the porous structure of catalyst.