Gas holdup and solid-liquid mass transfer in Newtonian and non-newtonian fluids in bubble columns

Abstract

Gas holdup and surface-liquid mass transfer rate in a bubble column have been experimentally investigated. De-mineralized water, 0.5 and 1.0% aqueous solutions of carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC), and 60% aqueous propylene glycol have been used as the test liquids. Effects of column diameter, liquid height to column diameter ratio, superficial gas velocity and liquid phase viscosity on gas holdup and mass transfer rate are studied. Generalized correlations for the average gas holdup and wall to liquid heat and mass transfer coefficients are proposed. These are valid for both Newtonian and pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids.