CFD Modeling on Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Multiphase Counter-Current Flow in a Structured Packed Bed for Post-Combustion CO 2 Capture

Li Yang, Fang Liu, Kozo Saito and Kunlei Liu
Additional contact information
Li Yang: Key Laboratory of Coal-Based CO2 Capture and Geological Storage, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China
Fang Liu: Key Laboratory of Coal-Based CO2 Capture and Geological Storage, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China
Kozo Saito: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
Kunlei Liu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Solvent-based post combustion CO 2 capture is a promising technology for industrial application. Gas-liquid interfaces and interactions in the packed bed are considered one of the key factors affecting the overall CO 2 absorption rate. Understanding the hydrodynamic characterizations within packed beds is essential to identify the appropriate enhanced mass transfer technique. However, multiphase counter-current flows in the structured packing typically used in these processes are complicated to visualize and optimize experimentally. In this paper, we aim to develop a comprehensive 3D multiphase, counter-current flow model to study the liquid/gas behavior on the surface of structured packing. The output from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) clearly visualized the hydrodynamic characterizations, such as the liquid distributions, wettability, and film thicknesses, in the confined packed bed. When the liquid We (Weber number) was greater than 2.21, the channel flow became insignificant and flow streams became more disorganized with more droplets at larger sizes. The portion of dead zones is decreased at higher liquid We , but it cannot be completely eliminated. Average film thickness was about 0.6–0.7 mm, however, its height varied significantly.

Keywords: CO 2 capture; structured packing; CFD modeling; multiphase counter-current flow; hydrodynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/11/3103/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/11/3103/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:11:y:2018:i:11:p:3103-:d:181788

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().