Hydrodynamics and Mass Transfer in a Concentric Internal Jet-Loop Airlift Bioreactor Equipped with a Deflector

Radek Šulc and Jan Dymák
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Radek Šulc: Department of Process Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 4, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Jan Dymák: Department of Process Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Technická 4, 160 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-28

Abstract: The gas–liquid hydrodynamics and mass transfer were studied in a concentric tube internal jet-loop airlift reactor with a conical bottom. Comparing with a standard design, the gas separator was equipped with an adjustable deflector placed above the riser. The effect of riser superficial gas velocity u SGR on the total gas holdup ε GT , homogenization time t H , and overall volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient k L a was investigated in a laboratory bioreactor, of 300 mm in inner diameter, in a two-phase air–water system and three-phase air–water–PVC–particle system with the volumetric solid fraction of 1% for various deflector clearances. The airlift was operated in the range of riser superficial gas velocity from 0.011 to 0.045 m/s. For the gas–liquid system, when reducing the deflector clearance, the total gas holdup decreased, the homogenization time increased twice compared to the highest deflector clearance tested, and the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient slightly increased by 10–17%. The presence of a solid phase shortened the homogenization time, especially for lower u SGR and deflector clearance, and reduced the mass transfer coefficient by 15–35%. Compared to the gas–liquid system, the noticeable effect of deflector clearance was found for the k L a coefficient, which was found approx. 20–29% higher for the lowest tested deflector clearance.

Keywords: conical draft tube airlift reactor; gas holdup; homogenization time; mass transfer (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: 2021
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