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Bello1985 PDF
Bello1985 PDF
Bello1985 PDF
The two major types of airlift contactors, concentric-tube These figures also feature some literature results ob-
and external-loop, were investigated for their gas holdup tained in bubble columns. Some of the discrepancies
(riser and downcomer) and overall mass transfer char- in Figures 1 and 2 may arise from differences between
acteristics. Results obtained in batch charges of tap water
and 0.15 kmol/m3 NaCl solution are reported for external- the liquid phase physicochemical properties and the
loop airlift contactors having downcomer-to-riser cross- types of gas spargers used in the various test systems.
sectional area ratios, A d / A , , ranging from 0.11 < A d / A , However, from the wide spread of these results, it is
< 0.69 and for concentric-tube types in the range 0.13 obvious that more detailed information on the intrinsic
< Ad/A, 4 0.56. properties of airlift contactors is required to account
The results are compared and contrasted for the two
types of airlift contactors and also with corresponding for the Iarge variation in the reported results and for
results obtained in a bubble column ( A d / A r = 0). Both the differences in their characteristics in relation to
the riser gas holdup, ( E ~ ) , , and the overall volumetric the conventional bubble column.
mass transfer coefficient, (K,aDIi,were found to increase In this work the volume-average gas holdup in the
with increasing gas superficial velocity and the corre- riser and the downcomer and the overall volumetric
sponding specific gassing power input, ( P G / V D ) T . How-
ever, at a specified power input both and (KLaDIT mass transfer coefficient were measured in four external-
decreasedwith increasingAd/A,due to a resultant increase loop airlift contactors (fixed riser and three inter-
in circulating liquid velocity. Unifying generalized cor- changeable downcomers) with the downcomer-to-riser
relations for both types of airlift contactors are given for cross-sectional area ratio, A d / & , ranging from 0.11
) ~ (KLaD)pThese correlations are expected
both ( E ~ and to 0.69 (see Table 111) and in three concentric-tube
to be applicable as well to continuous-liquid flow bubble
columns at comparable liquid velocities. airlift contactors with A d / A , of 0.13, 0.35, and 0.56
(fixed outer column and three interchangeable internal
concentric cylinders). These results are compared and
INTRODUCTION correlated with the reported results in the literature
Airlift contactors are a special class of pneumatic and with results obtained in a bubble column (A,/A,
contactors which currently are receiving much attention = 0) for both tap water (“coalescing” system) and
for potential application to various fermentation sys- 0.15 kmol/m3 NaCl solutions (bubble-coalescence-in-
tems. Their self-generated liquid circulation has been hibiting system).
shown to give them added advantages, for example,
improved heat transfer and mixing, compared to the EXPERIMENTAL
bubble columns.’x2 However, most of the earlier
work^^-^ normally were carried out in only one size Apparatus and Materials
o r type of airlift contactor and also with only one or
two of the several operating or design parameters being The airlift contactors (AL) used in this work are as
investigated. As a result, only an incomplete under- shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) with dimensions given
standing of their operative characteristics has emerged in Table XII. These were constructed of Plexiglas (acrylic
to date. Some reported results in various types of resin). Experimentation was carried out in batch
airlift contactors for the riser gas holdup, ( E ~ ) and
~ ,
changes of tap water and an electrolyte solution (0.I5
the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient, kmol/m3 NaCl). Waterloo tap water is drawn from
are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively. deep wells and has quite consistent properties. Typical
concentrations are: total dissolved solids, 325 mg/L
* Present Address: Department of Chemical Engineering, Uni- (range 240-400 mg/L); total hardness, 320 mg/L; “M”
versity of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. alkalinity, 260 mg/L; chlorides, 32 mg/L; pH 7.4. Air
Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Vol. XXVII, Pp. 369-381 (1985)
0 1985 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0006-3592/85/030369-
13$04.00
0.50
I
1 1 I 1 I l i l l I I I I l l 1 1 1
0.5 1 5 10 50 100
UG or (uG)r (m/s x 1 0 2 )
Figure 1. Gas holdup in bubble columns ( and in the nser of airlift contactors ( E ~ ) , .See Table I for legend.
E ~ )
or nitrogen was sparged through a perforated plate tube A L contactors [Fig. 3(b)]. In the latter contactors
with fifty-two 1.02-mm holes (triangular-pitch) in the air was spared in the annulus which then was the riser
case of the external-loop AL contactors and the bubble section.
column [Fig. 3(a)], while a ring sparger, containing For the external loop AL contactor studies, with
fifteen 1.02-mm holes, was used with the concentric- the exception of the A , / A , = 0.69 case, only one of
the two attached downcomers was in service at any
."" one time. The internal cylinders of the various con-
50f / /
centric-tube airlifts were mounted 10 cm above the
bottom head plate in all cases.
All runs were made at local barometric pressure
and at room temperature (15-18°C).
Methods
Gas Holdup
The average volumetric gas holdup was measured
separately in the riser and downcomer of each contactor.
This was done by means of hydrostatic differential
pressure measurement along the vertical axis of each
section of the contactor. Two static pressure probes
were located 1.0 rn apart in the middle two-thirds of
each column; these were connected to a U-tube ma-
nometer filled with Meridian Indicating fluid (D-8325)
( p , = 1750 kg/m3).
0.3
0.05 01 0.5 1 5 10 Calculation of the gas holdup was done using equation
( p0/vL lT ( kW/ ma)
(l), which also has been used by previous workers.'
Prn - PL h z
Figure 2. Overall volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficients in EG = ~-
airlift contactors and bubble columns. See Table I1 for legend. PL Ah
a BC, bubble column; CT, concentric-tube airlift contactor; EL, external-loop airlift contactor; SC, split cylindrical airlift contactor.
Contactor DT or D, HD(Ho)
No. Reference typea &/A (m) (4 Liquid Sparger type
a BC, bubble column; EL, external-loop airlift contactor; CT, concentric-tube airlift contactor; RS, rectangular split airlift contactor;
Overall Volumetric Mass Transfer Coefficient, The pneumatic power of the gas input was taken as
KLaD that due to isothermal expansion of the gas, according
The transient dissolved oxygen tension profiles were to
measured along the central axes of the columns, using
a polarographic dissolved oxygen probe (Yellow Springs
Inst., Yellow Springs, OH, model YSI 5739), which
was held in place by means of a pulley and wire mech-
anism.20The probe was connected to a Yellow Springs
OT
dissolved oxygen meter (model YSI 57) with the output
response simultaneously recorded on a Brinkman re- GAS OUT
corder and via a digital voltmeter on a digital printer.
Measurements of the transient oxygen tension in t t t
r
HO
BALL-
VALVE
o o0o ~ o0:
0
0
0
0
j
D
0
0
O
0
0: 1 O 0
0
0
0
0
.
,"
'0
airlift contactor.
372
I
GAS IN
0.3
0.2
t-
for &/A, of 0.11 and 0.69, respectively], as A,/A,
was increased from 0.11 to 0.69, the circulating liquid
linear velocity, (VL), = ( U L ) , / ( l - E ~ ) , , increased
from 8.5 to 38.8 cm/s.
As the liquid velocity increased for the same gas
flowrate, the residence time of the bubbles in the riser
0.1 - decreased and, hence, the gas holdup decreased. This
-
ww
0.07-
direct influence of liquid velocity on the riser gas holdup
is evident from Figure 5. As the gas holdup approaches
Ar the volumetric feed ratio of the gas and the liquid,
0.05- 0 0 69 that is, as the liquid velocity increases, at a constant
0.04 - 0
13
044
0.25 ( U G ) r ,the gas holdup tends to approach a constant
a 0.11 value and the airlift contactor seems then to exhibit
0.03 - 8 0.00
the properties of a “transport reactor.” The decrease
in ( E ~ ) caused
, by increasing ( UL)roccurs irrespective
I I I I I I I I
of regulation of the liquid velocity. As shown in Figure
5 , data obtained by reducing the liquid velocity by
throttling the liquid flow in the contactors agree well
Figure 4. Riser gas holdup in bubble column and external-loop with the trend, as also was observed by Onken and
airlift contactors (water). Weiland.’
1 -
Ad
Ar
0.69
0.20 h P 0.44
0.25
0.11
0.00
0.44 (T) *
0 . 2 5 (TI *
0.10 c 0
0 10 20 30 40
Q 0.00
-E O . ( 4 . 1 0 ) ('G)r
0 1
Ad
0 07
0 069 EL
0 044 EL
D 025 EL
0 05
A 0 11 EL
A 0 13 CT
8 0 35 CT
0 56 CT
0.05 0 03 I
70 loo 200 300 500 700 loo0 0 2 03 0 4 0 5 07 10
+2 )
(3°.56(
(PJV,,)~ (w/m3)
1
Figure 6. Riser gas holdup in bubble column and concentric-tube
airlift contactors (water). Figure 7. Correlation of riser gas holdup in airlift contactors (water).
0.12 -
0.10-
( %)d
0.08 -
0.06 -
WATER SALT $
0 0.69 E-L
0 0.44 E-L
0.25 E-L
A 0.31 E-L
A A 0.13 CT
8 m 0.35 CT
0 0.56 CT
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.20 0.22 0.24
(&h
Figure 9. Relationship between riser and downcomer gas holdups.
tube airlift contactors, leading to the formation of flowrates to bubbly-slug and slug flows at higher gas
smaller sized bubbles (than in the riser) with lower flowrates.
terminal rise velocity. Thus, despite the relatively lower In both types of A L contactors there is a consistent
liquid velocity, more bubbles are transported in the pattern of variation of (K,u,), with changing A d / A , .
downcomer. A direct linear relationship was also ob- As the downcomer diameter was increased relative to
tained between ( & G ) d and ( E ~ in) concentric-tube
~ airlift that of the riser, that is, as &/A, was increased,
contactors of this and similar works in the literature (K,u,), decreased. This relationship previously has
(Fig. 9), as expressed by
(EG)d = O-WEG)~ (9)
Experimental results in larger sizes of airlift contactors 0.07 -
-
would be needed to confirm the applicability of equa- 0.05 -
tions (8) and (9) to an industrial scale contactor.
-
--
'n
0.04
0.03-
VOLUMETRIC MASS TRANSFER COEFFICIENT 1
is indicative of the change in the two-phase flow pattern Figure 10. Overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient, ( & , u ~ ) ~ ,
in these contactors from bubbly flow at the lower gas in the bubble column and the external-loop airlift contactors (water).
0.001 I I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 I
1
on both the gas holdup and K L u D , for relatively short
to
columns ( ~ 1 . m).
0 Further work is required in order
to be able to generalize or to limit this finding for all
modes of operation.
The higher (K,u,), in the batch-operated bubble
column does not necessarily give it an overriding ad-
vantage compared to the AL contactor for all appli-
3 cations. The high liquid circulation rate, which is re-
0.00 EL ported to promote better mixing* and heat transfer, if
0.11 EL
2 0 0 . 2 5 EL accompanied by a (K,a,), which meets the transfer
0 0.44 EL rate requirement should give the airlift contactor an
0 0 . 6 9 EL
A 0.13 C T economic advantage, particularly for operations where
-
2
Y
0 . 3 5 CT mixing is important.
0.56 CT
-
u
8 ~A+E R
-
7b-DECKWER ET AL ( E l
9 43 cmh
conditions. The results of this study and all available
literature data indicates a linear relationship between
9-0.15rmollm’ NoCI
003 0 0 5 0 1
I I I I l l I l 1
0 5 1
I I 1 1 U
5 10
the riser and downcomer gas holdups.
The results of this study have led to a better fun-
damental understanding of the interactions between
the various parameters that govern the operational
Figure 14. Dimensionless correIation of the volumetric mass transfer
coefficient data in airlift contactors (water and salt solution). characteristics of airlift contactors, regardless of type.
*(&aD), calculated from (aD)T measurements and kL values of Cald- Correlations applicable to the scale of contactors tested
erbank and Moo-Young.w have been presented. As a result, some guidance toward
References
NOMENCLATURE 1. R. A. Bello, C. W. Robinson, and M. Moo-Young, in Advances
in Biotechnology, Vol. I, Scientijic and Engineering Principles,
a, gas-liquid interfacial area per unit volume of gas-
M. Moo-Young, C. W. Robinson, and C. Vezina, Eds. (Pergamon
liquid dispersion (m’/m’)
Press, Toronto, 1981), p. 547.
A cross-sectional area (m’)
2. R. A. Bello, C. W. Robinson, and M. Moo-Young, Can. J.
Co, initial dissolved oxygen concentration (mol/m’)
Chem. Eng., 62, 573 (1984).
C, dissolved oxygen concentration at any time (mol/m’)
3. R. T . Hatch, “Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Oxygen
C
, final dissolved oxygen concentration (mol/m’)
Transfer in the Airlift Fermentor,” Doctoral Thesis, MIT, Cam-
constant in equation (16) (dimensionless)
bridge, Mass. (1973).
exponent in equation (16) (dimensionless)
4. C. H . Lin, B. S. Fang, C. S. Wu, H. Y. Fang, T. F. Kuo, and
exponent in equation (16) (dimensionless)
KC. Y. Hu, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 18, 1557 (1976).
Sauter mean bubble diameter (m)
5. V. Onken and P. Weiland, in Advances in Biofechnology, Vol.
internal diameter (m)
I, Scientific and Engineering Principles, M. Moo-Young,
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C. W. Robinson, and C. Vezina, Eds. (Pergamon Press, Toronto,
Froude number, F r = U : / g D , (dimensionless)
1981), p. 559.
gravitational acceleration (m/s2) 6. F. Yoshida and K. Akita, AIChE J., 11, 9 (1965).
G gas molar flowrate (mol/s) 7. F. Kastanek, J. Zahradnik, M. Rylek, and J. Kratschvil, Chem.
H Henry’s Law constant (N m/mol) Eng. Sci., 35, 456 (1980).
Ho height between horizontal connections (m) 8. W. D. Deckwer, R. Burckhart, and G. Zoll, Chem. Eng. Sci.,
HD dispersion height (m) 29, 2177 (1974).
KL overall mass transfer coefficient, based on liquid- 9. J. H . Hills, Chem. Eng. J . , 12, 89 (1976).
phase concentration driving force (m/s) 10. M. Chakravarty, S . Begum, H. D. Singh, J. N. Bamah, and
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gas-liquid dispersion volume (s-‘) 11. D. E. D. H. El-Gabbani, “Hydrodynamic and Mass Transfer
KLa, overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient based on Characteristics of an Airlift Contactor,” M.A.Sc. Thesis, Uni-
liquid volume (s-l) versity of Waterloo, Ontario (1977).
Pe, riser Peclet number, Pe = (UL),D,/DL (dimensionless) 12. M. E. Orazem, L. T. Fan, and L. E. Erickson, Biorechnol.
pressure at the top of the contactor (N/m’) Bioeng., 21, 1579 (1979).
pneumatic power input per unit gas-liquid dispersion 13. H. Fukuda, T. Shiotani, W. Okada, and H. Morikawa, J. Fer-
volume (W/m’) ment. Technol., 56, 619 (1978).
volumetric gas rate (at 101.3 kPa and 0°C) (m’/s) 14. L. L. Gasner, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 16, 1179 (1974).
riser Reynolds number, Re, = pL(UL),D,/pL IS. R. D. Botton, D. Cosserat, and J. C. Charpentier, Chem. Eng.
(dimensionless) J . , 20, 87 (1980).
riser Stanton number, St, = (KLaD),HD/(uL), 16. M. E. Orazem and L. E. Erickson, Biotechnol. Bioeng., 21,
(dimensionless) 69 (1979).
superficial gas velocity, based on A (m/s) 17. C. G . Sinclair and D. N. Ryder, Biofechnol. Bioeng., 17, 375
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volume in contactor (m’) 18. K. Schugerl, J. Liicke, and V. Oels, in Advances in Biochemical
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Greek letters brough, Eds. (Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1977), p. 1.
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P 20. R. A. Bello, “A Characterization Study of Airlift Contactors
vs. time, P = A{ln[(C, - Cof)/(Cor - C,,)I}/At
for Applications to Fermentations,” Ph.D. Thesis, University
yI parameter defined in equation (2), y , = GH/(VL)r(Pr
of Waterloo, Ontario (1981).
+ P&HL/~) (s-’)
21. R. Botton, D. Cosserat and J. C . Charpentier, Chem. Eng. J . ,
yz parameter in equation (2), y2 = P , / ( P , + pLgHL)
16, 107 (1978).
(dimensionless)
22. K. Akita and F. Yoshida, Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Develop.,
-y3 parameter in equation (2), y, = GH/(V,),P, (s-’)
12, 76 (1973).
Ah height differential in column (m)
Az manometric height differential (m) 23. J. F. Marchatere and B. W. Hoglund, Nucleonics, 20(8), 142
.zG gas holdup (dimensionless) (1962).
I*. liquid viscosity (N s/m’) 24. J. G . Collier, Convective Boiling and Condensation (McGraw
P mass density (kg/m3) Hill, London, 1972).
0- interfacial surface tension (N/m) 25. M. Kawagoe and C. W. Robinson (unpublished data).
26. N. Zuber and J. A. Finlay, J . Heat Trans., 87, C(4), 453 (1965).
Subscripts 27. D. S. Scott, in Advances in Chemical Engineering, Vol. 4,
B bubble T. B. Drew, J. W. H o o p s Jr., and T. Vermuelen, Eds. (Academic
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