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Journal of The Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers: Min-Hao Yuan, Yi-Hung Chen, Jhih-Ying Tsai, Ching-Yuan Chang
Journal of The Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers: Min-Hao Yuan, Yi-Hung Chen, Jhih-Ying Tsai, Ching-Yuan Chang
Journal of The Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers: Min-Hao Yuan, Yi-Hung Chen, Jhih-Ying Tsai, Ching-Yuan Chang
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: In this study, a continuous-flow rotating packed bed (RPB), functioning as an efficient gas–liquid contactor,
Received 27 July 2015 was employed for the ammonia stripping from wastewater in laboratory-scale and pilot-scale systems at
Revised 23 September 2015
ambient temperature. The effects of major operating variables, such as rotational speed (ω), liquid flow rate
Accepted 25 November 2015
(QL ), and gas flow rate (QG ) on the volumetric liquid mass-transfer coefficient (KL a) and stripping efficiency
Available online 15 January 2016
(η) were elucidated. The results show that the KL a values demonstrate the greatest increase with increasing
Keywords: gas flow rate (QG ), followed by liquid flow rate (QL ) and rotating speed (ω). Although changes in KL a would
Ammonia stripping be expected to directly reflect in the η values, the increased QL results in considerable compensation effects
Rotating packed bed leading to the decreased η, predominantly due to the decreased liquid hydraulic retention time. The dimen-
Continuous flow sionless models used in this study describe the relationships of KL a and η with the major parameters for
Miniaturization ammonia stripping in the RPB, and demonstrate good agreement with the experimental data. Moreover, in
Mass transfer
the continuous-flow pilot-scale RPB, an η of 95% was achieved at 4.6 min. while KL a values of approximately
0.017–0.027 1/s and height transfer unit (HTU) values of 2.2–4.8 cm were obtained at a QL of 5 L/min, QG of
1,500 L/min, and ω of 480–1000 rpm, suggesting that the RPB is a viable alternative technology for stripping
large loadings of ammonia from wastewater.
© 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtice.2015.11.016
1876-1070/© 2015 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
M.-H. Yuan et al. / Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 60 (2016) 488–495 489
2 10
1
9
3 T
4 8
5 Gas in
D
Liquid out 6 7
Fig. 1. Experimental apparatus sketch of ammonia stripping in a laboratory-scale rotating packed bed (RPB). Components: 1. Ammonia-storage tank; 2. Pump; 3. Thermocouple;
4. RPB; 5. Packed bed; 6. Ion-selective electrode; 7. Motor; 8. Air flow meter; 9. Air compressor; 10. Neutralization tank.
Table 1
Specification and experimental condition of laboratory-scale and pilot-scale RPBs used in this study and a compassion with a traditional air-stripping
tower.
Dimensions
Inner radius of a packed bed (ri ) m 0.0355 0.125 –
Outer radius of a packed bed (r0 ) m 0.0850 0.280 0.08
Average radius of a packed bed (ravg ) m 0.0603 0.203 –
Axial height of a packed bed (ZB ) m 0.0215 0.123 1.8
Volume of a packed bed (VB ) m3 3.7 × 10−4 0.02426 0.9217
Total area of a packing (ap VB ) m2 0.338 20.376 -a
Average cross section area of a packed bed (AC ) m2 0.0081 0.1565 0.9217
Specific area of packing per unit volume of a packed-bed (ap ) m2 /m3 840 840 –
Voidage (ε ) m3 /m3 0.954 0.954 –
Operating variables
Initial concentration of ammonia mg/L 1000 5630 2031
Temperature °C 30 28.4–30 18–21
pH – 11 11.5–12 11.7
Liquid flow rate (QL ) L/min 0.025–0.1 5–11.6 0.845
Gas flow rate (QG ) L/min 30–60 9000–18000 90
QG /QL ratio – 750–1800 1120–3000 106.5
Rotational speed rpm 300–1200 300–1000 –
a
The tower was packed with 250 plastic rings (properties and dimension were not reported).
2. Experimental setup NaOH solution (45%, Jin Yih Chemical Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan). A
diaphragm liquid pump (KNF 1.300 TT 18S, KNF, Sursee, Switzerland)
2.1. The laboratory-scale RPB system was used for the constant introduction of the ammonia solution into
the housing at a flow rate (QL ) of 0.025–0.1 L/min, whereas the flow
Fig. 1 depicts the experimental setup of the laboratory-scale RPB rate of air (QG ) was 30–60 L/min, controlled by an air compressor
system employed in this study, which consists of an RPB, gas and liq- (DT-175-2C, Tong Cheng Iron Works Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan) and
uid feed controls, analysis of effluents and neutralization of effluent an air flow meter (Dwyer Instruments Inc., Michigan City, IN, USA).
gas. The specifications and experimental conditions of the RPB are The ratio of gas and liquid flow rates (QG /QL ) was set between 750
given in Table 1. The reactor volume (VB ) of the RPB was estimated to and 1800. A hot plate and magnetic stirrer (C-MAG HS7 S1, IKA
be the volume of the packed-bed rotator, π (r0 2 – ri 2 )ZB , wherein ri , Lab Equipment, Staufen, Germany), teflon heating tape (Kwo-Yi Co.,
r0 , and ZB represent the inner radius, outer radius, and axial height of Taipei, Taiwan), and type-K thermocouples (TES-1306, TES Electrical
the packed-bed rotator, respectively. A motor was connected to the Electronic Corp., Taipei, Taiwan) at the inlet of the ammonia solution
bed through a rotor shaft on two bearings mounted to a steel struc- and the RPB housing were used to control the temperatures of
ture to produce the bed rotation and its rotating speed was varied the solution and the RPB system at 30 °C. The concentrations of
from 300 to 1200 rpm, resulting in a centrifugal force equivalent to ammonia in the inlet and outlet solutions were determined using
6.25 to 100 gravitational acceleration, respectively. The liquid stream an ion-selective electrode (HI4101, Hanna Instruments, Woonsocket,
is sprayed by the liquid distributor at the center of the RPB while gas RI, USA). For the neutralization of the effluent gas, the stripped or
stream flows countercurrently to the liquid in the RPB. Liquid dis- purged ammonia gas was introduced into a sulfuric acid solution
tributor has six holes in a vertical group of two, and the groups are (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) before entering the exhaust.
spaced 180° apart. Grade 304 stainless steel wires cut in the shape
of annular rings were used for the packing, which was composed of 2.2. The pilot-scale RPB system
interconnected wires with a mean diameter of 0.22 mm.
Ammonia solution was prepared using ammonium chloride (99%, Similar to the laboratory-scale system, the pilot-scale experi-
Jin Yih Chemical Co., Ltd., Taipei, Taiwan) adjusted to pH 11 using mental system also comprised an RPB, gas and liquid feed controls,
M.-H. Yuan et al. / Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 60 (2016) 488–495 491
KLa (s-1)
packing area of the pilot-scale system were approximately 60 times
greater than that of the laboratory-scale system. The specific area
of packing per unit volume of a packed bed, so-called the surface-
0.003
to-volume ratio, was controlled at the same level, which provides
similar surface capacity for gas–liquid mass transfer. The dynamic
and kinematic similarities were usually estimated by dimensionless 0.002
parameters, such as Reynolds number of gas (ReG ) based on the gas
mass flux, gas density and gas viscosity, Reynolds number of liquid
(ReL ) based on the liquid mass flux, liquid density and liquid viscosity 0.001
and liquid Grashof number (GrL,avg ) based on the average bed radius, 300 600 900 1200
liquid viscosity and centrifugal acceleration. The ratio of both ReG b ω (rpm)
and ReL between for the laboratory-scale and pilot-scale RPB were 80
6–10 while that of GrL,avg were 60–80.
The treatment capacity of wastewater can be up to 200-fold
greater than that of the laboratory-scale RPB. Liquid distributor is
placed in a vertical group of four, and the groups are spaced 90° apart.
Note that the feed gas was controlled by a turbofan at the outlet of ex- 60
haust gas and the concentration of ammonia in the effluent gas after
η (%)
exiting the neutralization tower was below 1 ppm. The facility was
fabricated by SinoTech Engineering Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan).
40
2.3. Determination of mass transfer coefficient and efficiency of
ammonia removal
a b
0.007 0.007
0.006 0.006
0.005 0.005
KLa (s-1)
KLa (s-1)
0.004 0.004
0.003 0.003
0.002 0.002
0.001 0.001
70
60
60
50
η (%)
η (%)
50
40
40
30
30
20 20
0 0.025 0.05 0.075 0.1 0 0.025 0.05 0.075 0.1
QL (L/min) QL (L/min)
Fig. 3. Variations of (a) KL a and (b) η for ammonia stripping with QL at QG /QL of 600 (solid symbol and dotted line) and 1200 (empty symbol and solid line) and of (c) KL a and (d)
η with QL at QG of 60 L/min (solid symbol and dotted line) and T of 30 °C. ω = 300 (◦ or •), 600 ( or ), 900 ( or ♦) and 1200 ( or ). Solid and dotted lines: Predictions for KL a
and η were based on Eqs. 8 and 4, respectively.
through the packing due to the action of the centrifugal force under tively. The results reveal that the values of KL a and η increase with an
high ω, similar to the mechanism of VOC stripping [25]. Ammonia increase of QG /QL at the same level as that of ω.
then evaporates into the gas phase rapidly during this process at at- It is noted that the values of ReG were 4.95 and 14.85 for QG /QL of
mospheric pressure. The performance of ammonia stripping in terms 600 and 1800 at QL of 0.05 L/min, respectively. A higher QG /QL and
of η (Fig. 2b) indicates that the values of η were increased with the ReG represented that a higher QG was used at the same level of QL
increased ω, which is in agreement with the theory. In the mean time, and therefore a higher capacity to transfer the ammonia molecules
a higher centrifugal acceleration also reduces a thickness of liquid from the air–water interface to the gaseous phase was provided. Al-
film on the packing, resulting in the decrease in the amounts of liquid though a higher QG /QL or QG also results in a smaller exposure time
holdup (VL ) and liquid hydraulic retention time (tL ) in the packed bed of the liquid and gas currents, it is apparent that the introduction of
[28]. Nevertheless, drop in VL and tL may influence the liquid–gas in- abundant air enhances the mass transfer of ammonia due to the fast
terface and mass transfer differently. The lower liquid film and VL the refresh rate of gas–liquid interface and consequently the short expo-
stronger is the enhancement of mass transfer. In contrary, the lower sure time required to attain the desired high efficiency in RPB.
tL may result in a compensation effect of rotating speed that reduces The effects of QL on KL a and η as a function of ω under operation
the values of KL a and η in some circumstances [20]. Yet, the consider- at a QG /QL of 600 to 1200 and QG of 60 L/min are shown in Fig. 3.
able compensation effects on KL a and η due to the drops in tL with the As revealed in Figs. 3a and 3c, the experimental KL a increased with
increased ω were not significantly observed under our experimental higher QL at the same levels of QG /QL , QG and ω. At ω of 1200 rpm and
conditions. QG /QL of 1200, the values of KL a at a QL of 0.075 L/min (0.00492 1/s)
Fig. 2 illustrates that the QG /QL had significant effects on KL a were 2.8 times higher than that at a QL of 0.025 L/min (0.00174 1/s).
and η. The results indicate that the value of KL a at a QG /QL of Similarly, the considerable increasing trends on KL a were identified
1800 (0.00473 1/s) is 2.5 times higher than that at a QG /QL of 600 by the increase of QL at a low QG /QL of 600 or the same QG .
(0.00188 1/s), whereas the value of η at a QG /QL of 1800 (76.0%) is When the higher QL enhanced the relative velocity among the
also 2.1 times higher than that at a QG /QL of 600 (36.8%). A similar liquids and packing, the Reynolds number of the liquid (ReL ) were
trend was found at low ω of 300 rpm. The values of KL a were 0.00117 simultaneously increased toward a higher degree of turbulence.
and 0.00259 1/s at QG /QL of 600 and 1800, respectively; likewise, the The numbers of ReL were increased from 0.082 to 0.247 as the QL
values of η were 29.4% and 59.0% at a QG /QL of 600 and 1800, respec- increased from 0.025 to 0.075 L/min at QG /QL of 1200. However,
M.-H. Yuan et al. / Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers 60 (2016) 488–495 493
a 0.16 < KL adP /DL aP < 0.85, 0.082 < ReL < 0.329, 4.95 < ReG < 14.85
and 1.80 × 109 < GrL, avg < 2.88 × 1010 . Based on the power of the di-
mensionless groups in Eq. 8, KL a is more sensitive to changes in ReG ,
0.006 than ReL and GrL,avg . Hence, the strong enhancement in mass trans-
fer by the supply of fresh air is clearly observed because of the fast
KLa, predicted (s-1)
70
The stripping experiments in the pilot-scale RPB system were con-
ducted at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. The ex-
η , predicted (%)
a c
0.03 0.03
0.025
0.025
KLa (s-1)
KLa (s-1)
0.02
0.02
0.015
0.01 0.015
300 600 900 1200 9 12 15
b ω (rpm) d QG (m3/min)
100 100
95
η (%)
η (%)
95
90
85 90
300 600 900 1200 9 12 15
ω (rpm) QG (m3/min)
Fig. 5. Variation of (a) KL a and (b) η for ammonia stripping with ω at QG /QL of 3000 and of (c) KL a and (d) η with QG at ω = 1000 rpm. QL of 5 L/min and T of 30 °C in the pilot-scale
RPB system. Solid lines: Predictions for KL a and η were based on Eqs. 9 and 4, respectively.
significant reduction in the time required to achieve the satisfactory [17] Liu B, Giannis A, Zhang J, Chang VWC, Wang JY. Air stripping process for ammo-
treatment efficiency for wastewaters with high ammonia loadings. nia recovery from source-separated urine: Modeling and optimization. J Chem
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Acknowledgments batch jet loop reactor. J Ind Eng Chem 2012;18:399–404.
[19] Chen YS, Liu HS. Absorption of VOCs in a rotating packed bed. Ind Eng Chem Res
2002;41:1583–8.
This work was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology [20] Lin CC, Liu WT, Tan CS. Removal of carbon dioxide by absorption in a rotating
of Taiwan (102-2622-E-027-024-CC3) and by SinoTech Engineering packed bed. Ind Eng Chem Res 2003;42:2381–6.
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authors are grateful for these contributions.
2006;52:274–9.
[22] Jassim MS, Rochelle G, Eimer D, Ramshaw C. Carbon dioxide absorption and des-
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