Liquid phase axial mixing in bubble columns operated at high pressures

Liquid phase axial mixing was measured in a 100 mm i.d. bubble column operated in the pressure range of 0.1–0.5 MPa. Water, ethanol and 1-butanol were used as the liquid phase and nitrogen as the gas phase. The temperature and superficial gas velocity were varied in the range of 298–323 K and 0.01–0.21 m/s, respectively. The axial dispersion coefficient increased with an increase in the gas density due to pressure. The temperature had surprisingly a small effect. A CFD model was developed for the prediction of flow pattern in terms of mean velocity and eddy diffusivity profiles. The model was further extended for the prediction of residence time distribution and hence the axial dispersion coefficient (DLDL). The predictions of axial dispersion coefficient agree favorably with all the experimental data collected in this work as well as published in the literature. The model was extended for different gas–liquid systems. The predicted values of axial dispersion coefficient were found to agree very well with all the experimental data.