Characterization and optimization of an oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR) for ozone-water mass transfer

Ozone-water mass transfer was investigated using an oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR) operated as a semi-batch and as a co-current up flow continuous reactor. The effects of input ozone concentration, input gas and water flow rates, and oscillation conditions on gas hold up, volumetric mass transfer coefficient and mass transfer efficiency were determined. The same reactor was operated as a baffled column (without oscillation) and as a bubble column to assess the effect of the reactor arrangement on the mass transfer. The results show that the OBR was 5 and 3 times more efficient for ozone-water mass transfer than the baffled and bubble columns, respectively. The enhancement obtained with OBR over the baffled column reactor was found to decrease with gas flow rate due to changes in bubble flow pattern from homogenous to heterogeneous. Under continuous flow conditions, the performance of the baffled reactor and the OBR were found to be twice efficient for ozone-water mass transfer than when operating under semi-batch conditions. The mass transfer effeciency (MTE) was found to increase from 57% using the baffled reactor to 92% with OBR under continuous flow at water and gas superficial velocities of 0.3 and 3.4 cm s−1, respectively.