Modelling of reactive stripping in monolith reactors

In this work, (reactive) stripping carried out in film flow monolith reactors developed for counter-current operation is investigated. Usually mass transfer in reactive separation has to be determined experimentally due to the complex flow patterns. However, monoliths have a simple geometry; only laminar flow is present throughout the column. This allows the calculation of the thickness of the liquid layer directly using Navier-Stokes equations. With this thickness known, the mass transfer can be calculated based on the convection in axial direction, diffusion in radial direction and vapour-liquid equilibrium. A model has been developed and implemented in Fortran® based on the concept of a direct solution of convective diffusion equations, using the Thomas algorithm for solving the counter-current operation mode. Experimental data from literature have been used to validate the model for a binary and a multi-component system. The stripping of oxygen from saturated water by nitrogen was modelled assuming Fickian diffusion and vapour-liquid transfer based on the Henry constants. In a second step, multi-component diffusion and complex mass transfer at the interface were taken into account to describe the stripping of water by nitrogen from a mixture of hexyl-octanoate and cumene (solvent) under reactive stripping conditions.