Mass transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics of a Long Draft Tube Self-ingesting Reactor (LDTSR) for gas-liquid-solid operations

Gas-liquid stirred vessels are widely employed to carry out chemical reactions involving a gas reagent and a liquid phase. The usual way for introducing the gas stream into the liquid phase is through suitable distributors placed below the impeller. An interesting alternative is that of using “self ingesting” vessels where the headspace gas phase is injected and dispersed into the vessel through suitable surface vortices. In this work the performance of a Long Draft Tube Self-ingesting Reactor dealing with gas-liquid-solid systems, is investigated. Preliminary experimental results on the effectiveness of this contactor for particle suspension and gas-liquid mass transfer performance in presence of solid particles are presented. It is found that the presence of low particle fractions causes a significant increase in the minimum speed required for vortex ingestion of the gas. Impeller pumping capacity and gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient are found to be affected by the presence of solid particles, though to a lesser extent than with other self-ingesting devices

Free surface oxygen transfer in large aspect ratio unbaffled bio-reactors, with or without draft-tube

It is widely accepted that animal cell damage in aerated bioreactors is mainly related to the bursting of bubbles at the air-liquid interface. A viable alternative to sparged bioreactors may be represented by uncovered unbaffled stirred tanks, which have been recently found to be able to provide sufficient mass transfer through the deep free surface vortex which takes place under agitation conditions. As a matter of fact, if the vortex is not allowed to reach impeller blades, no bubble formation and subsequent bursting at the free-surface, along with relevant cells damage, occurs.In this work oxygen transfer performance of large aspect ratio unbaffled stirred bioreactors, either equipped or not with an internal draft tube, is presented, in view of their use as biochemical reactors especially suited for shear sensitive cell cultivation

Local gas-liquid hold-up and interfacial area via light sheet and image analysis

Particle Image Velocimetry techniques coupled with advanced Image Processing tools are receiving an increasing interest for measuring flow quantities and local bubble-size distributions in gas-liquid contactors. In this work, an effective experimental technique for measuring local gas hold-up and interfacial area, as well as bubble size distribution, is discussed. The technique, hereafter referred to as Laser Induced Fluorescence with Shadow Analysis for Bubble Sizing (LIF-SABS) is based on laser sheet illumination of the gas-liquid dispersion and synchronized camera, i.e. on equipment typically available within PIV set-ups. The liquid phase is made fluorescent by a suitable dye, and an optical filter is placed in front of the camera optics, in order to allow only fluoresced light to reach the camera CCD. In this way bubbles intercepted by the laser sheet are clearly identified thanks to the neat shade resulting in the images. This allows excluding from subsequent analysis all bubbles visible in the images but not actually intercepted by the laser sheet, so resulting in better spatial resolution and data reliability. When trying to analyze image information the problem arises that bubble sizes are generally underestimated, due to the fact that the laser sheet randomly cuts bubbles over non-diametrical planes, leading to an apparent bubble size distribution even in the ideal case of single sized bubbles. Clearly in the case of bubbles with a size distribution the experimental information obtained is affected by the superposition of effects. A statistical correction for estimating local gas hold-up and specific interfacial area from relevant apparent data as obtained by laser sheet illumination and image analysis is discussed and applied to preliminary experimental data obtained in a gas-liquid stirred vessel

Vortex shape in unbaffled stirred vessels: experimental study via digital image analysis

There is a growing interest in using unbaffled stirred tanks for addressing certain processing needs. In this work, digital image analysis coupled with a suitable shadowgraphy-based technique is used to investigate the shape of the free-surface vortex that forms in uncovered unbaffled stirred tanks. The technique is based on back-lighting the vessel and suitably averaging vortex shape over time. Impeller clearance from vessel bottom and tank filling level are varied to investigate their influence on vortex shape. A correlation is finally proposed to fully describe vortex shape also when the vortex encompasses the impeller

Influence of drag and turbulence modelling on CFD predictions of solid liquid suspensions in stirred vessels

Suspensions of solid particles into liquids within industrial stirred tanks are frequently carried out at an impeller speed lower than the minimum required for complete suspension conditions. This choice allows power savings which usually overcome the drawback of a smaller particle-liquid interfacial area. Despite this attractive economical perspective, only limited attention has been paid so far to the modelling of the partial suspension regime. In the present work two different baffled tanks stirred by Rushton turbines were simulated by employing the Eulerian-Eulerian Multi Fluid Model (MFM) along with either the Sliding Grid algorithm (transient simulations) or the Multiple Reference Frame technique (steady state simulations). In particular, a comparison of alternative modelling approaches for inter-phase drag force and turbulence closure is presented. The results are evaluated against a number of experimental data concerning sediment features (amount and shape) and local axial profiles of solids concentration, with emphasis on the partial suspension regime. Results show that some of the approaches commonly adopted to account for dense particle effects or turbulent fluctuations of the volumetric fractions may actually lead to substantial discrepancies from the experimental data. Conversely simpler models which do not include such additional effects give the best overall predictions in the whole range of partial to complete suspension conditions

CFD prediction of solid particle distribution in baffled stirred vessels under partial to complete suspension conditions

Solid-liquid mixing within tanks agitated by stirrers can be easily encountered in many industrial processes. It is common to find an industrial tank operating at an impeller speed N lower than the minimum agitation speed for the suspension of solid particles: under such conditions the distribution of solid-particles is very far from being homogeneous and very significant concentration gradients exist. The present work evaluates the capability of a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to reliably predict the particle distribution throughout the tank under either partial or complete suspension conditions. A flat bottomed baffled tank stirred by a Rushton turbine was investigated. Both transient and steady state RANS simulations of the stirred tank were performed with the commercial code CFX4.4. The Eulerian-Eulerian Multi Fluid Model along with the k-ε turbulence model was adopted. Either the Sliding Grid or the Multiple Reference Frame technique was employed to simulate the impeller to baffle relative rotation. Inter-phase momentum exchange terms were approximated only by the inter-phase drag forces. Literature experimental data were used for the model validation. Results show that the model along with the Sliding Grid technique can reliably predict the experimental particle distribution at all investigated impeller speeds. Radial gradients of solids concentration, usually neglected in the literature, where found to be significant in the presence of unsuspended solid particles (partial suspension conditions)

Power requirements for complete suspension and aeration in an unbaffled bioslurry reactor

Remediation of contaminated soils is spreading as a matter of crucial importance nowadays. Bioremediation via bioslurry reactors of sites polluted by recalcitrant pollutants has been proved to be a valuable option, although optimization is needed to reduce process costs. Free-surface unbaffled stirred tanks (with central air vortex) have been recently proposed as a promising alternative to the more common systems provided with baffles. In a bioslurry reactor solid-liquid interfacial area, oxygen supply, solid loading per reactor unit volume should be maximized, and, at the same time, operation costs have to be kept low. In this regard, the minimum impeller speeds for complete suspension Njs (suspension of all solid particles) and aeration Nca (air vortex ingested by the turbine and dispersed as bubbles in the system) represents a reasonable compromise between process yield and power requirements. To this purpose, a flat bottomed unbaffled tank with diameter T=0.19 m was investigated. The tank was filled with water up to a height H=T. It was stirred by a radial sixbladed Rushton turbines (RT) with diameter D=T/3 and H=T/3. Mono-dispersed particles with diameter dp=250-300μm and density p≈2500 kg/m3 were employed. Solid loadings B% ranging from 2.5% (weight of solid/weight of liquid) up to the very high 160% w/w were tested. The visual Zwietering criterion along with the aid of a digital camera was employed to evaluate Njs values. An acoustic criterion was adopted to assess Nca. A static frictionless granite turntable was employed to measure the impeller torque at Njs and Nca and to assess the relevant specific power requirements js and ca. Results show that the dependence of Njs and Nca on B% is much lower at low solids loading (B30%). The relevant specific powers per unit mass of solids (i.e. js and ca) were found to exhibit a minimum, at B≈20% for js and B≈60% for ca. On overall, data collected suggest that operating a radially stirred unbaffled bioslurry reactor loaded with a concentration B≈30% could be the best compromise to minimize the costs for achieving complete suspension and aeration conditions