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Bubble columns and slurry bubble column reactors (SBCRs), due to their superior heat transfer characteristics, are the contactors of choice for conversion of syngas to fuels and chemicals. The multiphase fluid dynamics in these systems determines the mass and heat transfer and greatly affects reactor volumetric productivity and selectivity. Here we show how the recently collected data for liquid velocity, turbulence parameters, and holdup profiles can be used in guiding model development for liquid backmixing and in providing the needed model parameters. Predictions of the two-compartment convective-diffusion model for the residence time distribution of a nonvolatile tracer, which are based on measured liquid recirculation driven by the gas holdup profile and turbulence caused by the rising gas bubbles, are shown to be in good agreement with tracer data. The adaptation of model parameters needed to achieve predictability for industrial tracer data is discussed. The ability of the model to predict the liquid tracer responses at various locations in a SBCR during methanol synthesis is illustrated.

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