H o r s t -M i c h a e l P r a s s e r J o c h e n Z s c h a u 1 D i e t e r P e t e r s G e r d P i e t z s c h W o l f g a n g T a u b e r t M a n u e l T r e p t e 2In suspension polymerisation processes, the principal aim is the formation of as uniform a suspension as possible of monomer droplets in an aqueous phase and the prevention of coalescence of these droplets during reaction, as this controls the size distribution of final polymer particles. In order to understand what influences drop size in a reactor, we have modelled drop breakage and coalescence rates using discretised population balance equations. The model reactor chosen in our work is the novel oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR). In this article, we report our recent investigation on the reliability of the breakage and coalescence rates evaluated using the model and our thoughts for the way forward.

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Real-time monitoring of gas-liquid pipe flow is highly demanded in industrial processes in the chemical and power engineering sectors. Therefore, the present contribution describes the novel design of a robust wire-mesh sensor with an integrated data processing unit. The developed device features a sensor body for industrial conditions of up to 400 °C and 135 bar as well as real-time processing of measured data, including phase fraction calculation, temperature compensation and flow pattern identification. Furthermore, user interfaces are included via a display and 4…20 mA connectivity for the integration into industrial process control systems. In the second part of the contribution, we describe the experimental verification of the main functionalities of the developed system. Firstly, the calculation of cross-sectionally averaged phase fractions along with temperature compensation was tested. Considering temperature drifts of up to 55 K, an average deviation of 3.9% across the full range of the phase fraction was found by comparison against image references from camera recordings. Secondly, the automatic flow pattern identification was tested in an air–water two-phase flow loop. The results reveal reasonable agreement with well-established flow pattern maps for both horizontal and vertical pipe orientations. The present results indicate that all prerequisites for an application in industrial environments in the near future are fulfilled.

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