Fluid dynamics in multiphase distillation processes in packed towers

Hoffmann, A.; Ausner, Ilja; Repke, Jens‐Uwe; Wozny, Günter

doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2005.02.004

Cited by 82 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…Under this condition, simulations are carried out with different mesh sizes of 0.1mm, 0.0625mm and 0.05mm along the film thickness. A comparison of the specific wetted area between experimental data (Hoffmann et al, 2005) and simulation results with different mesh sizes for cases 1-5 are shown in Fig. 3.…”

Section: Determination Of the Mesh Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed descriptions about the experimental setup and operating procedure could be found in Hoffmann et al (2005) and Ausner (2006). To reduce the influence of the outflow field and the gas pressure on the liquid phase, the height of the channel for simulations is fixed at 10mm (usually the film thickness δ is not more than 1mm corresponding to the current Reynolds numbers).…”

Section: Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the interaction between the two liquids, the liquid flow behavior changes dramatically which leads to the uncertainty of the separation efficiencies for the structured packed columns. The liquid flow behavior is an important factor affecting the separation efficiencies; the characteristics of the local flow behavior such as film flow, rivulet flow and droplet flow are required to be studied (Hoffmann et al, 2005;Repke et al, 2007). From the viewpoint of control and operation, the interfacial area for heat and mass transfer as well as the residence time should be increased in order to improve the separation efficiencies for the structured packed columns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

CFD Study on Liquid Flow Behavior on Inclined Flat Plate Focusing on Effect of Flow Rate

Yuan

Repke

et al. 2012

Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics

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ABSTRACT:The factors affecting the separation efficiencies of structured packed columns are multi-scale, including the macroscopic variables (eg feed rate, pressure and temperature) and the microscopic liquid flow behavior and distribution. Especially in the situation in which the second liquid phase is inevitable within distillation columns, the microscopic liquid flow behavior could lead to the uncertainty of the separation efficiencies. This work mainly focuses on the investigation of the local flow behavior of a liquid phase flowing on an inclined steel plate at different situations. On one hand, a three-dimensional CFD model based on the VOF model is developed with the commercial CFD package, FLUENT 6.3. On the other hand, the results of the experimental study are adopted to validate partially the model. Within the developed model, the influences of the liquid and gas flow rates are studied with respect to the specific wetted area, the thickness profile of film and rivulet flows as well as the average velocity of the liquid phase.

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Section: Determination Of the Mesh Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Simulationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

CFD Study on Liquid Flow Behavior on Inclined Flat Plate Focusing on Effect of Flow Rate

Yuan

Repke

et al. 2012

Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics

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“…On the other hand, the separation efficiency of the structured packed column highly depends on the flow behavior on the surface of the packings. It has been known that the liquid flow behavior such as film, rivulet and droplet flow only occurs in a few inches inside the packing and is governed by the liquid and gas loads as well as by system parameters like the contact angle [1]. The fluid dynamics is therefore a deterministic issue not only from the viewpoint of the basic hydrodynamics but also because of its influence on interfacial heat and mass transfer rates in distillations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portraying the Countercurrent Flow on Packings by Three‐Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

Paschke

Repke

et al. 2008

Chem Eng & Technol

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The design of packed columns requires the detailed description of the hydrodynamics on the surface of the packings. To analyze the local flow behavior of the liquid phase, a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed that applies to the two-phase countercurrent flow on an inclined and flat plate. This model, based on the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method, considers the gravity, the surface tension and the drag force between the two phases. The development of such a model allows investigation of the influences of the liquid and gas flow rates on the flow behavior such as the film flow and the rivulet flow. A validation of the model was performed using data from the literature and from experiments conducted in this work. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the specific wetted area on the plate decreases with decreasing liquid load. Moreover, CFD simulations reveal that the presence of the countercurrent gas phase tends to increase the fluctuation and the thickness of the film flow, which is in accordance with experimental data. It also affects the flow behavior of the rivulet flow and changes the velocity profiles for both film and rivulet flow behavior. On the other hand, the simulation results indicate that CFD is a potent tool for analyzing and investigating the flow phenomena in chemical engineering.

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“…The volume-of-fluid-like model in CFX 5.0 was utilized to study the same. The influence of surface tension was taken into account, and the simulation studies were validated with experimental work [10][11][12][13].…”

Section: Cfd Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of Hydrodynamics of Fluid Flow on Corrugated Sheets of Packing

Subramanian

Wozny

2012

International Journal of Chemical Engineering

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Modelling of the hydrodynamics behaviour of the liquid on the corrugated sheets of packing is studied using three-dimensional, volume-of-fluid (VOF) model that is incorporated in Ansys Fluent 12.0. The flow of three different liquids with different physical properties is modelled. A domain of corrugated sheets of packing resembling the real structured packing with little modifications in the elementary geometry is constructed using ICEM CFD 12.0. The quantitative comparisons of the wetting behavior from the simulations are in good agreement with experiments. Further, the study has been extended to understand the influence of the second corrugated sheet on the flow behavior. The contours from the simulations indicate the liquid hold-up in the crimp of two corrugated sheets, and these results are in good agreement with the earlier experimental studies performed using X-ray tomography in the literature. The result from the simulation shows that even for the high flow rate of around 811 mL/min for silicon-oil (DC5), only 60% of the corrugated sheet has been wetted. Hence, the efficiency of the existing packing can be further increased by increasing the wetted area in the corrugated sheet of packing.

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Fluid dynamics in multiphase distillation processes in packed towers

Cited by 82 publications

References 10 publications

CFD Study on Liquid Flow Behavior on Inclined Flat Plate Focusing on Effect of Flow Rate

CFD Study on Liquid Flow Behavior on Inclined Flat Plate Focusing on Effect of Flow Rate

Portraying the Countercurrent Flow on Packings by Three‐Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

Analysis of Hydrodynamics of Fluid Flow on Corrugated Sheets of Packing

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