Review on the Effect of Gas Distributor on Flow Behavior and Reaction Performance of the Bubble/Slurry Reactors

Abstract

Gas distributors greatly affect the performance of bubble column or slurry bubble column reactors (BCR/SBCRs). Investigation of design parameters characterizing the operation and transport phenomena of gas distributors in BCR/SBCRs can lead to a better understanding of hydrodynamic properties and mass transfer mechanisms. The performance of gas distributors is often described using various mathematical models and computational fluid dynamics simulations supported by experimental research. Nonetheless, little effort has been made to review the effect of the configurations of gas distributors on BCR/SBCR performance. The negative consequences of weeping and uneven gas maldistribution caused by unreasonable design of the distributor were rarely appreciated. This paper reviews the effects of gas distributor configuration on flow behavior and reaction performance. Adequate information about the design and development of gas distributor technology in BCR/SBCRs is provided. Some suggestions for potential research to better comprehend the effects of gas distributor design are put forward.

Structural Improvement and Numerical Simulation of a Perforated Distributor in an Adsorption Tower

“…Gas distributor is one of the most important structures in towers and reactors to improve the initial distribution of the incoming gas, and its design and optimization have attracted extensive research [7–10]. Industrially, the gas distributors have tubular type, perforated plate type, tangential circulation type, fractal type and double‐row vane type, etc [11]. Due to the simple structure, the small pressure drops, and the convenient installation, the perforated plate distributor is widely used in large adsorption towers.…”

Large-Scale Discrete Element Modeling for a Gas–Solid–Liquid Flow System

“…We often encounter gas–solid–liquid three phase flow systems in chemical and energy engineering, for examples, slurry reactors, − deep-sea mining, mineral floatation, and severe accidents in a nuclear reactor. , In these systems, the solid particle behavior is usually influenced by the motion of bubbles in the liquid phase. For the better understanding of the gas–solid–liquid flow systems, several numerical models − have been proposed due to the significant development of computer hardware.…”