Tomographic measurement of liquid hold up and effective interfacial area distributions in a column packed with high performance structured packings

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the use of a high energy and high resolution X-ray tomograph to visualize and quantify the distribution of liquid hold up and of gas-liquid interfacial area in a 0.1m diameter column filled with MellapakPlus 752.Y packing elements. A standard air-water system at room temperature and atmospheric pressure were used. Tomographic measurements have been carried out in a large number of packing cross sections situated at different heights between the top and the bottom of the packed column, giving access to the evolution of axial profiles of liquid hold up and of gas-liquid interfacial area as a function of the operating conditions. Gas-liquid interfacial area values were also measured by a chemical method (CO2 absorption from air into a caustic solution). For the first time, a whole set of gas-liquid interfacial area values evaluated from tomographic images are interestingly compared with values measured by a chemical method. A comparison is also presented with literature models

Determination of liquid hold-up and flow distribution inside modular catalytic structured packings

“…1b, respectively) are investigated in the nominal size of 100 mm diameter and 200 mm height. Corrugated sheets are those encountered in MellapakPlus 752.Y, a large specific geometric area and high performance structured packing (Olujić et al, 2009;Aferka et al, 2011). Glass particles of 1 mm diameter fill the catalytic baskets for a bed height equal to h CB (Fig.…”

A fungal biofilm reactor based on metal structured packing improves the quality of a Gla::GFP fusion protein produced by Aspergillus oryzae

“…High-energy X-ray tomography was found to be a useful tool for visualizing and quantifying the fungal biomass in the BfRs. This technique has demonstrated its performance for the characterization of similar processes in previous studies (Aferka et al 2011;Zune et al 2013). Indeed, it provides relevant information about the effect of hydrodynamic conditions on biofilm distribution inside the metal structured packing.…”

“…Tomographic measurements were performed on 16 different cross-sectional areas located at different heights (analysis is performed every 5 mm). The experimental method for tomographic measurements and subsequent treatment for absorption coefficient processing and image analysis have been previously described (Aferka et al 2011;Zune et al 2013). …”

“…Although the structure of filamentous fungi biofilms has been previously investigated at the micro-scale level by confocal laser scanning microscopy and cryo-scanning electron microscopy , the macro-scale characterization of biofilms inside process equipment had not been previously considered. In this work, large-scale X-ray tomography analysis will be used for the non-invasive visualization of the biofilm structure inside the bioreactor (Aferka et al 2011;Zune et al 2013). This bioreactor will be used for the production of recombinant protein by Aspergillus oryzae.…”

“…totally immersed or aspersed by the liquid medium. The solid support is composed of several corrugated sheets in a staggered arrangement providing high specific area (750 m 2 /m) (Aferka et al 2011). This kind of device was initially developed for the intensification of chemical processes and has been suggested as an efficient strategy for the design of industrial BfRs (Rosche et al 2009).…”