Sensor‐based flow pattern detection—gas–liquid–liquid upflow through a vertical pipe

Flow distribution during gas–liquid–liquid upflow through a vertical pipe is investigated. The optical probe technique has been adopted for an objective identification of flow patterns. The probability density function (PDF) analysis of the probe signals has been used to identify the range of existence of the different patterns. Dispersed and slug flow have been identified from the nature of the PDF, which is bimodal for slug flow and unimodal for dispersed flow. The water continuous, oil continuous, and emulsion type flow distributions are distinguished on the basis of the PDF moments. The method is particularly useful at high flow rates where visualization techniques fail. Based on this, a flow pattern detection algorithm has been presented. Two different representations of flow pattern maps have been suggested for gas–liquid–liquid three phase flow. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 3362–3375, 2014     

Wall friction and effective viscosity of a homogeneous dispersed liquid–liquid flow in a horizontal pipe

Homogenous oil in water dispersion has been investigated in a horizontal pipe. The mean droplet size is 25 μm. Experiments were carried out in a 7.5‐m‐long transparent pipe of 50‐mm internal diameter. The wall friction has been measured and modeled for a wide range of flow parameters, mixture velocities ranging from 0.28 to 1.2 m/s, and dispersed phase volume fractions up to 0.6, including turbulent, intermediate, and laminar regimes. Flow regimes have been identified from velocity profiles measured by particle image velocimetry in a matched refractive index medium. It is shown that the concept of effective viscosity is relevant to scale the friction at the wall of the dispersed flow. Based on mixture properties, the friction factor follows the Hagen‐Poiseuille and the Blasius' law in laminar and turbulent regimes, respectively. Interestingly, the transition toward turbulence is delayed as the dispersed phase fraction is increased. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

Phase distribution in dispersed liquid–liquid flow in vertical pipe: Mean and turbulent contributions of interfacial force

We applied an Eulerian–Eulerian two‐fluid model on an upward dispersed oil–water flow in vertical pipe with 80 mm diameter and 2.5 m length. The numerical profiles of the radial distribution of the oil drops at 1.5 m from the inflow are compared to the experimental data of Lucas and Panagiotopoulos (Flow Meas Instrum. 2009;20:127–135) This article analyzes the roles of turbulence and interfacial forces on the phase distribution phenomenon. In liquid–liquid flow the relative velocity is low and the distribution of the dispersed phase is mainly governed by the turbulence. This work highlights the important role of the turbulent contribution obtained by averaging the added mass force on the radial distribution profiles of the oil drops. The numerical results present improved profiles of the dispersed phase comparing to the experimental data when this turbulent contribution is taken into account in the momentum balance. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4214–4223, 2017     

Population balance modeling and simulation of liquid–liquid–liquid phase transfer catalyzed synthesis of mandelic acid from benzaldehyde

Mandelic acid has cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and antibacterial activities and is used in urinary antiseptic medicines. An attractive process for the production of mandelic acid is through reaction between benzaldehyde, sodium hydroxide, and chloroform in the presence of polyethylene glycol 4000 as a phase transfer catalyst. The liquid–liquid phase transfer catalyzed (L–L PTC) reaction can be intensified by converting it into three‐liquid phases (L–L–L PTC). We address the modeling of a well‐stirred reactor for the foregoing process, in which organic droplets surrounded by a thin film of catalyst‐rich phase are suspended in the aqueous phase. A population balance model is formulated for the L–L–L PTC reaction and solved by Monte Carlo simulation using interval of quiescence technique. Transport processes and intrinsic reaction kinetics are extracted from the experiments. This population balance model serves to assess and interpret the relative roles of various processes in L–L–L PTC reaction, such as diffusive transport, reaction, and interaction between dispersed phase droplets. The model is expected to be an effective tool for reactor design and scale up. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2012     

Bouncing of a bubble at a liquid–liquid interface

Significant industrial relevance of gas–liquid–liquid flows calls for understanding of their various aspects. This study focusing on one of the aspects, i.e., interaction of a single bubble with a liquid–liquid interface, is aimed at providing the experimental evidence of a hitherto unreported phenomenon of conditional bouncing of a bubble at the interface between two immiscible, initially quiescent liquids. Bouncing of the bubble is observed for two of the six pairs of the immiscible liquids used in the experiments. The data, obtained by conducting experiments with different pairs of the lighter and heavier liquid bubble diameters and rise heights, suggest that a bubble crossing a liquid–liquid interface is expected to bounce when its average velocity is less than a threshold value that depends on the interfacial tension between the two liquids and the viscosity of the heavier liquid. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3150–3157, 2017     

Production of ethanol by continuous fermentation and liquid–liquid extraction

A continuous pilot plant was constructed for fermentation production of ethanol, using liquid–liquid extraction to remove the product and with recycle of the fermented broth raffinate. The plant was operated for up to 18 days with feed glucose concentrations in the range 10·0–45·8% (w/w). The solvent was n-dodecanol and immobilised yeast was used to overcome the problem of emulsification. The concentration of by-products in the fermented broth had no adverse effect on the rate of ethanol production. A mathematical model to predict the time required for achievement of 99% of the steady-state by-products concentrations was shown to be in good agreement with the experimentally determined concentration of the main by-product, glycerol. At a feed glucose concentration of 45·8% (w/w), the aqueous purge was equivalent to 2·8 m³ of effluent per m³ of ethanol produced and represented a 78% reduction in the volume of the aqueous purge compared with using a feed containing 10% (w/w) glucose.     

Investigation of liquid–liquid phase equilibria for reactive extraction of lactic acid with organophosphorus solvents

BACKGROUND: Lactic acid is a versatile commodity chemical with a variety of applications. Synthesis of lactic acid either through fermentation of carbohydrates or through chemical synthesis is state of the art. Separation from dilute aqueous solution is complex and accounts for the major part of production costs. Reactive extraction based on reversible adduct formation is a promising alternative for the separation of lactic acid. RESULTS: Extraction was carried out with the organophosphorus solvents tri‐n‐butyl phosphate, tri‐n‐octylphosphine oxide and Cyanex 923. Shellsol T was used as diluent. Partition coefficients increase with increasing extractant content and decreasing temperature. Cyanex 923 has several advantages compared with tri‐n‐butyl phosphate and tri‐n‐octylphosphine oxide with respect to lactic acid distribution and hydrodynamic properties. Liquid‐liquid phase equilibria for lactic acid extraction with Cyanex 923 were modeled. Selectivity of lactic acid extraction with respect to glycolic acid and formic acid was discussed. CONCLUSION: The organophosphorus extractant Cyanex 923 was found to be an appropriate solvent for lactic acid extraction from aqueous solutions. Experimental data and model data based on the Law of Mass Action showed good agreement. Lactic acid extraction from multi‐acid solution showed good selectivity compared with glycolic acid. Lactic acid selectivity is low with respect to formic acid. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Treatment of the refinery wastewater in a gas–liquid–solid three‐phase flow airlift loop bioreactor

Aerobic treatment of refinery wastewater was carried out in a 200 dm³ gas–liquid–solid three‐phase flow airlift loop bioreactor, in which a biological membrane replaced the activated sludge. The influences of temperature, pH, gas–liquid ratio and hydraulic residence time on the reductions in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH₄‐N were investigated and discussed. The optimum operation conditions were obtained as temperature of 25–35 °C, pH value of 7.0–8.0, gas–liquid ratio of 50 and hydraulic residence time of 4 h. The radial and axial positions had little influence on the local profiles of COD and NH₄‐N. Under the optimum operating conditions, the effluent COD and NH₄‐N were less than 100 mg dm^?3 and 15 mg dm^?3 respectively for more than 40 days, satisfying the national primary discharge standard of China (GB 8978‐1996). Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

横向流动对槽式液体分布器孔口出流的影响

以CFD模拟为工具,对槽内横向流动对孔口出流的影响进行了研究。研究结果表明:孔口的流量随着槽内横向流速的增加而减少。另外,研究结果还表明液位越低、孔口直径越小,孔口出流越容易受到横向流动的影响。对于处理量较大的槽式液体分布器,横向流动有可能导致大规模不良分布。因此,应对液体在分布器内的流动特性进行系统的研究,以避免形成大规模不良分布。     

Axial liquid dispersion in a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed

Although axial liquid dispersion has been studied extensively in particulate fluidized beds, no data has been reported previously in a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed (LSCFb). In this work, the axial liquid dispersions at various radial positions were measured in an LSCFB of 76 mm in diameter and 3.0 m in height using a dual conductivity probe. The results reveal that the axial liquid dispersion is affected not only by the operating conditions but by the radial positions as well. A local axial dispersion model is proposed to describe the axial liquid dispersion at various radial positions. The local axial liquid dispersion coefficients determined by the proposed model are greater at the axis than near the wall region of the riser. This nonuniformity of axial liquid dispersion is believed to be caused by the radial nonuniform distribution of liquid velocity, and bed voidage in the LSCFB can significantly affect the axial liquid dispersion.     

Finite pointset method for simulation of the liquid–liquid flow field in an extractor

Finite pointset method (FPM) is applied for the simulation of the single- and two-phase flow field in a rotating disc contactor (RDC) type extraction column. FPM is a numerical method to solve fluid dynamic equations. This is a Lagrangian and meshfree particle method, where the particles move with fluid velocity and carry all information necessary for solving fluid dynamic quantities. The simulations are validated by single- and two-phase 2D particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. In addition, the results are compared to simulations of the commercial CFD code Fluent. The results show that FPM can predict the one- and two-phase flow field in the RDC, whereas the predicted velocities are in good agreement with the experimental ones. FPM also bears comparison with the results of the commercial CFD code Fluent.     

Preparation of sorbitol from D‐glucose hydrogenation in gas–liquid–solid three‐phase flow airlift loop reactor

A new process for D ‐glucose hydrogenation in 50 wt% aqueous solution, into sorbitol in a 1.5 m³ gas–liquid–solid three‐phase flow airlift loop reactor (ALR) over Raney Nickel catalysts has been developed. Five main factors affecting the reaction time and molar yield to sorbitol, including reaction temperature (T_R), reaction pressure (P_R), pH, hydrogen gas flowrate (Q_g) and content of active hydrogen, were investigated and optimized. The average reaction time and molar yield were 70 min and 98.6% under the optimum operating conditions, respectively. The efficiencies of preparation of sorbitol between the gas–liquid–solid three‐phase flow ALR and stirred tank reactor (STR) under the same operating conditions were compared. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Drop size distribution in highly concentrated liquid–liquid dispersions using a light back scattering method

New data are presented on drop size distribution at high dispersed phase fractions of organic‐in‐water mixtures, obtained with a light back scattering technique (3 Dimensional Optical Reflectance Measurement technique, 3D ORM). The 3D ORM technique, which provides fast, in‐situ and on‐line drop distribution measurements even at high concentrations of the dispersed phase, is validated using an endoscope attached to a high‐speed video recorder. The two techniques compared favourably when used in a dispersion of oil (density (ρ) = 828 kg m^?3, viscosity (µ) = 5.5 mPa s, interfacial tension (σ_i) = 44.7 mN m^?1) in water for a range of 5–10% dispersed phase fractions. Data obtained with the ORM instrument for dispersed phase fractions up to 60% and impeller speeds 350–550 rpm showed a decrease in the maximum and the Sauter mean drop diameters with increasing impeller speed. Phase fractions did not seem to significantly affect drop size. Both techniques showed that drop size distributions could be fitted by the log‐normal distribution. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Hydrodynamic modeling on the external liquid–solid wetting efficiency in a trickling flow reactor

A three‐region model was proposed, which considers the bed cross section being composed of a stagnant liquid region, a liquid film region, and a rivulet flow region. To estimate the fractions of the three regions, the fraction of film flow was evaluated first, by transforming the complex trickling flow texture into pure liquid film flow. Through the measurements of liquid holdup and pressure drop for the film flow, a relationship between relative permeability and gas saturation was established, and from which the fraction of film flow region was obtained. It shows packing size is most important to the faction of rivulet flow. The external wetting efficiency of the packing was correlated as the sum of two‐third power of the liquid film fraction and the rivulet flow fraction, besides, a correlation based on Reynolds and Galileo numbers of the two phases in the form of was proposed. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 283–294, 2013     

Novelties of liquid–liquid–liquid phase transfer catalysis Alkoxylation of p-chloronitrobenzene

Liquid–liquid–liquid phase transfer catalysis (L–L–L PTC) offers orders of magnitude intensification of rates of reaction and better selectivities than the biphasic PTC. The catalyst-rich middle phase is the main reaction phase. The etherification or alkoxylation of p-chloronitrobenzene (PCNB) was conducted by using alkanol and alkali instead of the metal alkoxide. A kinetic model is presented and validated.     

Equilibrium and non‐equilibrium gas–liquid two phase flow in long and short pipelines following a rupture

The two‐phase flow following the blowdown of pipeline carrying flashing liquid is numerically investigated by using thermodynamic equilibrium and non‐equilibrium models. Model equations are solved numerically by the finite volume method. The values of fluxes at cell boundaries are obtained by AUSM+‐up. To obtain proper values for the coefficients of dissipation, both single phase liquid and two phase shock tube problems are investigated. The transient release from the pressurized pipeline is studied for two cases of long and short pipes. Comparison of the predictions against experimental data reveals non‐equilibrium model performs a little better than equilibrium model in the prediction of temporal variations of pressure and void fraction of the long pipe. However, equilibrium model totally overestimates pressure and void fraction of the short pipe. The relative error of equilibrium model in the prediction of pressure variation with time exceeds 50% and it is 20% for non‐equilibrium model. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3214–3223, 2017     

Formation of drops at narrow slots in a centrifugal liquid–liquid contactor

In experiments on the dispersion of organic phases into aqueous phases, drops were generated continuously at narrow slots of width 12 μm ≤ w ≤ 125 μm mounted peripherally and normal to the radius in a ‘Hi‐Gee’ centrifugal contactor. The drops formed at an array of sources attributed to the Rayleigh‐Taylor instability distributed an average distance apart where σ is the interfacial tension of the phases, Δρ their density difference and g the applied centrifugal acceleration. Measured Sauter mean drop diameters were in the range 0.48 to 1.00 mm. The average drop size, d, was given by where d?* = 0.1538 ± 0.0016 m^1/3 is a measured capillary factor. Drop size was marginally affected by inertial forces at the highest flow rates.     

Dispersed oil–water–gas flow through a horizontal pipe

An experimental study of three‐phase dispersed flow in a horizontal pipe has been carried out. The pressure drop over the pipe strongly increases with increasing bubble and drop volume fraction. Because of the presence of drops the transition from dispersed bubble flow to elongated bubble flow occurs at a lower gas volume fraction. The gas bubbles have no significant influence on the phase inversion process. However, phase inversion has a strong effect on the gas bubbles. Just before inversion large bubbles are present and the flow pattern is elongated bubble flow. During the inversion process the bubbles break‐up quickly and as the dispersed drop volume fraction after inversion is much lower than before inversion, a dispersed bubble flow is present after inversion. (When inversion is postponed to high dispersed phase fractions, the volume fraction of the dispersed phase can be as high as 0.9 before inversion and as low as 0.1 after inversion.) © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

Influence of a surfactant or salt on phase inversion in a water–oil pipe flow

Phase inversion experiments have been performed with a water–oil flow through a pipe to study the effect of the addition of a surfactant or of salt on the critical dispersed phase volume fraction (at the point of phase inversion). The addition of a surfactant caused a small change in the critical volume fraction, but the general form of the ambivalence region in the inversion map remained the same. The influence of salt was negligible.