Three Phase Sparged Reactors — Some Design Aspects

Abstract

This review evaluates the present state-of-the-art on the estimations of parameters necessary for the design of three phase sparged reactors. The published information has been scrutinised and the apparent anomalies in the reported data have been brought out with plausible explanations. In order to understand the missing links in the reported literature, experimental investigation was undertaken. Fractional phase hold-ups, solid phase concentration profiles, critical superficial gas velocity for the suspension of solid particles and mixing time have been measured using 100, 200 and 385 mm id three phase sparged reactors. The particle size was varied in the range of 40-2000 microns and the superficial gas velocity was varied in the range of 1 to 720 mm/s. The hydrodynamic behavior of three phase sparged reactors has been analysed. The complex relationship between the gas hold-up and the particle size has