Effects of packed structure and liquid physical properties on liquid flow behaviors in trickle bed with non-uniformly packed structure

The packed structure of the lower part of a blast furnace is modeled with packing two different sizes of hydrophobic particles in a rectangular container. The interface between the small and large particle beds is inclined at a certain angle. Glycerin aqueous solutions with different concentrations are used to vary the liquid viscosity from 1 to 100 mPa.s. Isoamyl alcohol aqueous solution is used as the liquid with low surface tension. Two-dimensional distribution of liquid flow rate in the trickle bed with non-uniformly packed structure is measured. Both the packed angle and liquid physical properties have significant effects on the distribution of liquid flow rate in the trickle bed with non-uniformly packed structure. The liquid flow rate in the small particle bed decreases with increasing packed angle. The liquid flow rate along the interface between different particle beds increases with increasing liquid viscosity. When the liquid surface tension is lower, the liquid flow rate at the interface between different particle beds becomes lower and the distribution of liquid flow rate becomes more uniform. The experimental equation proposed in previous paper is modified by using the data for small particle and low surface tension. A percolation model combined with the above experimental equation is developed to predict the liquid flow distribution in non-uniformly packed trickle bed. The calculated results show the same tendencies of the experimental data.