Numerical studies on effects of geometrical parameters of internals on bubble column hydrodynamics

Internals are an important part of bubble column design for applications in different industrial processes. A properly designed and configured internal can significantly improve the performance of the reactor. In this work, the Eulerian-Eulerian (E-E) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model using the discrete bubble population balance model (PBM) has been used to investigate effects of two important geometrical parameters for concentric tube bundle internal. These are tube-to-tube spacing and elevation of the tube bundle from column bottom. The simulations are conducted in 2D space by suitably accounting for vertical perforations in the concentric tube bundle. The results obtained compare well with trends of experimental simulation results from literature studies. It is determined that tube-to-tube spacing and the elevation of the bundle clearly alter mixing patterns in the column, requiring careful evaluations for a given application. The proposed simulation method based on 2D modeling can be a quick means to compare alternative configurations of internals.