Influence of internals on counter-current bubble column hydrodynamics: Holdup, flow regime transition and local flow properties

Bubble columns are frequently studied without considering internals (open tube bubble columns). However, in most industrial applications, internal devices are often added to control heat transfer, to foster bubble break-up or to limit liquid phase back mixing. These elements can have significant effects on the multiphase flow inside the bubble column reactor and the prediction of these effects is still hardly possible without experimentation. In this paper, we study experimentally a counter-current gas-liquid bubble column in the open tube and annular gap configurations. In the annular gap bubble column, two vertical internal tubes are considered. The column has an inner diameter of 0.24 m, and the global and local hydrodynamic properties are studied using gas holdup measurements and a double-fiber optical probe. The gas holdup measurements are compared with the literature and used to investigate the flow regime transition. A double-fiber optical probe is used to acquire midpoint data and radial profiles of the local properties to study the flow properties and to further investigate the flow regime transition. The counter-current mode is found to increase the holdup, decrease the bubble velocity and cause regime transition at lower superficial gas velocity. The holdup curves in the annular gap and open tube configurations are similar in shape and values, suggesting that the presence of internals has a limited influence on the global hydrodynamic. In addition, it is found that the presence of the internals stabilizes the homogeneous regime in terms of transition gas velocity and holdup. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.