Experimental analysis of the hydrodynamic performance of an industrial-scale cross-flow sieve tray

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

This work reports the hydrodynamic description of a large-scale sieve tray equipped in an air/water column mockup. The test tray accommodated a novel multi-probe flow profiler for simultaneous conductivity measurements. For the first time, 3D liquid holdup distribution, liquid residence time distribution and effective froth height distribution were obtained at very high spatiotemporal resolution for several gas and liquid loadings. The liquid flow and mixing patterns were visualized via tracer-based experiments. The methodologies used for acquiring these distributions are thoroughly discussed in this work. Diligent examination of the processed experimental data revealed the hydrodynamic characteristics of an operational sieve tray for the studied loadings. Uniform effective froth height persisted over the majority of the tray, whereas homogenous liquid holdup distribution was observed at multiple elevations above the deck with the highest holdup occurring near the average effective froth height. Based on tracer experiments, axisymmetric liquid flow and mixing patterns were detected with parabolic velocity distribution near the inlet. Overall, the liquid velocities over the remaining tray deck were nearly uniform for the studied loadings.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)294-306
Number of pages13
JournalChemical Engineering Research and Design
Volume174
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • 3D liquid holdup, Column tray, Effective froth height, Hydrodynamics, Tracer-response analysis