Investigations on hydrodynamics and mass transfer in gas-liquid stirred reactor using computational fluid dynamics

In this work, the hydrodynamics and mass transfer in a gas-liquid dual turbine stirred tank reactor are investigated using multiphase computational fluid dynamics coupled with population balance method (CFD-PBM). A steady state method of multiple frame of reference (MFR) approach is used to model the impeller and tank regions. The population balance for bubbles is considered using both homogeneous and inhomogeneous polydispersed flow (MUSIG) equations to account for bubble size distribution due to breakup and coalescence of bubbles. The gas-liquid mass transfer is implemented simultaneously along with the hydrodynamic simulation and the mass transfer coefficient is obtained theoretically using the equation based on the various approaches like penetration theory, slip velocity, eddy cell model and rigid based model. The CFD model predictions of local hydrodynamic parameters such as gas holdup, Sauter mean bubble diameter and interfacial area as well as averaged quantities of hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters for different mass transfer theoretical models are compared with the reported experimental data of Alves et al. (2002a, b, 2004). The predicted hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.