Mass transfer in a trickle‐bed column packed with a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic spheres

Abstract

Abstract Rates of mass transfer have been measured in a trickle‐bed column packed with a mixture of hydrophobic and hydrophilic spheres. The results show that the interfacial area is a strong function of bed composition and liquid flow rates. The gas‐phase mass transfer coefficients are not affected by the nature of the bed and agree well with values predicted by the correlations available in the literature. The dynamic liquid hold‐up in a bed of hydrophilic spheres was found to be four to seven times higher than that in a bed of hydrophobic spheres.