Characteristics of a Rotating Packed Bed

Abstract

The mass transfer (stripping of ethanol) and pressure drop (water−air) of a rotating packed bed were investigated under 13−273 equiv of gravitational force with two packings. The results indicated that the mass-transfer coefficient (KGa) was enhanced due to the centrifugal force as compared to a conventional packed bed. An empirical correlation was also proposed, suggesting that the KGa value depends on the GrG number to the power of 0.25. As to pressure drop, the gas rate seems to be a more important factor than the liquid rate because of less liquid holdup under centrifugal force. A semiempirical equation was also developed to correlate the pressure drop data with good agreement.