Trickle‐bed reactor performance. Part I. Holdup and mass transfer effects

TLDR

Liquid holdup and mass transfer rates were measured in a 2.58‑cm ID trickle‑bed tube packed with glass beads, CuO·ZnO catalyst, or β‑naphthol particles, using O₂ absorption/desorption to determine gas‑to‑liquid transport coefficients and β‑naphthol to study liquid‑to‑particle transfer. Holdup and mass transfer coefficients were independent of gas flow but increased with liquid rate, and the data were fitted to equations that predict coefficients at high temperatures and pressures for subsequent reaction studies.

Abstract

Abstract Liquid holdup and mass transfer rates were measured in a 2.58‐cm I.D. tube, packed with glass beads and granular CuO · ZnO catalyst or β‐naphthol particles, and operated as a trickle bed. Gas‐to‐liquid (water) transport coefficients were determined from absorption and desorption experiments with oxygen at 25°C and 1 atm. Liquid‐to‐particle mass transfer was studied using β‐naphthol particles. Holdup and both mass transfer coefficients were unaffected by gas flow rate but increased with liquid rate. The data were correlated with equations that could be used for predicting mass transfer coefficients at high temperatures and pressures for use in the reaction studies reported in Part II.