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

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.