Influence of Bubble Bouncing on Mass Transfer and Chemical Reaction

Abstract

Abstract The hydrodynamics of bubbly flows is dominated by bubble‐induced turbulence and bubble‐bubble interactions. Both phenomena influence the gas‐liquid mass transfer as well as the mixing of reactants. If the time scales of mass transfer and mixing are in the same order as the time scales of a parallel‐consecutive reaction, the yield and selectivity will be affected by the local hydrodynamics. An experimental setup is presented that enables the investigation of mass transfer during well‐defined and adjustable bubble collisions. The influence of CO 2 bubble collisions on mass transfer is measured and modeled with a modified Sherwood number correlation. Further visualization of the concentration field in the vicinity of O 2 bubbles by means of laser‐induced fluorescence demonstrates the dependency of mass transfer from a chemical reaction and permits the development of a first model approach.