Bubble columns are widely used in chemical and biochemical processes due to their excellent mass and heat transfer characteristics and simple construction. However, their fundamental hydrodynamic behaviors, which are essential for reactor scale-up and design, are still not fully understood. To develop design tools for engineering purposes, much research has been carried out in the area of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and simulation of gas-liquid flows. Due to the importance of the bubble behavior, the bubble size distribution must be considered in the CFD models. The population balance model (PBM) is an effective approach to predict the bubble size distribution, and great efforts have been made in recent years to couple the PBM into CFD simulations. This article gives a selective review of the modeling and simulation of bubble column reactors using CFD coupled with PBM. Bubble breakup and coalescence models due to different mechanisms are discussed. It is shown that the CFD-PBM coupled model with proper bubble breakup and coalescence models and interphase force formulations has the ability of predicting the complex hydrodynamics in different flow regimes and, thus, provides a unified description of both the homogeneous and heterogeneous regimes. Further study is needed to improve the models of bubble coalescence and breakup, turbulence modification in high gas holdup, and interphase forces of bubble swarms.
Corresponding Author(s):
WANG Tiefeng,Email:wangtf@tsinghua.edu.cn
引用本文:
. Simulation of bubble column reactors using CFD coupled with a population balance model[J]. Frontiers of Chemical Science and Engineering, 2011, 5(2): 162-172.
Tiefeng WANG. Simulation of bubble column reactors using CFD coupled with a population balance model. Front Chem Sci Eng, 2011, 5(2): 162-172.
Wang T, Wang J, Jin Y. Slurry reactors for gas-to-liquid processes: a review. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , 2007, 46(18): 5824-5847 doi: 10.1021/ie070330t
2
Rafique M, Chen P, Dudukovic M P. Computational modeling of gas-liquid flow in bubble columns. Rev Chem Eng , 2004, 20: 225-375
3
Lehr F, Millies M, Mewes D. Bubble-size distributions and flow fields in bubble columns. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 2002, 48(11): 2426-2443 doi: 10.1002/aic.690481103
4
Jakobsen H A, Lindborg H, Dorao C A. Modeling of bubble column reactors: progress and limitations. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , 2005, 44(14): 5107-5151 doi: 10.1021/ie049447x
5
Bhole M R, Joshi J B, Ramkrishna D. CFD simulation of bubble columns incorporating population balance modeling. Chemical Engineering Science , 2008, 63(8): 2267-2282 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2008.01.013
6
Wang T, Wang J, Jin Y A. CFD-PBM coupled model for gas-liquid flows. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 2006, 52(1): 125-140 doi: 10.1002/aic.10611
7
Joshi J B. Computational flow modelling and design of bubble column reactors. Chemical Engineering Science , 2001, 56(21-22): 5893-5933 doi: 10.1016/S0009-2509(01)00273-1
8
Tomiyama A, Tamai H, Zun I, Hosokawa S. Transverse migration of single bubbles in simple shear flows. Chemical Engineering Science , 2002, 57(11): 1849-1858 doi: 10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00085-4
9
Ramkrishna D. Population balances. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000
10
Kumar S, Ramkrishna D. On the solution of population balance equations by discretization. 1. A fixed pivot technique. Chemical Engineering Science , 1996, 51(8): 1311-1332 doi: 10.1016/0009-2509(96)88489-2
11
Wang T, Wang J, Jin Y. Population balance model for gas-liquid flows: influence of bubble coalescence and breakup models. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , 2005, 44(19): 7540-7549 doi: 10.1021/ie0489002
12
Liao Y X, Lucas D. A literature review of theoretical models for drop and bubble breakup in turbulent dispersions. Chemical Engineering Science , 2009, 64(15): 3389-3406 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2009.04.026
13
Lasheras J C, Eastwood C, Martinez-Bazan C, Montanes J L. A review of statistical models for the break-up of an immiscible fluid immersed into a fully developed turbulent flow. International Journal of Multiphase Flow , 2002, 28(2): 247-278 doi: 10.1016/S0301-9322(01)00046-5
14
Wang T F, Wang J F, Jin Y. A novel theoretical breakup kernel function for bubbles/droplets in a turbulent flow. Chemical Engineering Science , 2003, 58(20): 4629-4637 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2003.07.009
15
Alopaeus V, Koskinen J, Keskinen K I, Majander J. Simulation of the population balances for liquid-liquid systems in a nonideal stirred tank. Part 2. Parameter fitting and the use of the multiblock model for dense dispersions. Chemical Engineering Science , 2002, 57(10): 1815-1825 doi: 10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00067-2
16
Luo H, Svendsen H F. Theoretical model for drop and bubble breakup in turbulent dispersions. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 1996, 42(5): 1225-1233 doi: 10.1002/aic.690420505
17
Kostoglou M, Karabelas A J. Toward a unified framework for the derivation of breakage functions based on the statistical theory of turbulence. Chemical Engineering Science , 2005, 60(23): 6584-6595 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2005.05.051
18
Wang T F, Wang J F, Jin J. An efficient numerical algorithm for “A novel theoretical breakup kernel function of bubble/droplet in a turbulent flow”. Chemical Engineering Science , 2004, 59(12): 2593-2595 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2004.03.011
19
Martínez-Bazán C, Montanes J L, Lasheras J C. On the breakup of an air bubble injected into a fully developed turbulent flow. Part 2. Size PDF of the resulting daughter bubbles. Journal of Fluid Mechanics , 1999, 401: 183-207 doi: 10.1017/S0022112099006692
20
Fu X Y, Ishii M. Two-group interfacial area transport in vertical air-water flow. I. Mechanistic model. Nuclear Engineering and Design , 2003, 219(2): 143-168 doi: 10.1016/S0029-5493(02)00285-6
21
Wang T, Wang J, Jin Y. Theoretical prediction of flow regime transition in bubble columns by the population balance model. Chemical Engineering Science , 2005, 60(22): 6199-6209 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2005.04.027
22
Prince M J, Blanch H W. Bubble coalescence and break-up in air-sparged bubble-columns. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 1990, 36(10): 1485-1499 doi: 10.1002/aic.690361004
23
Sha Z, Laari A, Turunen I. Multi-phase-multi-size group model for the inclusion of population balances into the CFD simulation of gas-liquid bubbly flows. Chemical Engineering & Technology , 2006, 29(5): 550-559 doi: 10.1002/ceat.200500386
24
Wang T, Wang J. Numerical simulations of gas-liquid mass transfer in bubble columns with a CFD-PBM coupled model. Chemical Engineering Science , 2007, 62(24): 7107-7118 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2007.08.033
25
Ekambara K, Nandakumar K, Joshi J B. CFD simulation of bubble column reactor using population balance. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research , 2008, 47(21): 8505-8516 doi: 10.1021/ie071393e
26
Degaleesan S, Dudukovic M, Pan Y. Experimental study of gas-induced liquid-flow structures in bubble columns. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 2001, 47(9): 1913-1931 doi: 10.1002/aic.690470904
27
Koynov A, Khinast J G, Tryggvason G. Mass transfer and chemical reactions in bubble swarms with dynamic interfaces. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 2005, 51(10): 2786-2800 doi: 10.1002/aic.10529
28
Zhao H, Ge W. A theoretical bubble breakup model for slurry beds or three-phase fluidized beds under high pressure. Chemical Engineering Science , 2007, 62(1-2): 109-115 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2006.08.008
29
Troshko A A, Zdravistch F. CFD modeling of slurry bubble column reactors for Fisher-Tropsch synthesis. Chemical Engineering Science , 2009, 64(5): 892-903 doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2008.10.022
30
Cheung S C P, Yeoh G H, Tu J Y. Population balance modeling of bubbly flows considering the hydrodynamics and thermomechanical processes. AIChE Journal. American Institute of Chemical Engineers , 2008, 54(7): 1689-1710 doi: 10.1002/aic.11503
