Hydrodynamics of a Tapered Bubble Column for Two-Phase Air-Water and Air-Electrolyte Systems

The hydrodynamic behaviors of a single-stage tapered bubble column using air-water and air-electrolyte two-phase systems have been reported in this article. Experimental results indicate that the hold up is increased with the increase in the superficial gas velocity. The gas flow rate however, does not have appreciable effect on the pressure drop owing to the dynamic pressure recovery stemming from the increase in the flow area in the axial direction. The energy dissipation has been increasing with the gas flow rate. The trend of hold up and pressure drop, and energy dissipation are similar for both the systems. Finally, correlations are put forward for predicting the hold up and pressure drop for the air-water system and are statistically highly functional.