Gas-Liquid Saturation Distribution in Tubular Metallic Foam Reactors using Gamma-Ray Computer Tomography

Multiphase catalytic reactor are commonly used in many industrial process, the application of these reactors is of increasing important in petrochemical and other industries. Presently structured packing elements have been suggested for various multiphase reactors alternative of random packing. Metallic foam which used as gas filter, heat exchanger with their extremely higher porosity (85-90%) resulting in low pressure drop, higher surface area which are attractive points for multiphase reactor, moreover the continuous structured network and the void structure enable the fluid to flow in all direction that give intercontacting between the cells which is missing in monolith type, this phenomena need properly understanding due to the complex nature of the interaction between gas, liquid and solid make one of the major challenge is achieving proper distribution since malditribution can decreasing reactor selectivity to desired product and underutilization of the catalysis.
Hydrodynamic study particularly of gas-liquid flow distribution in foam are scarcer, Calvo et al studied liquid radial spreading in rectangular column packed with sheet of metallic foam operating in single phases liquid trickle flow in counter-current, unfortunately no study address the liquid saturation which is the ratio of the liquid volume to the bed voidage which is essential to prediction the effective liquid velocity within the packing which is in turn related to heat and mass transfer.
Since the two phase flow in metallic foam is difficult to visualize and characterize duo to opaque system and the need for application work at different flow condition, therefore we present work apply gamma ray computer tomography developed in HZDR with higher resolution based on novel detector technology to measured liquid saturation and investigate liquid distribution in cylindrical column packed with metallic foam in down flow gas and liquid to investigated the effect of foam density (ppi) pore per inch and operation condition (gas and liquid flow rate),the result will qualitative evaluation of gas/liquid distribution uniformly in metallic foam which will use to quantify the phase maldistrbutione at flow condition specify for commercial reactor operation and at flow rates bracketing such condition.