Comparative Hydrodynamic Analysis of Narrow and Pilot-Scale Bubble Columns with Internals

For a stable operation of exothermic processes in bubble column reactors, an appropriate heat control is required, e.g. through dense tube bundle heat exchangers installed in the column. However, their impact on flow morphology, phase distribution, mixing and mass transfer is scarcely reported and the derivation of reliable scaling approaches for bubble columns with internals is challenging. Thus, a narrow column (DN100) and a pilot-scale column (DN400) were equipped with tubes in two common patterns with triangular and square pitches to study local fluid dynamics. The results of both reactors are discussed with regard to their hydrodynamic similarity.