Liquid drainage in inclined packed beds – Accelerating liquid draining time via column tilt
Liquid drainage in inclined packed beds – Accelerating liquid draining time via column tilt
Assima, G. P.; Hamitouche, A.; Schubert, M.; Larachi, F.
The dynamics of liquid drainage in inclined packed beds was studied experimentally using electrical capacitance tomography. The evolution of textural flow regimes and liquid saturation profiles were monitored as a function of bed tilt angle and bed height. Film and droplet textural regimes were discriminated during bed drainage tests. They consisted of a rapid step discharging, virtually at constant flow rate, ca. 80% of the poral dynamic liquid followed by a slower step of partially-saturated pores discharging the remaining 20%. The drainage time was markedly reduced upon tilting the column resulting ultimately in virtually bed-length independent drainage times. Bed inclination reduced the droplet paths to the vessel wall, stimulating migration and coalescence of liquid droplets towards the lowermost area of the column cross-section. This ensured sufficient hydraulic pressure nearby the high-porosity wall area to maintain enhanced liquid outflows. As a prospective process intensification artifice, inclining packed beds way exhibit superior advantage in stimulating drainage of tall vessels especially if emergency circumstances arise.
Keywords: Liquid drainage; static inclined packed bed; electrical capacitance tomography; liquid saturation; film and droplet texture
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Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification 95(2015), 249-255
DOI: 10.1016/j.cep.2015.06.021
Cited 16 times in Scopus
Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-21962
Publ.-Id: 21962