Fm. Samb et al., DYNAMIC LIQUID HOLDUP AND OXYGEN MASS-TRANSFER IN A COCURRENT UPFLOW BIOREACTOR WITH SMALL PACKING AT LOW REYNOLDS-NUMBERS, Chemical engineering journal and the biochemical engineering journal, 62(3), 1996, pp. 237-240
An experimental investigation of dynamic liquid holdup and oxygen abso
rption mass transfer was carried out in a laboratory bioreactor packed
with expanded clay balls. The column was operated with a cocurrent up
flow of air and water at low Reynolds numbers. The data obtained for d
ynamic liquid holdup have been represented by a modified Stiegel-Shah
relation with a relative mean error of 0.7%. For prediction of the oxy
gen mass transfer coefficient, an empirical correlation based on air a
nd water mass superficial velocities has been proposed. It reproduced
our experimental results with a relative mean error of 9%. Both correl
ations proposed in this study are valid for small packing spheres arou
nd 2.7 mm in diameter and Reynolds numbers varying for gas and liquid
from 0.197 to 0.593 and from 3.875 to 9.315 respectively.