THEORETICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON BUBBLE DIAMETER AND GAS HOLDUP IN AERATED STIRRED TANKS

Experiments were carried out in geometrically similar vessels with dia meters of 0.287, 0.495 and 1.1m respectively. Bubble diameter distribu tion was measured with a dual electric conductivity probe placed in th e tanks. Gas holdup was measured by spillover method. Considering the coalescence of bubbles in the upper circulation region of the aeration stirred tank, introducing the concepts of turbulence decay and effect ive viscosity of gas-liquid system into this work, and taking into acc ount the equilibrium between the surface energy of the bubbles and the energy supplied by agitation, mathematical models for bubble diameter and mean gas holdup were derived. The mathematical models were confir med by experimental data.