2-PHASE AND 3-PHASE FLOWS IN BUBBLE-COLUMNS - NUMERICAL PREDICTIONS AND MEASUREMENTS

Multiphase flows are widely encountered in many chemical reactor proce sses. Multiphase flow reactors in the form of bubble columns are used in many industrial applications such as hydrogenation of heavy oils, f ermentation processes, Fischer-Tropsch reactors, etc. Past work in the modeling of these flows was based on empirical correlations. Even tho ugh these correlations fit the data well, they were applicable for nar row ranges of experimental parameters. Moreover, detailed information regarding the local flow parameters was not available through these co rrelations. The present study attempts to overcome some of these defic iencies, It must also be pointed out that detailed experimental data f or three-phase flows through bubble columns are scarce in the literatu re. These flows are very complex, and understanding them would greatly help in the design and scale-up of the chemical process reactors.