Carbon Monoxide Mass Transfer in a Syngas Mixture

A myoglobin assay for measuring concentrations of dissolved carbon monoxide (CO) from an artificial synthesis gas blend (20% CO, 18% CO2, 52% N2, and 10% H2) was utilized to determine volumetric CO-water mass-transfer rates in a 0.211-m-diameter stirred-tank reactor (STR). The data are well correlated using the power density and superficial gas velocity, but this correlation is valid only for this STR size. A gas-liquid scale-up model developed for dissolved oxygen mass-transfer rates using air was used to develop a CO-liquid scaleup model for syngas fermentation. The model is applicable in the STR hydrodynamic range associated with after-large-cavity (ALC) formation and assumed to hold for other STR sizes.