Fluid-dynamic experimental study in a bubble column with internals

The main objective of this work was to determine the influence of the air velocity, the solid load concentration and the average solid particle diameter in the gas hold-up and solid distribution inside a bed with internals. Pilot scale equipment conformed by a column of square traverse section was used. In the central part of this equipment, there is a bank of 49 tubes in an aligned arrangement. The three-phase system used was compressed air, tap water and sieved sand at average solid particle diameters of 130, 510 and 2300 μm. The velocities of air were varied in the range from 1.6 to 3.3 cm/s, and the solids load concentration from 0 to 30% w/w. Results obtained allows to conclude that when increasing the gas velocities and the solids load concentration, and when diminishing the solid particle diameter, the gas hold-up increases. Additionally, quasi-symmetrical and parabolic shapes were detected in the traversal solid concentration profiles, as well as decreasing with height in the axial direction. These profiles, axial and traverse ones, become more uniform as the air velocity increases.