Hydrodynamics and mass transfer in carbon-nanofiber/graphite-felt composite under two phase flow conditions

A carbon nanofiber (CNF)/graphite felt composite was synthesized by growing CNFs on the surface of graphite fibers and was used as the packing of a fixed bed reactor under two phase flow conditions. The pressure drop, axial dispersion and mass transfer in the liquid were studied by experiment and by piston dispersion exchange (PDE) model. It was shown that the pressure drop and total liquid up could be predicted by the slit model in an acceptable accuracy. The axial dispersion in the liquid phase in the composite and the mass transfer between the dynamic and static liquid are higher than in the packed bed of solid particles owing to the porous and fluffy CNF layer on the carbon felt fiber.