Performance of a rotating zigzag bed—A new HIGEE

As a new kind of rotating equipment, rotating zigzag bed (RZB) is structurally unique and has many superior features. The RZB is characterized by a rotor coaxially combining a rotating disc with a stationary disk. Compared with a conventional rotating packed bed (RPB), the RZB can function without liquid distributors, eliminate one dynamic-seal, and easily accommodate and accomplish intermediate feeds in continuous distillation processes. The RZB also effectively increases the contact time of gas and liquid phases and thus, enhances the mass transfer capacity. In this work, the principles of the RZB are presented. The hydraulic and mass transfer performance of the RZB was investigated. Experimental results showed that the pressure drop of the RZB increases with the increase of the rotational speed and the gas flow rate, but decreases with the increase of the liquid flow rate. A semi-empirical equation was proposed to correlate the pressure drop data with good agreement. The mass transfer efficiency of the RZB decreases with the increase of the reflux rate at lower reflux rate, but levels off at higher reflux rate. The number of theoretical plates of the RZB increases with the increase of rotational speed of the rotor. However, at a higher rotational speed, this trend is not obvious. In addition, some considerations for further work are discussed.