:Includes operations like

Humidification and Dehumidification

Gas absorption and desorption
Distillation

Where
Gas and Liquid Phase should be in contact to
allow diffusional interchange

Gas Dispersed

Liquid Dispersed

Sparged Vessels

Venturi Scrubbers

Mechanically Agitated
Vessels

Wetted Wall Towers

Tray Towers

Spray Towers & Spray

Chambers
Packed Towers

Gas Dispersed
Gas phase is dispersed into bubbles or foams
Gas dispersion is important where gas reacts with liquid
e.g. carbonation of a lime slurry, chlorination of paper stock,
hydrogenation of veg oil, aeration of activated sludge
Gas-liquid mixture can be mechanically agitated with an
.impeller
Batch : Fixed quantity of gas & liquid
Semi batch: Continuous flow of gas & fixed quantity of
liquid
Continuous: Continuous flow of gas & liquid

Also called bubble columns

Introduces stream of gas as small
bubbles into liquid
Used where multistage, countercurrent
effect is not required
And when chemical reaction occurs
Sparger is located at bottom of vessel
:If vessel diameter<0.3m
Sparger is a single tube
:If vessel diameter>0.3m
Several orifices

High surface area, means fast efficient mass transfer

.Fine bubble propagation is desired
1mm bubbles would have 6.35 times more area than
6.35mm bubbles
, Standard porous media is 316L stainless steel. Ceramics
.Plastics, sintered metals are also used
Purpose- Contact of two phases
Porous plate made of ceramics, plastics, sintered metals are used but their
fines pores readily plugged with solid which may be present in the gas or
.liquid

Introduction of sterile air or

.pure gases
Bubble column is used
both for agitation and
.oxidation

Sparger

Tube placed
inside the vessel
creates internal
circulation loop

Circulation
through an
external loop

Positive pressure (pressure greater than column static

head) should be kept on the sparging systems to prevent
.vessel liquid from entering the sparger

Gas supply to be shut off only when sparger tubes

.are to be removed

Gas Bubble Diameter

Gas Bubbles size depends on
Rate of flow through the orifices
Orifice Diameter
Fluid Property
Extent of Turbulence
Distance between two orifices is 3d p

Gas Bubble Diameter

Very Slow gas flow rate
20(d 0 g c )

2
3
( g ) L
5

QG 0

1
6

For large liquid viscosities

6d 0g c
g

d p

Q
d p 2.312 L G 0
L g

1
3

1
4

Intermediate flow rates (larger & fairly uniform bubbles)

20(d 0 g c )5
QG 0
2 3
(
g

)
L

1
6

Re 0 2100

1
2
0

d p 0.0287d Re

1
3
0

Large gas rates (non uniform bubbles)

Re 0 10000 50000

d p 0.0071Re 00.05

Rising Velocity
Rising Velocity: The steady-state rising velocity of single gas
bubbles, which occurs when the
bouyant force = drag force --- varies with bubble diameter

Rising Velocity
:Region 1 d 0.7 mm
p
4

Vt

gd 2p
18 L

Bubbles are spherical

11
:Region 2

0.7mm d p 1.4 mm
1.4

Bubble diameter, mm

Bubbles rises at faster

rate, There is no
correlation of data, Vt from
straight line of graph

Rising Velocity
Regions 3

1.4 mm d p 6 mm

Bubbles are no longer spherical and in rising follow a

zigzag or helical path

d p 6 mm

Regions 4

Vt

gd p
2g c

d p L
2

Bubbles have spherical shape, Rising velocity can be

.measured from above equation

Gas Holdup(G)
Volume fraction of Gas-liquid mixture in the vessel
which is occupied by the gas
Gas velocity( VG)=Volume rate of gas flow/cross
sectional area
True gas velocity relative to the vessel = VG/ G
Liquid velocity relative to the vessel = VL / (1-G)

Relative Velocity of gas & liquid or

slip velocity

VG
VS

Vs = VG/ G - VL / (1-G)
ve for co current & -ve(+
)countercurrent
Holdup increases with increasing
liquid viscosity, passes through a
maximum at L 0.003kg / m.s &
then decreases

w AW 3
VG (
)
L
L 770 1700 kg / m 3
L 0.0009 0.152kg / m.s
w 1000 kg / m 3
AW 0.072 N / m(air water )
0.025 0.076 N / m
VL 0 0.1m / s

Specific Interfacial Area

Gas-liq mix contains a gas volume G, interfacial
area a made up of n bubbles of dia dp
a
G
,No of bubbles
n
n 3
2

d
d p / 6
p
G

d
Interfacial area

3
p

2
/6
d p

6 G
a
dp