Influence of bubble diameter and solids concentration on bubble stability: Development of a novel analytical approach

The properties and thickness of the bubbles in the froth control the flotation process. There is no work showing how to measure bubble film composition and thickness by a straightforward manner. In this work, a novel approach, a custom-designed bubble cell associated with layer interferometry(in the UV-vis region) and FT-IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the effect of solid particle type(hydrophilic vs hydrophobic), concentration and bubble diameter on stability of a bubble blown in air. Stability was quantified by measuring bubble lifetime and hydrated film thickness. Kerosene with silicone oil as a foaming agent was used to evaluate the impact of bubble diameter(test series I). Frother solutions(MIBC, Dowfroth 250, Hexanol and F-150) were used for the solid type concentration experiments(test series II). In the first series of experiments, it was determined that as the diameter of a bubble increased from 10 to 25 mm, so did the hydrated film thickness from 350 to 1000 nm. In the second series, as the silica concentration increased(0 to 10%), an increase in bubble lifetime and hydrated film thickness was resulted(130%-250%). An impact of solid hydrophobicity was found but to a lesser degree than expected. It is possible that the small particle size(<0.1 m) of silica was responsible for this behavior. The findings are used to interpret the effect of solids in flotation froth.

Estimation of diameter and surface area flux of bubbles based on operational gas dispersion parameters by using regression and ANFIS

Adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) procedure and regression methods were used to predict the Sauter mean bubble (bubble diameter) and surface area flux of the bubble in a flotation process. The operational conditions of flotation, impeller peripheral speed, superficial gas velocity, and weight percent solids were used as inputs of methods. By using the mentioned operational conditions, the non linear regression results showed that Sauter mean, and surface area flux of the bubble are predictable variables, where the coefficients of determination (R 2 ) are 0.57 and 0.74, respectively. To increase the accuracy of prediction an ANFIS model with cluster radius of 0.4 was applied. ANFIS model was capable of estimating both Sauter mean, and surface area flux of the bubble, where in a testing stage, satisfactory correlations, R 2 = 0.78, and 0.86, were achieved for Sauter mean, and surface area flux of bubble, respectively. Results show that the proposed ANFIS model can accurately estimate outputs and be used in order to predict the parameters without having to conduct the new experiments in a laboratory.

Investigation of bubble diameter and flow regime between water and dilute aqueous ethanol solutions in an airlift reactor

In this study,the effect of ethanol addition into pure water and its concentration on bubble diameter,gas hold-up andflow regimes were investigated in an airlift reactor.Air and water with ethanol(concentration ranging from 0%–1%,v/v)were as dispersed and continuous phases,respectively.Superficial gas velocity was consid-ered as an effective parameter.Bubble size distribution was measured by photography and picture analysis at various concentrations of ethanol and various velocities of gas.Alcohol concentration enhancement caused bubble dia-meter to decrease.Furthermore,the bubbles diameter in pure water was nearly 4 times higher than that of ethanol with concentration of 1%(v/v)and also was 3.4 times higher than that of ethanol with concentration of 0.25%(v/v)at the highest aeration gas velocity inlet.For ethanol solutions in lower superficial gas velocity,a homogenousflow regime was observed.This trend continued to inlet gas velocity of about 0.4 cm/s.The transitionflow regime occurred after this datum although in pure water,a homogenousflow regime was observed up to a superficial gas velocity of 0.7 cm/s.The gas hold-up in dilute ethanol solutions were more than(around 2 times)that of pure water and increased with increasing concentration of ethanol in those solutions.

Analysis of Bubble Behavior in a Horizontal Rectangular Channel under Subcooled Flow Boiling Conditions

Experiments on subcooled flow boiling have been conducted using water in a rectangular flow channel.Similar to the coolant channel in internal combustion engines(IC engines),the flow channel in this experiment was asymmetrically heated.Bubble images were captured using a high speed camera from the side view of the channel.The experimental conditions in terms of bulk temperature,bulk velocity,pressure and heat flux ranged from 65°C–75°C,0.25 m/s–0.75 m/s,1–1.7 bar and 490 kW/m2–700 kW/m2,respectively.On the basis of these tests,a statistical analysis of the bubble size has been conducted considering a population of 1400 samples.It has been found that the mean Sauter bubble diameter increases with the decrease of subcooling,bulk velocity,pressure and increased heat flux.A modified correlation has been finally proposed to predict the mean Sauter bubble diameter under subcooled flow boiling conditions upstream of the onset of significant void,which shows good accuracy with the experimental results.

Micro-interface enhanced mass transfer sodium carbonate absorption carbon dioxide reaction

Micro-interface intensified reactor(MIR)can be applied in series/parallel in the absorption of CO_(2)in industrial gases by Na_(2)CO_(3)due to the ability to produce large numbers of stable microbubbles.This work focuses on the variation pattern of mass transfer characteristics parameters of the reaction gas in Na_(2)CO_(3) solution under the influence of different solution properties and operating parameters in the reaction of CO_(2)absorption by Na2CO3.The mass transfer characteristics parameters include bubble Sauter mean diameter,gas holdup,interfacial area,liquid side mass transfer coefficient,and liquid side volume mass transfer coefficient kLa.The solution properties and operating parameters include Na2CO3 concentration(0.05–2.0 mol·L^(-1)),superficial gas velocity(0.00221–0.01989 m·s^(-1)),superficial liquid velocity(0.00332–0.02984 m·s^(-1)),and ionic strength(1.42456–1.59588 mol·kg^(-1)).And volumetric mass transfer coeffi-cients kLa and superficial reaction rates r of the MIR and the bubble column reactor are compared in the reaction of sodium carbonate absorption of carbon dioxide,and the former shows a greater improvement under different solution properties and operating parameters.The enhanced role of MIR in mass transfer in non-homogeneous reactions is verified and the feasibility of industrial practical applications of MIR is demonstrated.

Numerical Prediction for Subcooled Boiling Flow of Liquid Nitrogen in a Vertical Tube with MUSIG Model

Multiple size group （MUSIG） model combined with a threedimensional twofluid model were em ployed to predict subcooled boiling flow of liquid nitrogen in a vertical upward tube. Based on the mechanism of boiling heat transfer, some important bubble model parameters were amended to be applicable to the modeling of liquid nitrogen. The distribution of different discrete bubble classes was demonstrated numerically and the distribu tion patterns of void fraction in the wallheated tube were analyzed. It was found that the average void fraction in creases nonlinearly along the axial direction with wall heat flux and it decreases with inlet mass flow rate and sub cooled temperature. The local void fraction exhibited a Ushape distribution in the radial direction. The partition of the wall heat flux along the tube was obtained. The results showed that heat flux consumed on evaporation is the leading part of surface heat transfer at the rear region of subcooled boiling. The turning point in the pressure drop curve reflects the instability of bubbly flow. Good agreement was achieved on the local heat transfer coefficient aalnst experimental measurements, which demonstrated the accuracy of the numerical model.

Local Gas Phase Flow Characteristics of a Gas-Liquid-Solid Three-Phase Reversed Flow Jet Loop Reactor

The local gas-phase flow characteristics such as local gas holdup(εg), local bubble velocity (V_b) and local bubble mean diameter(d_b) at a specified point in a gas-liquid-solid three-phase reversedflow jet loop reactor was experimentally investigated by a five-pointconductivity probe. The effects of gas jet flow rate, liquid jet flowrate, solid loading, nozzle diameter and axial position on the localεg, V_b and d_b profiles were discussed. The presence of solids atlow solid concentrations not only increased the local εg and V_b,but also decreased the local d_b. The optimum solid loading for themaximum local εg and V_b together with the minimum local d_b was0.16×10^-3 m^3, corresponding to a solid volume fraction ε_S＝2.5/100.

Characterization of bubble behaviors in a dense phase pulsed gas-solid fluidized bed for dry coal processing

Pulsed gas-solid fluidized beds can effectively separate fine coal,and bubbles play an important role in creating suitable separation conditions.The present study performed statistical and image analyses of the evolution of bubbles in a two-dimensional pulsed gas-solid fluidized bed using a high-speed dynamic camera.The effects of apparent gas velocity,pulsation frequency and particle size on bubble characteristics and bed expansi on were analyzed.The results indicate that,when a fluctuation freque ncy is added,the expa nsion height of the bed in creases,the effect of attachme nt to the bed wall decreases,the leading diameter and rising velocity of the bubbles both decrease and the degree of bubble deformation increases.These trends are also more obvious for fine particles.These findings dem on strate that a high density pulsed gas-solid fluidized bed can effectively combine gases and solids to produce a uniform,stable mixture.The bubble diameter and rising velocity were also simulated in the present work,and the relationship between the two was established using a fitting model with an error within 5%.This model provides an effective means of predicting bubble velocity as well as studying the distribution of the bubble phase and improving the stability of the bed density.