Identification and Modeling of Froth to Spray Transition on Sieve Trays

The transition from froth to spray regime on sieve trays was experimentally studied in an air/water simulator with 300mm diameter. It has been found that the regime transition occurs as the clear liquid height is equal to the residual pressure drop on the trays. A convenient and accurate technique was proposed for determination of the regime transition point. Based on analysis of the transition process at a sieve hole, a new formula which can be used to correlate the experimental results was provided.

Computational Fluid-dynamics of Liquid Phase Flow on Distillation Column Trays

The liquid flow on a single-pass sieve distillation tray is simulated with a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program with the K-ε turbulence model. In the model, a source term SMi is formulatedin the Navier-Stokes equations to represent the interfacial momentum transfer and another term Sc is added to themass transfer equation as the source of interfacial mass transfer. The simulation provides the detailed informationof the three-dimensional distribution of liquid velocity on the tray, the circulation area and the concentration profilealong the height of liquid layer.

Bubble Formation Characteristics from a Sieve Tray with Liquid Cross-flow

An apparatus, designed to simulate bubbling of sieve tray operatedin froth regime, was employed. Bubble contact angles in and above theincipient weeping regime for an air-water-plexiglas system wereinvestigated. The influence of both liquid cross-flow and gas up-flowupon bubble contact angles was examined. A model consider- Ing theinfluence of liquid cross-flow was developed to predict bubble sizefrom a sieve hole in froth operation regime. The comparison showsthat the bubble sizes predicted by the present model are consistentwith our experimental Values and the available published experimentaldata.

Droplet Size Distribution on the Large-holed Compound Sieve Tray in the Spray Regime

The droplet size distribution with large-holed compound sieve tray operating in the spray regime is measured by using a double electrical probes technique in a cold model column of 400 mm diameter. The results indicate that the hole F-factor F0 and surface tension are the main factors which influence the liquid dispersion expressed by the Sauter mean diameter D32. A correlation of D32 on surface tension, viscosity, .F-factor, weir height and liquid flow rate is proposed.

Prediction of Distillation Column Performance by Computational Mass Transfer Method

A computational mass transfer model is proposed for predicting the concentration profile and Murphree efficiency of sieve tray distillation column. The proposed model is based on using modified c＇2 -εc＇ two equations formulation for closing the differential turbulent mass transfer equation with improvement by considering the vapor injected from the sieve hole to be three dimensional. The predicted concentration distributions by using proposed model were checked by experimental work conducted on a sieve tray simulator of 1.2 meters in diameter for desorbing the dissolved oxygen in the feed water by blowing air. The model predictions were confirmed by the experimental measurement. The validation of the proposed model was further tested by comparing the simulated result with the performance of an industrial scale sieve tray distillation column reported by Kunesh et al. for the stripping of toluene from its water solution. The predicted outlet concentration of each tray and the Murphree tray efficiencies under different operating conditions were in agreement with the published data. The simulated turbulent mass transfer diffusivity on each tray was within the range of the experimental result in the same sieve column reported by Cai et al. In addition, the prediction of the influence of sieve tray structure on the tray efficiency by using the proposed model was demonstrated.