| Slurry bubble column reactors are presently used for a wide range of reactions in both chemical and biochemical industry. The successful design and scale up of slurry bubble column reactors require a complete understanding of multiphase fluid dynamics, i.e. phase mixing, heat and mass transport characteristics.; The primary objective of this thesis is to improve presently limited understanding of the gas-liquid-solid slurry bubble column hydrodynamics. The effect of superficial gas velocity (8 to 45 cm/s), pressure (0.1 to 1.0 MPa) and solids loading (20 and 35 wt.%) on the time-averaged solids velocity and turbulent parameter profiles has been studied using Computer Automated Radioactive Particle Tracking (CARPT). To accomplish this, CARPT technique has been significantly improved for the measurements in highly attenuating systems, such as high pressure, high solids loading stainless steel slurry bubble column. At a similar set of operational conditions time-averaged gas and solids holdup profiles have been evaluated using the developed Computed Tomography (CT)/Overall gas holdup procedure. This procedure is based on the combination of the CT scans and the overall gas holdup measurements. The procedure assumes constant solids loading in the radial direction and axially invariant cross-sectionally averaged gas holdup.; The obtained experimental holdup, velocity and turbulent parameters data are correlated and compared with the existing low superficial gas velocities and atmospheric pressure CARPT/CT gas-liquid and gas-liquid-solid slurry data. The obtained solids axial velocity radial profiles are compared with the predictions of the one dimensional (1-D) liquid/slurry recirculation phenomenological model. The obtained solids loading axial profiles are compared with the predictions of the Sedimentation and Dispersion Model (SDM). The overall gas holdup values, gas holdup radial profiles, solids loading axial profiles, solids axial velocity radial profiles and solids shear stress radial profiles are correlated using several widely used empirical correlations that are modified and improved to better represent present data. |
