Bubble column reactor

Scheme of a bubble column reactor for photochlorination .

A bubble column reactor or a bubble column is a process engineering apparatus used for the first time by Helmut Gerstenberg for gas / liquid processes. The bubble column is characterized by a liquid into which gas is introduced, which bubbles through the liquid and creates a phase interface between gas and liquid. In technical bubble columns, gas is usually supplied through a perforated base plate through which the gas flows. The liquid can be conducted in cocurrent or countercurrent . Bubble columns are used, among other things, to carry out chemical reactions between a gas and a liquid, but also as a direct contact device for heat and mass transfer.

Compared to other gas-liquid contact apparatus, bubble column reactors are distinguished by a high proportion of liquid and a moderate phase interface. The bubble column is therefore particularly suitable for gas-liquid reactions which are slow in relation to the absorption rate and which require a large volume of liquid with at the same time low demands on the phase interface. This is the case for simple gas-liquid reactions in the range of a Hatta number Ha <0.3. If the strong mixing of the liquid, which is typical for bubble columns, leads to limitations e.g. B. leads due to equilibria, the use of bubble column cascades is conceivable. Furthermore, the pressure loss of the gas flow is comparatively high due to the hydrostatic height of the liquid, which limits the field of application of bubble columns.

Application examples

chemical and biochemical reactions between gas and liquid
Absorption and desorption of gases
Evaporation and condensation
Heating or cooling of the gas or liquid (e.g. high-temperature quenching of hot exhaust gases)
Production of stable nanosuspensions for the production of nanoscale active ingredient particles with high bioavailability
Removal of particles from exhaust gases as a so-called immersion scrubber

literature

Wolf-Dieter Deckwer : Reaction technology in bubble columns ISBN 3-7935-5540-2

Heinz Brauer: Fundamentals of single-phase and multi-phase flows, Chapter 18

Frank Lehr: Calculation of the bubble size distribution and flow fields in bubble columns ISBN 3-18-372603-3

Won-Hi Hong: Mass transfer between gas and liquid in bubble columns ISBN 3-18-850623-6

Web links

How the bubble column reactor works

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b VDI 3679 sheet 2: 2014-07 wet separator; Waste gas cleaning by absorption (scrubbers) . Beuth Verlag, Berlin. Pp. 43-44.
↑ Alfred P. Weber, Stefanie Pieper, Dagmar Koch: Stabilization of nanoparticles in bubble columns - influence of foam layer height and pH value . In: Chem. Ing. Techn. Volume 84, No. 3, 2012, ISSN 0009-286X , pp. 244-251.
↑ VDI 3679 sheet 1: 2014-07 wet separator; Basics; Exhaust gas cleaning of particulate matter (wet separators; Fundamentals, waste gas cleaning of particle collections) . Beuth Verlag, Berlin. P. 31.

[q1-1] VDI 3679 sheet 2: 2014-07 wet separator; Waste gas cleaning by absorption (scrubbers) . Beuth Verlag, Berlin. Pp. 43-44.

[2] Alfred P. Weber, Stefanie Pieper, Dagmar Koch: Stabilization of nanoparticles in bubble columns - influence of foam layer height and pH value . In: Chem. Ing. Techn. Volume 84, No. 3, 2012, ISSN 0009-286X , pp. 244-251.

[3] VDI 3679 sheet 1: 2014-07 wet separator; Basics; Exhaust gas cleaning of particulate matter (wet separators; Fundamentals, waste gas cleaning of particle collections) . Beuth Verlag, Berlin. P. 31.