THE EFFECT OF STATIC MIXER ON MASS-TRANSFER IN DRAFT TUBE BUBBLE COLUMN AND IN EXTERNAL LOOP COLUMN

Measurements were carried out for pressure drops, liquid circulation velocities, minimum gas velocities for complete suspension of particles, rates of mass transfer from gas to liquid and from liquid to solid in bubble slurry columns with and without static mixers (motionless mixers). Two types of column, a draft tube bubble column (internal type) and an external loop column (external type), were compared. The static mixers were found to be effective to increase rates of mass transfer when a single nozzle was used as the gas distributor. When an optional pump was used in the external loop column, the mass transfer rate could be enhanced significantly.