IMPROVED TOOLS FOR BUBBLE COLUMN REACTOR DESIGN AND SCALE-UP

The past two decades have seen a steadily increasing number of papers on bubble columns and related reactors. In spite of the many publications, the design and scale-up of bubble column reactors is still an often difficult task and subjected to errors, as the multiphase flow in bubble columns is complex in structure. The uncertainties can be partly due to the use of models being too much simplified. However, more important seems the accessibility of those parameters which largely depend on scale, reactor operation conditions and physico-chemical properties. The present status of estimating gas hold-ups, mass transfer and mixing coefficients is reviewed. Emphasis is given on proven correlations and recent improvements. Specific recommendations are given for their application.