Flow Through Packed Beds

There are many chemical engineering operations that utilize a packed bed. For example, a packed bed reactor is composed of a packed bed of catalyst particles through which the reactants flow and react on the catalyst particles. Another example is an ion-exchange column (like a water softener) that is composed of a packed bed of resin beds. Consider the ideal case illustrated here.

There is some notation that is used in dealing with packed beds: Q 1. Superficial velocity: u 0 = A 6 surface area of_particles 2. Particle diameter: d p = with av = av volume of particles 3. Void fraction: , fraction of volume not occupied by particles 4. Hydraulic mean diameter De for flow between particles as shown here.

De = 4

cross-sectional area 4 A volume of voids = =4 wetted perimeter P wetted surface

or

De = 4

V 4 = . (1 )av av (1 )

Linear Momentum Balance on Horizontal Duct

2 p = 2 f F u m

u a (1 ) L 2 (1 ) L = 2 f F ( 0 )2 L v = 3 f F u 0 De 4 3d p

For turbulent flow it is found experimentally that p d p 3 ( )( ) = 3 f F = 1.75 ; 2 L 1 u 0 this equation is called the Burke-Plummer Equation. A more general form is due to Ergun:
p d p 3 150 ( )( )= + 1.75 2 Re u 0 L 1

with

Re =

u 0 d p . (1 )

Laminar flow

Turbulent flow

The following graph illustrates the experimental curve and the two equations given above.

There is another famous law, Darcys Law, that applies to laminar flow through a porous media such a particle stuck together as in sandstone. It is: p d p 3 150(1 ) ( )( )= 2 u 0 d p u 0 L 1 or 2 3 dp p p u0 = ( )= . 2 L 150(1 ) L Here d p 3 150(1 ) 2 and is called the permeability of the porous medium. The unit of the permeability is called a darcy:
cm , cp darcy = 1 s = 0.99 10 8 cm 2 = 1.06 10 11 ft 2 atm cm

The 1-D differential form of Darcys Law is: dp u0 = ( in 3D u 0 = p ). dx This form is used when modeling flow and heat and mass transfer in porous media when the permeability and/or other physical properties or the geometry is changing.
Frictional Dissipation Term for Packed Beds

In writing a mechanical energy balance it is important to know the rate of lost work per unit mass flowing through the packed bed or porous medium. That is, assuming a 1-inlet and 1 outlet system p   = p +=0

or

2 2 u L u L(1 ) 150 ( 1 ) 0 0 = + 1 . 75 2 3 D p D p 3

Although this expression was derived using a horizontal bed it can be applied to inclined beds. Note also

 = (Q + Q 2 ) L
Laminar flow Turbulent flow

Fluidization and Fluidized Beds

There are some chemical engineering systems that use a fluidized bed, i.e., one in which the particles are suspended by the fluid and they move freely, in contrast to a fixed bed in which the particles are not fee to move. For example, many chemical reactors are fluidized bed reactors. Therefore it is important to know some of the important fluid mechanic features of fluidization. Consider the illustration shown here of flow through a bed of particles.

As u0 is increased the pressure drop p1 p2 will also increase even though the bed height is unchanged at H0. However, eventually the net upwards force due to the pressure drop just balances the weight of the bed downwards. The particles are then essentially suspended in the fluid and behave virtually as a liquid. The behavior as the velocity u0 is illustrated in the following graph.

The velocity at which the bed is just suspended is call the incipient fluidization velocity, u 0 , and as the velocity is increased further the bed height H0 increases. Fluidized beds are excellent for providing good contact and mixing between the fluid and the solid particles. This quality is found to be very useful in, for example, some large catalytic reactors. Incipient Fluidization The point of incipient fluidization can be characterized by using a mechanical energy balance on the bed at the incipient fluidization height H0:
gH 0 + p 2 p1
*

 =0 . +

But at incipient fluidization the pressure drop jus balances the weight of the bed, i.e.,

p1 p2 = gH 0 [(1 * ) s + * f ]
solids fluid Here is the void fraction of the bed at incipient fluidization.The right hand side of the equation is the total weight of the bed per unit area and it is composed of a part due to solids and one due to the fluid. Substituting this expression into the mechanical energy balance leads to:
*

 = gH (1 * )( ) . f 0 s f
Applying the Ergun equation at incipient fluidization leads to:
* 2 * 150(u0 ) L(1 * ) 2 (u0 ) L(1 * )  = + 1.75 2 . f Dp ( * )3 D p ( * )3

Substituting this expression into the previous equation leads to:

* 2 * 150(u0 ) L(1 * ) 2 (u0 ) L(1 * ) gH 0 + 1.75 = (1 * )( s f ) * 3 2 * 3 D p ( ) f D p ( ) f

or
1.75L(1 * ) * 2 150L(1 * ) 2 * gH 0 (1 * )( s f ) u 0 =0 . (u 0 ) + * 3 2 D D ( ) f p pf
* This equation can be solved for u 0 , the velocity at incipient fluidization.

Flow Dynamics in a Distillation Column

One of the most widely used chemical engineering processes used to effect a separation of a liquid mixture is distillation. The piece of apparatus used in this process is a distillation column and it is important to have a rudimentary knowledge of the flow that occurs in a distillation column. Shown here is the overall distillation column.

It consists of a reboiler to produce a vapor by boiling the liquid in the bottom of the column. The vapor travels up the column and contacts the liquid traveling down the column on trays in the column. The contact of the liquid and vapor on a tray approaches equilibrium and a separation is effected if the equilibrium diagram is such that the vapor is richer in the more volatile than the liquid. Part of the vapor which reaches the top of the column is condensed in a condenser and returned as liquid reflux to the column; they remaining part of the condensate is taken off as top product. Bottom product is also taken off in the reboiler. This process is very energy intensive and it is important to have a well-designed distillation column from a fluid dynamics as well as a heat transfer standpoint. The vapor-liquid flow in a typical bubble cap tray is shown here.

There is a downcomer that directs the liquid onto a tray from the tray above. This liquid flows across the tray while the vapor from the tray below flows up through the bubble caps where it is dispersed in the liquid as a froth of tiny droplets. This process causes the liquid and vapor to have a large contact area that expedites the transfer of mass between the two phases.The height of the liquid flowing across the tray is regulated by a weir on the side of the tray opposite the downcomer. A view of the tray looking down is shown here.

The vapor must flow upwards in the column by going through the bubble caps on each tray. In order to do this the vapor must be at a pressure that can overcome the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid on each tray. The depth of liquid on a tray is (d+D) (see diagram above) and hence the excess pressure required in the vapor phase is p = L g (d + D) . Now consider a streamline t a depth y below the surface of the liquid in front of the weir that goes over the weir as shown.

Assume that the velocity in front of the weir is small compared to the velocity of the fluid going over the weir and a mechanical energy balance on a stream tube from a point in front of the weir to the top of the weir. Since the pressure in the vapor phase is constant at a value p, the pressure at a point y below the surface of the liquid in front of the weir can be approximated as hydrostatic and the pressure in the fluid above the weir can be approximated as p, a Bernoulli balance leads to: 2 uw p ( p + gy ) + ( gz ) + = 0 u w = 2[ ( gz ) + gy ] 2 If the gravitational energy term ( gz ) is neglected then the usual weir equation is obtained:

u w = 2 gy .
this equation is modified to account for frictional effects, neglect of gravitational effects, changes in fluid depth, etc., by the addition of a discharge coefficient:

u w = C D 2 gy
If this equation is integrated over the depth of the fluid flowing over the weir, d, one obtains the liquid flow rate over the weir, L: 3 2 L = CD d 2 2g 3

The available head, h, to drive the fluid must overcome basically two resistances: 1. (d+D), the head necessary for the gas to flow 2. The kinetic energy lost as the liquid coming down the downcomer enters the tray. This head loss is approximated by assuming
1 u2 1 L 2 ( ) ( ) 2 2 g W g

Here W is the width of the weir and is the height of the slot between the bottom of the weir and the tray. In this approximation the velocity of the fluid in the downcomer is neglected compared to that in the slot and gravitational energy effects are neglected compared to kinetic energy effects. Thus the available head in the liquid must be approximately

hd +D+

1 L 2 ( ) . 2 g W

If the liquid flow rate is increased in the column and hence in the downcomer its height in the downcomer can only increase up to a point where it just starts to interfere with the flow from the tray above. The design of a distillation column must consider the diameter and height of the column for a given liquid-vapor traffic in the column. Thus, the tray spacing is a critical issue. The tray spacing, H, can be approximated by

H = h + d + D = 2(d + D) +

1 L 2 ( ) . 2 g W
1

Now substituting the value of d from the expression for the liquid flow over the weir,

2 L = CD d 2 2g 3
Finally,

9 L2 3 d = 8 gC 2 W 2 D

9L 1 Lmax 2 1 D+ 8 gC 2 W 2 + 4 ( W ) = 2 H D
2

1 3

Lmax is used here because this equation leads to the maximum flow rate at which the column can operate without flooding, the point at which the column would be totally occupied by liquid.