Theoretical and experimental investigation on the characteristics of fly-ash scrubbing in a fixed valve tray column

The goal of this study is to evaluate the performance of a fixed valve tray column designed to remove fly-ash particles. A series of experiments were carried out at room temperature to demonstrate the collection efficiency of a fixed valve tray column at different gas and liquid superficial velocities. The fly-ash particles removal characteristics of the fixed valve tray column were evaluated by measuring variations of concentration and size distribution of particles in the outlet. The mechanism of particle removal in this turbulent dispersion system was theoretically analyzed on the basis of diffusion, interception, sedimentation and impaction, and a model was proposed to predict the collection efficiency. The results show that the simulation results agree well with the experimental data. In contrast to most of the conventional models, the present model is capable of evaluating the effects of bubble hydrodynamics, system property, and operation conditions on the collection efficiency. The model is expected to guide effectively the design and operation of valve tray washing columns, which is widely applied nowadays. (c) 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 21682178, 2013