Hydrodynamic Characteristics of a Sparged Gas-Liquid Contactor for Fine Bubble Generation

In this study, hydrodynamics of a gas-liquid bubble column with a following sparger made of ceramic, a perforated metal plate, brick material, and polypor porous material has been presented. Experiments were conducted for water levels of 100, 125, and 150 cm with and without the addition of frother. An attempt has been made to investigate the hydrodynamics of the downward flow of a high-pressure water jet at different jet heights and different water velocities. The column was operated with air at superficial gas velocities in the range of 0.122-3.7 cm/s. Effects of superficial gas velocity, frother doses, and jet height on gas holdup have been presented. Depending on experimental operating conditions for gas holdup, flow regimes were identified for different spargers. Experimental results shows that a ceramic type sparger has better gas holdup compared to other spargers. It was also found that gas holdup is greater with the addition of frother (70%) compared to that without addition of frother (20%).