Simulations of gas distributors in the design of shallow bubble column reactors

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate the effect of sparger construction in gas holdup and liquid axial velocity in a shallow bubble column reactor for the air-water system. Model parameters were evaluated in 2- and 3-D simulations by using a two-fluid model and the standard k-epsilon turbulence model. The Eulerian-Eulerian approach was employed to predict the height of column that is affected by the sparger. It was found that increasing the number of orifices in the sparger increases the total gas holdup. Moreover, each orifice causes an increase in the circulation and mixing of liquid in the column. The results of the simulations follow the trends observed in the findings of Dhotre and Joshi [1].