Liquid dispersion in inner cavity of rotating packed bed

Brno University of Technology, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Republic

^* Corresponding author: Jiri.Hajek2@vutbr.cz

Published online: 4 July 2024

Abstract

Majority of power producing, and industrial processes generate a significant amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂). To reduce their CO₂ emissions, CCS (carbon capture and storage) can be used. One of the ways for CO₂ capture is rotating packed bed (RPB), which operates on a similar principle as an absorption tower. However, in the RPB, mass transfer rate is driven by a centrifugal force, hence the RPB could be much smaller than the absorption tower, which relay on gravitational force. Also, the internal design of the RPB could affect efficiency of CO₂ capture. There are several types of packing design, such as raised mesh, Zigzag, metal foam, or wire mesh. This study is focused on testing and construction of a transparent wire mesh packing, which could be used for analyse of fluid behaviour inside the packing e.g., a flow character, a liquid hold up and a liquid-gas interfacial. The operating packing speeds in the experimental part were 300 rpm, 600 rpm, 1200 rpm and 1800 rpm. The operating liquid (water) was supplied by six plain orifice nozzles with 1.44 mm diameter. Water was supplied to the system in a range of liquid flow rates from 44 to 176 kg/h. This corresponds to the jet velocity of 1.25 – 5.00 m/s. The observed area was the entry of the water jet into the wire mesh, where the atomization is the most intense. For the measurement, a high-speed camera was used. It is evident from results that with the higher jet velocity, the penetrating distance is larger, and the atomization is more intense.