Electrical Impedance Probe for Void Fraction Measurement in a Jet Loop Reactor

Description

Loop reactors are widely used in various fields such as polymer processes, hydrogenation, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and water treatment. These reactors optimize interactions between liquid, dispersed bubble phase, and possibly a catalytic phase via circulating flows. Such reactors include components like a draft tube, gas dispersion nozzles, and a baffle plate. A comprehensive understanding of the complex multiphase flow within the reactor is essential for proper design and modeling. While conventional optical techniques are insufficient to characterize local properties as the column becomes opaque due to increased void fraction, impedance probes offer a promising way to quantitatively measure the gas void fraction within the reactor. Hence, such probes can be used to elucidate the intricate fluid dynamics in experimental reactors and, being a simple technique, have the potential to be employed in the field. In this paper, we report on the use of an electrical impedance probe to study an experimental 10- meter-high loop reactor operating with water and air as working fluids. The probe consists of an inner pair and an outer pair of electrodes installed in the draft tube and in the outer column wall through which the impedance of fluids is measured and correlated to the void fraction.

Period	05 Sept 2024
Event title	16th International Conference on Gas–Liquid and Gas–Liquid–Solid Reactor Engineering (GLS-16)
Event type	Conference
Location	GermanyShow on map