Experimental Study of a Gas–Liquid Flow in Vacuum Air-Lift Column Using an Optical Bi-Probe
Allatchi Hassan Barkai,
Mahmoud El Hajem,
Tom Lacassagne,
Jean-Yves Champagne
Affiliations
Allatchi Hassan Barkai
Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (LMFA), National Institute of Applied Science (INSA), Lyon, 20 Av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
Mahmoud El Hajem
Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (LMFA), National Institute of Applied Science (INSA), Lyon, 20 Av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
Tom Lacassagne
Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (LMFA), National Institute of Applied Science (INSA), Lyon, 20 Av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
Jean-Yves Champagne
Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (LMFA), National Institute of Applied Science (INSA), Lyon, 20 Av. A. Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne CEDEX, France
The vacuum airlift column process was patented in 2007 and is under development. The experimental study of its hydrodynamics is one of the axes explored to optimize its design and operation. The object of the study presented in this paper is to determine the functions of phase indicator (gas holdup, superficial gas velocity and bubble size) of the gas–liquid flow. The experimental analysis is carried out using a two-phase instrumentation consisting of an optical fiber bi-probe. The use of experimental techniques has made it possible to better understand the hydrodynamics of a two-phase flow. The optical bi-probe placed between two column flanges made it possible to have a complete mapping of the flow of the dispersed phase. The use of a mass flow meter and an ultrasonic flowmeter, in different flow configurations, provided data on the column operation.
