Explore the potential of air-lift pumps and multiphase

Applications of so-called air-lift pumps in fields other than petroleum have included the handling of hazardous fluids, the design of bioreactors, the recovery of archeological artifacts, recycle aeration in sludge digestors, deep sea mining, and the recovery of manganese nodules from ocean floors. Interest among a host of domestic and foreign organizations dates back several decades; having passed EPA hurdles, recovery of ocean resources has been further sanctioned by U.S. legislation. With the exception of bioreactors the practical design and operation of an air-lift pump lies in the dense-phase slug-flow regime of concurrent gas-liquid upflow.