Flow regime transition in trickle bed reactors

Abstract Pulsing inception in trickle-bed reactors is physically interpreted as being due to the formation of waves with very large amplitudes which occlude the packing channels. Some hydrodynamic analogies with the formation of large waves in annular two-phase flow in tubes are stressed. An interpretation of the influence of the gas velocity on pulsing inception is also hazarded; correlations based on the energy dissipation in the column are proposed. The experimental results, when added to those of the literature, cover quite a wide range of operating conditions, packing shapes and tower sizes.

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