Gas holdup and hydrodynamic flow regime transition in bubble columns

The homogeneous-to-heterogeneous flow regime transition point dependence on gas and liquid properties was investigated in a semi-cylindrical bubble column of 1.8 m height and 0.21 m inner diameter operating as a semi-batch system. He, air, and CO₂ gases were injected at superficial gas velocities of up to 239 mm/s. The batch liquids included water, aqueous ethanol solutions, and aqueous glycerol solutions, all with a gas-free liquid height settled at 1 m. When the gas density increased, the gas holdup increased at all superficial gas velocities, delaying the flow regime transition. The gas holdups in the liquid mixtures were higher than those for tap water. The transition gas holdup for the ethanol solutions increased to a sharp maximum and then decreased as the surface tension increased. Also, the glycerol solutions showed similar behavior with respect to increasing liquid viscosity, but with a shallower maximum. The transition gas holdup was empirically correlated as a function of the gas density, surface tension, and liquid viscosity, employing dimensional constants. The measured transition gas holdups for liquid mixtures, as well as some data from the literature, were fitted by the correlation.