Experimental investigation on the influence of ethanol on bubble column hydrodynamics

We experimentally investigate the effect of ethanol (0.05% in mass) on the hydrodynamics of a large-diameter and large-scale bubble column. The bubble column is 5.3 m in height, has an inner diameter of 0.24 m, and we consider gas superficial velocities in the range of 0.004–0.20 m/s. The experimental investigation consists of gas holdup measurements and image analysis. The gas holdup measurements are used to investigate the flow regime transition and the global bubble column hydrodynamics. The image analysis is used to investigate the bubble shapes and size distributions near the sparger and in the developed region of the column. The presence of ethanol increases the gas holdup, stabilizes the homogeneous regime and modifies the bubble shapes and size distributions. In particular, the addition of ethanol increases the mean bubble aspect ratio and decreases the bubble diameters. The results suggest that the addition of ethanol changes the bubble properties, which modifies the bubble size distribution and shapes, thus, stabilizing the homogeneous flow regime and, finally, increasing the gas holdup. © 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers