Liquid flow behavior in a multiliquid-inlet rotating packed bed reactor with three-dimensional printed packing

Abstract The multiliquid-inlet rotating packed bed (MLI-RPB) reactor has been proved to have excellent gas-liquid mass-transfer performance. However, studies of liquid flow behavior, the fundamentals to understand the mass-transfer process, in packing rings of the MLI-RPB reactor are scarce. In this work, the designed packing rings were accurately manufactured via three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. The liquid flow behavior in different zones of the MLI-RPB reactor were comprehensively investigated via the high-speed photography method. Except for liquid droplet and liquid film, a new type of liquid bridge was observed in the packing rings. Quantitative analyses have been discussed, such as the average diameter of droplet out of packing rings ranging from 0.2 to 0.9 mm and the value of droplet size distribution width m ranging from 5 to 9. In addition, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of liquid flow in the MLI-RPB reactor was conducted based on the no-simplified geometry model. Liquid velocity magnitude along radial direction in the MLI-RPB reactor and the liquid holdup in different packing rings was calculated. Combining three technologies of 3D printing, high-speed photography, and CFD simulation can provide an efficient pathway for packing design and hydrodynamics research of not only the MLI-RPB reactor, but also other RPB reactors with wire mesh packing.