Simulation study on novel groove separator in a dual‐loop wet flue gas desulfurization spray tower

The dual‐loop wet flue gas desulfurization spray tower (DLST) is particularly suitable for achieving “ultralow” emission of SO2 for high‐sulfur coal‐fired power plants. The separator is the key piece of equipment for the DLST. In this study, to overcome the disadvantages of a traditional bowl separator, novel groove separators are proposed and compared with the traditional separator. The effects of different separators on the flue gas flow characteristic, slurry droplet distribution, mass transfer resistance, and desulfurization efficiency were analyzed through numerical simulation based on the Euler–Lagrange method and two‐film theory. The results show that, compared with the traditional bowl separator, the proposed groove separator can improve the uniformity of the gas–liquid flow field in the upper loop, increase the liquid‐film side mass transfer rate significantly, eliminate the empty spaces caused by the high‐speed bypass flue gas, and avoid the “flooding” phenomenon completely. Therefore, the resistance losses caused by the separator can be reduced, the desulfurization efficiency can also be improved by adopting the novel groove separators, and the lower the liquid‐to‐gas ratio, the more obvious the increase in desulfurization efficiency. In general, the advantages of the novel groove separators over the traditional bowl separator are obvious.