Heat transfer in two- and three-phase bubble column reactors with internals

Indirect and direct heat transfer is an important aspect in the design of bubble column reactors used for many industrial organic and inorganic processes. Longitudinal flow or cross-flow tube-bundle heat-exchangers, jacket cooling, direct evaporative cooling or circulation cooling are possible methods for this purpose. The existing physical and empirical models describing heat transfer in bubble columns are reviewed. The results of experimental investigations of longitudinal-flow and cross-flow tube-bundle heat-exchangers in bubble columns are presented and compared with empirical and semi-theoretical correlations. In the second part of the article the governing equations describing heat transfer in gas/liquid bubble column reactors are derived under the assumptions of the axial dispersion model and the cell model with backflow. For steady-state conditions, the axial dispersion model leads to a boundary value problem consisting of non-linear ordinary differential equations, whereas the cell model with backflow can be represented by a system of non-linear algebraic equations. Both equation systems include strong non-linearities and can be solved only by special numerical methods. As an example of the use of heat-transfer correlations in modelling bubble columns, the wet air oxidation of municipal sewage sludge carried out in a three-phase bubble column reactor (18 m in height, 2 m in diameter) is simulated considering different heat-removal methods. The simulation runs were carried out with the BCR program, which was developed at the University of Dortmund and the UMSICHT institute for the simulation of bubble column reactors operated under industrial conditions.