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Aim of this work was the extension and development of a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and population balance model (PBM) solver to enable a simulation aided design of stirred liquid-liquid extraction columns. The principle idea is to develop a new design methodology based on a CFD-PBM approach and verify it with existing data and correlations. On this basis, the separation performance in any apparatus geometry should be possible to predict without any experimental input. Reliable “experiments in silico” (computer calculations) should give the engineer a valuable and user-friendly tool for early design studies at minimal costs.
The layout of extraction columns is currently based on experimental investigations from miniplant to pilot plant and a scale-up to the industrial scale. The hydrodynamic properties can be varied by geometrical adjustments of the stirrer diameter, the stirrer height, the free cross sectional area of the stator, the compartment height as well as the positioning and the size of additional baffles. The key parameter for the liquid–liquid extraction is the yield which is mainly determined at the in- and outlets of the column. Local phenomena as the swirl structure are influenced by geometry changes. However, these local phenomena are generally neglected in state-of-the are design methodologies due to the complex required measurement techniques. A geometrical optimization of the column therefore still results in costs for validation experiments as assembly and operation of the column, which can be reduced by numerical investigations. The still mainly in academics used simulation based layout of counter-current extraction columns is based at the beginning of this work on one dimensional simulations of extraction columns and first three dimensional simulations. The one dimensional simulations are based on experimental derived, geometrical dependent correlations for the axial backmixing (axial dispersion), the hold-up, the phase fraction, the droplet sedimentation and the energy dissipation. A combination of these models with droplet population balance modeling resulted in a description of the complex droplet-droplet interactions (droplet size) along the column height. The three dimensional CFD simulations give local information about the flow field (velocity, swirl structure) based on the used numerical mesh corresponding to the real geometry. A coupling of CFD with population balance modeling further provides information about the local droplet size. A backcoupling of the droplet size with the CFD (drag model) results in an enhancement of the local hydrodynamics (e.g. hold-up, dispersed phase velocity). CFD provided local information about the axial dispersion coefficient of simple geometrical design (e.g. Rotating Disc Contactor (RDC) column). First simulations of the RDC column using a two dimensional rotational geometry combined with population balance modeling were performed and gave local information about the droplet size for different boundary conditions (rotational speed, different column sizes).
In this work, two different column types were simulated using an extended OpenSource CFD code. The first was the RDC column, which were mainly used for code development due to its simple geometry. The Kühni DN32 column is equipped with a six-baffled stirring device and flat baffles for disturbing the flow and requires a full three dimensional description. This column type was mainly used for experimental validation of the simulations due to the low required volumetric flow rate. The Kühni DN60 column is similar to the Kühni DN32 column with slight changes to the stirring device (4-baffles) and was used for scale up investigations. For the experimental validation of the hydrodynamics, laser based measurement techniques as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) were used. A good agreement between the experimental derived values for velocity, hold-up and energy dissipation, experimentally derived correlations from literature and the simulations with a modified Euler-Euler based OpenSource CFD code could be found. The experimental derived axial dispersion coefficient was further compared to Euler-Lagrange simulations. The experimental derived correlations for the Kühni DN32 in literature fit to the simulated values. Also the axial dispersion coefficient for the dispersed phase satisfied a correlation from literature. However, due to the complexity of the dispersed phase axial dispersion coefficient measurement, the available correlations gave no distinct agreement to each other.
A coupling of the modified Euler-Euler OpenSource CFD code was done with a one group population balance model. The implementation was validated to the analytical solution of the population balance equation for constant breakage and coalescence kernels. A further validation of the population balance transport equation was done by comparing the results of a five compartment section to the results of the commercial CFD code FLUENT using the Quadrature Method of Moments (QMOM).
For the simulation of the droplet-droplet interactions in liquid-liquid extraction columns, several breakage and coalescence models are available in the literature. The models were compared to each other using the one-group population balance model in Matlab which allows the determination of the minimum stable droplet diameter at a certain energy dissipation. Based on this representation, it was possible to determine the parameters for a specific breakage and coalescence model combination which allowed the simulation of a Kühni miniplant column at different rotational speeds. The resulting simulated droplet size was in very good agreement to the experimental derived droplet size from literature. Several column designs of the DN32 were investigated by changing the compartment height and the axial stirrer position. It could be shown that a decrease of the stirrer position increases the phase fraction inside the compartment. At the same time, the droplet size decreases inside the compartment, which allows a higher mass transfer due to a higher available interfacial area. However, the shifting results in an expected earlier flooding of the column due to a compressed flow structure underneath the stirring device. In a next step, the code was further extended by mass transfer equations based on the two-film theory. Mass transfer coefficient models for the dispersed and continuous phase were investigated for the RDC column design.
A first mass transfer simulation of a full miniplant column was done. The change in concentration was accounted by the mixture density, viscosity and interfacial tension in dependence of the concentration, which affects the calculation of the droplet size. The results of the column simulation were compared to own experimental data of the column. It could be shown that the concentration profile along the column height can be predicted by the presented CFD/population balance/mass transfer code. The droplet size decreases corresponding to the interfacial tension along the column height. Compared to the experimental derived droplet size at the outlet, the simulation is in good agreement.
Besides the occurrence of a mono dispersed droplet size, high breakage may lead to the generation of small satellite droplets and coalescence underneath the stator leads to larger droplets inside the column and hence to a change of the hold-up and of the flooding point. A multi-phase code was extended by the Sectional Quadrature Method of Moment (SQMOM) allowing a modeling of the droplet interactions of bimodal droplet interactions or multimodal distributions. The implementations were in good agreement to the analytical solution. In addition, the simulation of an RDC column section showed the different distribution of the smaller droplets and larger droplets. The smaller droplets tend to follow the continuous phase flow structure and show a higher distribution of inside the column. The larger droplets tend to rise directly through the column and show only a low influence to the continuous phase flow.
The current results strengthen the use of CFD for the layout of liquid-liquid extraction columns in future. The coupling of CFD/PBM and mass transfer using an OpenSource CFD code allows the investigation of computational intensive column designs (e.g. pilot plant columns). Furthermore the coupled code enhances the accuracy of the hydrodynamics simulations and leads to a better understanding of counter-current liquid-liquid extraction columns. The gained correlation were finally used as an input for one dimensional mass transfer simulations, where a perfect fit of the concentration profiles at varied boundary conditions could be obtained. By using the multi-scale approach, the computational time for mass transfer simulations could be reduced to minutes. In future, with increasing computational power, a further extend of the multiphase CFD/SQMOM model including mass transfer equation will provide an efficient tool to model multimodal and multivariate systems as bubble column reactors.