Supervision: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marco Da Silva
Impedance probes have been designed, integrated and tested to monitor flow processes in a loop reactor. A loop reactor is a special type of chemical reactor in which an internal loop flow is generated through a jet nozzle in order to achieve better mixing. It is used in a variety of industrial applications such as chemical production, environmental technology and biotechnology.
Fig. 1: Loop reactor with the conductivity circular ring probes for determining the gas holdup.
For a better understanding and optimization of processes in a loop reactor with gas-liquid flow, two types of impedance probes are developed and presented. These probes are special conductivity probes. The first type, conductivity circular ring probes, is used to measure the local gas holdup in riser und downcomer. The second type, conductivity needle probes, is used to analyze the loop flow using tracer measurement.
Fig. 2: Measuring ranges for determining the gas holdup (blue and yellow). Schematic representation of the internal circulation flow, symbolised by arrows.
The measurement results of this work demonstrate that the probes are able to determine the local gas holdup, as well as the flow times and velocities of the loop flow at various superficial gas velocities. This work provides valuable insights into the flow processes in the loop reactor. In this way, two novel tools have been made available with which phenomena in chemical reactors can be investigated on the basis of impedance measurements.
Keywords: gas holdup, impedance probes, loop reactor, tracer measurement
June 19, 2024
Johannes Kepler University Linz
Altenberger Straße 69
4040 Linz, Austria
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