CFD simulation of geometrical parameters effects on the hydrodynamic characteristics and CO2 absorption efficiency of Arc-RPB.

The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique was used to study the effect of the geometrical parameters on the intensification of hydrodynamic parameters and Carbon dioxide (C O 2) absorption efficiency by Mono-Ethanol-Amine (MEA) solution in a novel Arc-blade Rotating Packed Bed reactor (Arc-RPB). The VOF multiphase approach and RNG k - ε turbulent model were used to study the multiphase and turbulent behavior of the flow field in the computational domain, respectively. The effects of liquid flow rate, the bed wire mesh diameter, and number of the mesh layers were studied on the liquid holdup (α L) , gas-liquid interfacial area (A int) and liquid dispersion index (I d). Considering the Arc-RPB bed wire mesh diameter from 0.2 mm to 1.6 mm showed that α L , A int and I d decrease 20%, 29% and 11%, respectively. By examining the effect of the bed layers enhancement, the liquid holdup α L decreased by about 36% but, A int and I d reached a maximum value at 16 bed layers. Finally, with study the effect of the bed geometrical parameters on C O 2 absorption efficiency, results showed the efficiency reduces about 7.5% with increase in the bed mesh diameter and shows a maximum at 16 bed layers. [Display omitted] • Study of geometrical parameters effects on the hydrodynamic characteristics of a novel Arc-RPB by CFD simulation. • High effect of bed wire mesh and bed layer number in intensification of absorption efficiency of C O 2 by MEA solution. • Dependence of absorption efficiency to the liquid dispersion index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]