Improving gas distribution through agitator and gas sparger modification in an autoclave model

An experimental study of the effect of gas sparger geometry and agitator location on gas distribution in agitated systems is presented. The results have shown that varying the impeller position modified the size of low void fraction zone. The optimum impeller position for achieving a small low voidage zone without changing the flow pattern has been identified. It was found that impeller positions below or above the optimal location have a negative effect on gas dispersion while the sparger geometry did not affect significantly the overall gas distribution. Low void fraction zone could be detected by a void sensor even if not visually observed.