Review on the effect of heat exchanger tubes on flow behavior and heat/mass transfer of the bubble/slurry reactors

Bubble/Slurry bubble column reactors (BCR/SBCR) are intensively used as multiphase reactors for a wide range of application in the chemical, biochemical and petrochemical industries. Most of these applications involve complicate gas-liquid/gas-liquid-solid flow behavior and exothermic process, thus it is necessary to equip the BCR/SBCR with heat exchanger tubes to remove the heat and govern the performance of the reactor. Amounts of experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to describe the phenomena taking place in BCR/SBCRs with heat exchanger tubes. Unfortunately, little effort has been put on reviewing the experiments and simulations for examining the effect of internals on the performance and hydrodynamics of BCR/SBCR. The objective of this work is to give a state-of-the-art review of the literature on the effects of heat exchanger tubes with different types and configurations on flow behavior and heat/mass transfer, then provide adequate information and scientific basis for the design and the development of heat exchanger tubes in BCR/SBCR, ultimately provide reasonable suggestions for better comprehend the performance of different heat exchanger tubes on hydrodynamics. (C) 2021 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Bubble/Slurry bubble column reactors are widely used in the chemical industry, requiring heat exchanger tubes for heat removal and performance control. While there have been numerous studies on the phenomena in reactors with heat exchanger tubes, there is a lack of research on the effects of internals on performance and hydrodynamics. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview and scientific basis for the design and development of heat exchanger tubes in these reactors.