Two-phase pressure loss correlation for co-current flow in corrugated plate static mixers and structured packing

Co-current contacting of gas and liquid with a gas-continuous phase is a process with industrial relevance for natural gas processing, biogas upgrading, and carbon capture. Correlations that quantify two-phase, pressure losses under co-current flow conditions in corrugated geometries such as static mixers and structured packing at high gas-phase Reynolds numbers (Re-G > 10(5)) are currently lacking. To fill this void, two-phase pressure losses in corrugated plate geometries under co-current flow conditions were measured at: 3,000 < Re-G < 320,000 and 9 < Re-L < 590. Our previously developed single-phase pressure loss correlation is extended to predict the results from this multiphase scenario by utilizing the separated flow modeling framework where each phase contributes to the pressure loss in an independent manner. The previously developed single-phase correlation matches the measurements with an overall Mean-Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 20% at high Re-G compared to a MAPE of 24 - 109% obtained from previous literature correlations. The new proposed correlation, employing the critical gas Reynolds number for the onset of liquid entrainment, reduced the MAPE to 7% for Re-G > 110,000 and 23% for Re-G < 110,000 compared to the dataset. A preliminary Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis shows that a simple, reflecting droplet boundary condition provides an adequate representation of the interfacial pressure loss effects for the range of conditions investigated in this study. (C) 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.

Automated summary

The co-current contacting of gas and liquid with a gas-continuous phase is an important industrial process for various applications. However, there is currently a lack of correlations that quantify two-phase pressure losses in corrugated geometries under co-current flow conditions at high gas-phase Reynolds numbers. This study aims to fill this gap by measuring two-phase pressure losses in corrugated plate geometries and extending a previously developed single-phase pressure loss correlation to predict the results of this multiphase scenario. The proposed correlation shows improved accuracy compared to previous literature correlations, with a mean-absolute percentage error of 7% for higher Reynolds numbers and 23% for lower Reynolds numbers. Preliminary computational fluid dynamics analysis suggests that a simple boundary condition adequately represents the interfacial pressure loss effects.