Gas Flow Characteristics in a Rotating Packed Bed by Particle Image Velocimetry Measurement

The rotating packed bed (RPB) has drawn wide attention owing to its outstanding advantage in process intensification. In the present study, gas flow characteristics in RPB were investigated by particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurement. The velocity and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the packing zone were obtained and the effects of various parameters were analyzed. During rotation, gas rapidly acquired tangential velocity, which was dominant in resultant velocity. Mean gas velocity increased with the increase of rotational speed, but was almost independent of gas flow rate and packing size at lower rotational speed. Moreover, mean radial and tangential slip velocities were overall positively affected by gas flow rate and rotational speed, respectively. Higher TKE near the inner packing than those in the bulk zone revealed the existence of a gas end-effect zone in RPB. The results could provide a theoretical basis for further study on gas solid catalytic reaction or the gas liquid mass transfer process in RPB.