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Scrubbing of particulate-laden-SO2 in a hybrid column

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An Erratum to this article was published on 02 February 2010

Abstract

In this article, the performance of a two-stage hybrid (spray-cum-bubble) column on the scrubbing of particulate-laden-SO2 using water and dilute NaOH is reported. The present system deals with a tapered section in order to achieve the bubble regime. On the other hand, a two-phase critical flow atomizer is used for generating finer drops with high degree of spray uniformity. Detailed experimentation revealed that SO2 removal was enhanced due to presence of particles (fly ash). Almost 100% SO2 removal was achieved in water scrubbing. The increase in the enhancement factor of SO2 absorption in alkaline scrubbing did not follow theoretical linear relationship with the concentration ratio after reaching a value that corresponded to the ∼100% SO2 removal efficiency. The presence of fly ash particles improved the removal efficiency of hybrid scrubber to about 11% within the range of variables studied. Unique empirical and semi-empirical correlations were developed for predicting the scrubbing performances of the stage-wise hybrid column in water and dilute NaOH respectively. Predicted data were in excellent agreement with the experimental values. The performance of the hybrid column was also compared with the existing systems and very encouraging results were observed.

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Abbreviations

C i :

pollutant concentration at the scrubber inlet, kg/m3

C o :

pollutant concentration at the scrubber outlet, kg/m3

C NaOH :

initial NaOH concentration in the liquid phase, kg/m3

C FAi :

initial fly ash concentration, kg/m3

\( C_{{\rm SO_{2}}i} \) :

initial SO2 concentration, ppm

\( C_{{\rm SO_{2}},{\rm int}} \) :

interfacial SO2 concentration, kmol/m3

D :

diffusivity of SO2 in air, m2/s

D′:

diffusivity of SO2 in water, m2/s

D′′:

diffusivity of NaOH in water, m2/s

D c :

diameter of the column, m

D d :

droplet Sauter mean diameter, m

D i, B :

Axial Dispersion number in the bubble section {D/(u b.H C,B)}, dimensionless

D i, S :

Axial Dispersion number in the spray section {D/(v g.H C,S)}, dimensionless

d p :

particle Sauter mean diameter, m

f :

functions of variables, dimensionless

FA:

fly ash, dimensionless

H :

height of the aerated liquid in the bubble section, m

H c :

height of the column, m

H e :

Henry’s Law coefficient, m3.atm/kmol

H o :

height of the clear liquid without any aeration, m

i :

mole ratio of gaseous component (SO2) and alkaline reagent (NaOH), dimensionless

m a :

rate of mass transfer due to physical absorption, kmol/s

m cr :

rate of mass transfer due to chemical reaction, kmol/s

\( m_{{{\rm SO}_{2} - {\rm FA} - {\rm H}_{2} {\rm O}}} \) :

rate of mass transfer due to scrubbing of fly-ash-laden-SO2 in water, kmol/s

\( m_{{{\rm SO_{2} - {\rm H}_{2} O}}} \) :

rate of mass transfer due to scrubbing of SO2 in water, kmol/s

L pr :

liquid property parameter, {μ L/(v L 2. H e)}, dimensionless

ppm:

parts per million (volume fraction), dimensionless

Q G :

gas flow rate, m3/s

Q L :

liquid flow rate, m3/s

Re P :

particle Reynold’s number, (d p.v g.ρ p./μ g), dimensionless

Sc :

modified Schmidt number {\(\mu_{\text{L}}/(D^{\prime}.C_{\text{SO}_{2},i})\)}, dimensionless

T :

temperature, K

u b :

bubble slip velocity, m/s

v d :

droplet velocity, m/s

v g :

superficial gas velocity, m/s

v L :

superficial liquid velocity, m/s

η :

percentage removal of pollutant, dimensionless

η alk :

percentage removal of SO2 in alkali scrubbing (chemical reaction), dimensionless

\(\eta_{\text{H}_{2}\text{O}}\) :

percentage removal of SO2 in water scrubbing (physical absorption), dimensionless

\( \eta _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{FA}} - {\text{H}}_{{\text{2}}} {\text{O}}}} \) :

percentage removal of fly-ash-laden-SO2 in water scrubbing, dimensionless

\( \eta _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{FA}} - {\text{NaOH}}}} \) :

percentage removal of fly-ash-laden-SO2 in alkaline scrubbing, dimensionless

\( \eta _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{H}}_{{\text{2}}} {\text{O}}}} \) :

percentage removal of SO2 in water scrubbing in particle free situation, dimensionless

\( \eta _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{NaOH}}}} \) :

percentage removal of SO2 in alkali scrubbing in particle free situation, dimensionless

\( \phi _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{FA}}}} \) :

enhancement of removal efficiency due to presence of fly ash, dimensionless

\( \phi _{{{\text{SO}}_{2} - {\text{NaOH}}}} \) :

enhancement of removal efficiency due to chemical reaction, dimensionless

μ g :

viscosity of gas, kg/m.s

μ L :

viscosity of liquid, kg/m.s

ρ g :

gas density, kg/m3

ρ L :

liquid density, kg/m3

ρ p :

fly ash particle density, kg/m3

ε g :

fractional gas holdup, dimensionless

B:

bubble section, i.e., stage I

S:

spray section, i.e., stage II

O:

hybrid scrubber, i.e., overall

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Acknowledgments

Prof. M. N. Biswas thankfully acknowledges the AICTE Emeritus Fellowship awarded to him (2005−2007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721 302, India

    Amitava Bandyopadhyay & Manindra Nath Biswas

  2. West Bengal Pollution Control Board, Alipore Regional Office, Industry House 2nd Floor, 10, Camac Street, Kolkata, 700 017, India

    Amitava Bandyopadhyay

Authors
  1. Amitava Bandyopadhyay
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  2. Manindra Nath Biswas
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Correspondence to Amitava Bandyopadhyay.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10098-010-0277-5

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Bandyopadhyay, A., Biswas, M.N. Scrubbing of particulate-laden-SO2 in a hybrid column. Clean Techn Environ Policy 10, 377–387 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-008-0153-8

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