Effect of resistance internal on hydrodynamic behaviors and bubble characteristics in a laboratory‐scale bubble column

A novel resistance internal is proposed to optimize the flow field and improve the gas-liquid contact in a co-hydrogenation reactor of coal and vacuum residuum. Local gas holdup, local liquid velocity, and characteristics of the bubble were investigated in a scaled-down laboratory model. The quantitative results showed that the resistance internals could reduce the thickness of the liquid reflux layer by a percentage up to 32% and reduce the difference in the local gas holdup at cross-sections of up to 44%. The Sauter mean diameter of the bubble decreased from 20.30 to 16.00 mm, which aroused the increase in bubble surface area by a percentage of up to 71.9%. The resistance internal promoted the breakup of the bubble with multiple mechanisms and provided diversion to fluid. In this work, improvement at multiple scales was realized, and the technical support for industrial application was provided.