Fluid Mechanics for Chemical Engineers: with Microfluidics, CFD, and COMSOL Multiphysics 5

Chapter 10. Bubble Motion, Two-Phase Flow, and Fluidization

10.1 Introduction

T^HE simultaneous motion of two or more immiscible fluids is of considerable importance in chemical engineering, and there is an abundance of examples, such as:

1. Mixing of coal particles with water and pumping the resulting slurry through a pipeline.

2. Simultaneous production of oil and natural gas upward through a vertical well.

3. Vaporization of water or other liquids inside the heated tubes of a vertical-tube evaporator.

4. Contacting a reacting fluid with catalyst particles in a fluidized bed.

5. Absorption of a component from a gas stream that is rising through a packed bed in a tower, down through which an absorbing liquid is flowing.

6. Aerated bioreactors, ...