Gas‐Liquid mass transfer in a three‐phase fluidized bed with floating bubble breakers

The effects of liquid and gas velocities, particle size and volume ratio of floating bubble breakers to solid particles ( V f / V s ) on both the volumetric mass transfer coefficient, k l a , and the gas‐liquid interfacial area, a , have been determined in three‐phase fluidized beds with floating bubble breakers. Beds having a volume ratio ( V f / V s ) of about 0.15 showed a maximum increase in both k l a and a of about 30% in comparison to that in the corresponding bed without floating bubble breakers. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient in three‐phase fluidized beds with or without floating bubble breakers can be estimated from the surface renewal frequency of liquid microeddies and the particle size.