Experimental study on particle transport performance of airlift pump

This paper presents experimental studies on airlift pump aiming to better understand their particle transport performance. Due to the lack of theoretical models for predicting the flow state of particles, experimental studies must be conducted to find the optimal operating conditions of airlift pump for high performance. The studies used a new air injection system and different operation modes to evaluate the particle transport performance of an airlift pump. The tests were carried out in a new airlift device with 3,850 × 2,520 × 2,970 mm dimensions and 100 mm inner diameter circular riser pipe. Two types of air injection modes, at different air injection frequencies in the range of 0–0.8 Hz were investigated with two operation modes. The results indicate that under different operation modes, the optimal concentration and velocity of the solid particles transported by the airlift pump in the horizontal operation mode are 2.78 and 2.34 times those in the vertical operation mode, respectively; Under different injection modes, the optimal concentration and velocity of solid particles transported by the airlift pump with pulse injection mode are 1.53 times and 1.08 times those in the airlift pump with continuous injection mode, respectively.