Scale‐up of agitated vessels gas‐liquid mass transfer

Procedures are developed for predicting liquid film controlled mass transfer in gas sparged contactors with and without mechanical agitation. Mass transfer is shown to depend on mean bubble size. Bubble shape, motion, and interface fluctuations are all properties that are associated with bubble size, which, in turn, can be determined from the physical characteristics of the contacting system. Experimental measurements were made on CO2 stripping from aqueous solution with air in 0.00252, 0.0252, and 0.252 m3 tanks. The vessels were geometrically similar, fully baffled, and equipped with four flat‐blade impellers and spargers. These measurements are used to evaluate earlier correlations and to develop improved scale‐up procedures.