Numerical Study on Energy Loss and Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Mixing Characteristics in Overflow Carbonizer Reactor with Integrated Venturi-Porous Media Structure

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
1 School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
2 Foshan Shunde Midea Water Dispenser Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Foshan, 528300, China
Abstract
This study proposes a gas-liquid reactor model integrating a venturi tube and porous media, aiming to enhance gas-liquid mixing efficiency by inducing turbulence and improve CO2 dissolution and carbonation efficiency. Compared with conventional carbonizer devices, the proposed system effectively improves CO2 dissolution and reaction efficiency by designing a novel venturi structure to induce turbulence and combining the advantages of porous media for enhanced mass transfer. This paper establishes a CO2 bubble observation and concentration testing platform, and uses CFD methods to simulate the fluid dynamics characteristics and CO2 concentration distribution under different operating conditions and porous medium structural parameters. Special attention is paid to the effects of gas-liquid inlet flow rates, porous media filling configurations, and pore structure properties on pressure loss, carbonation efficiency, and energy consumption. The results demonstrate that the gas-liquid inlet flow rates of 7 and 1.8 L/min achieve optimal carbonation concentration (8-10 g/L) with balanced energy consumption. Partial filling of porous media in a 1-3 configuration reduces pressure drop by 5% while enhancing H2CO3 formation by 5%. A porosity of 0.8 and pore size of 15-20 PPI maximize CO2 dissolution (8.2 g/L) with minimal operational pressure (< 0.874 MPa). The system proves that within 1.6 s, the usage of porous media placement significantly affects transient pressure spikes and concentration uniformity. The present study may not only provide novel insights for the optimization and design of gas-liquid reactors, but also offer feasible solutions for carbon capture and storage technology.
Keywords
Subjects

Publisher’s Note Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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