The influence of Rashig rings and the rheological properties of the liquid phase on the pressure drop at the bottom of a reciprocating plate column

Abstract

The pressure drop at the column bottom, filled with a Newtonian (distilled water) or non-Newtonian (aqueous solution of carboxymethylcellulose, sodium salt, CMC, 1 %) liquid, in the presence of Rashig rings, made of aluminum (0.8 cm in diameter), regularly distributed in the interplate spaces (volume content of the solid phase: up to 3.2 %) was studied. The average and total pressure drop at the column bottom increased with increasing vibration speed and content of the solid particles, but decreased with increasing superficial gas velocity, indepentently of the rheological properties of the liquid phase. The pressure drop at the column bottom filled with the non-Newtonian liquid was found to be higher than that in the case of distilled water.