Hydrodynamics and mass transfer of concentric-tube internal loop airlift reactors: A review. (September 2022) - Li, Lifeng
Graphical abstract: Highlights: Hydrodynamics and mass transfer of CTILARs are significant to overall performance. Basic concepts, characteristics and recent advancement are reviewed. CFD modeling and experimental characterization are summarized. Research gaps for future research and development of CTILARs are identified. Lab-scale decent hydrodynamic and mass transfer are hard to maintain when scaled up. Abstract: The concentric-tube internal loop airlift reactor is a typical reactor configuration which has been adopted for a myriad of chemical and biological processes. The reactor hydrodynamics (including mixing) and the mass transfer between the gas and liquid phases remarkably affect the operational conditions and thus are crucial to the overall reactor performance. Hence, this study aims at providing a thorough description of the basic concepts and a comprehensive review of the relevant reported studies on the hydrodynamics and mass transfer of the concentric-tube internal loop airlift reactors, taking microalgae cultivation as an exemplary application. In particular, the reactor characteristics, geometry, CFD modeling, experimental characterization, and scale up considerations are elucidated. The research gaps for future research and development are also identified.