Convective Mass Transfer onto Multiple Gas Bubbles

Abstract

An analysis has been performed on the fluid flow and convective mass transfer in a system consisting of many gas bubbles. Both interference effects of neighboring bubbles and the influence of the circulation induced inside the bubbles on the flow field and the mass transfer rate were taken into account in the analysis. Analytical solutions were obtained for the mass transfer rate. The results indicate that both the packing density and the viscosity ratio of fluid spheres and surrounding fluid have significant effects on the flow field and the mass transfer rate. It was found that the mass transfer rate in a system of bubbles becomes much higher than that for a system of solid spheres. Based on the analytical results, discussions are provided concerning the mass transfer onto gas bubbles from liquid flow.