Experimental and Optimization of Process Variables for Heat Transfer Coefficient in Bubble and Slurry Bubble Column Reactor with a real heat-exchanger tubes using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

This study involves designing and constructing a simulated Fitcher-Tropich bubble column reactor (FTBCR) that features real vertical U-shaped heatexchanging tubes.This work investigates the influence of incorporating a real heat exchanger into a bubble and slurry bubble column (BC and SBC).The investigations were conducted in a (0.15 m) inner diameter Plexiglas (BCR) with varying gas flow rates ranging from (0.14m/s to 0.35m/s).To replicate the industrial (FTBCR), a real heat exchanger was vertically installed, occupying 25% of the column cross-section, and comprised 18 copper tubes, each with a diameter of (0.016 m).Glass beads represented the solid phase with an average size of 150 m, which were loaded to a maximum volume of 40%.Furthermore, this investigation employed an advanced heat transfer technique to quantify the impact of the cooling tubes and solid particles on the local instantaneous heat transfer coefficient (LIHTC) to improve the quantification and understanding of the heat transport in this reactor.The investigations were conducted at three axial locations (H/D = 2, 3, and 4) and six radial sites along the column's diameter (0.18, 0.46, and 0.74).The results indicated that the (LIHTC) exhibited a substantial decrease as the gas flow rates increased at all radial and axial positions.Moreover, the (LIHTC) in the central zone increased by approximately 82% in comparison to the near the wall in the two and three phases.The model's validation was assessed by comparing the predicted and experimental values of (LIHTC) using Minitab software and response surface methodology