Bubble reactor

Application

• Removal of various volatile compounds:

  • volatile nitrogen compounds (NH₃, amines,…)

  • volatile sulphur compounds (H₂S, mercaptans,...)

  • acid gases (CO₂, NO, NO₂, SO₂,…)

  • halogen compounds (Cl₂, HCl, HBr, F₂, HF, SiCl₄,…)

  • …

Principle

A bubble reactor is a simple scrubber that ‘bubbles’ the gas through the scrubbing solution using a fan. In the bubble reactor, the gas is blown through special plastic gas diffusers resulting in the formation of small gas bubbles in the scrubber liquid, thereby realising a good gas-liquid contact and mass transfer.

The only moving component of the bubble reactor is the fan, so no pump needed. The diffusers are easily dismountable and therefore easy to clean.

The advantage of this scrubber is that it is simple in use and easy to transport. Drawback of the system is the need for a fan that is able to surpass the static pressure height of the scrubber liquid (e.g. 50 mbarg), and as such implicates a rather high energy cost.  As a result of this, this technique is often used for temporary applications in the field where rather small gas flows (< 1000 m³/h) have to be treated.

Depending on the compound to be removed, the most suited scrubber liquid should be selected. The liquid inside the scrubber tank can be renewed batch-wise. Removal efficiencies of 99% can be obtained, provided that the correct scrubber liquid has been chosen.

Scheme

Realisations