Study on the mass transfer of bubble swarms in three different rheological fluids

The mass transfer of the absorption of carbon dioxide bubble swarms into three different rheological fluids (Newtonian fluids, shear thinning fluids and viscoelastic fluids) were investigated experimentally. The volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficients under different operating conditions were determined by using a carbon dioxide probe. The influences of gas flow rate and liquid properties on volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient were studied. Results indicated that the volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient increased with gas flow rate but decreased with increasing liquid apparent viscosity. Moreover, the viscoelasticity of liquid resulted in a decrease of mass transfer rate. A semi-empirical model was developed, the prediction by this model showed a satisfactory agreement with the experimental data in all three types of liquids studied.