X-ray CT study of the influence of liquid viscosity on fluid phase distribution in modular catalytic packings

In the frame of the present study, the influence of liquid viscosity on liquid holdup distribution in a packed column equipped with the modular catalytic packing Katapak-SP 11 is measured. Water and an aqueous solution of glycerine, the viscosity of which equals 10 cP, are used as feed liquids. The estimation of liquid holdup is of great interest due to its strong influence on pressure drop, on solid wetting and on heat and mass transfer coefficients. The experimental technique used is high energy X-ray tomography, which is a unique technique to visualize the local liquid distribution inside the complex structure of packings and to quantify the liquid holdup at different scales.