Three-dimensional simulation of interfacial convection in CO2-ethanol system by hybrid lattice Boltzmann method with experimental validation☆

摘要

By using a hybrid lattice-Boltzmann–finite-difference method (hybrid LBM–FDM method), three-dimensional simulations of solutal interfacial convection were conducted for the process of CO2 absorption into ethanol. A self-renewal interface model is adopted as an interfacial perturbation model. The simulation results revealed some three-dimensional features of the induced interfacial convection, such as the development of diverging cellular flow and Rayleigh plume-like convection in liquid phase. The concentration distribution of the simulation result is validated and found to be in wel agreement with the Schlieren visualization results qualitatively. Addi-tionally, the mass transfer enhancements by interfacial convection were investigated via both simulation and experiment for the absorption process, and the mass transfer is shown to be enhanced by the interfacial convec-tion by about two-fold comparing with that by diffusion.