Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering (IJChE)

Abstract In this study, the fluid flow together with solid particles has been studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The gas-solid flow (air and sand particles with the size of 150 µm) inside a 76.2 mm diameter pipe with various bend angles including 45, 60, 90, 120, 135, and 180° was modelled at the fluid flow velocity of 11 m/s. The k-ω turbulence model was employed to model the flow turbulence and the E/CRC erosion model have been used to predict erosion rates. The hydrodynamics of the flow, the particles motion as well as the probable erosion regions were predicted. The CFD simulation results showed that increasing the curvature angle increases the erosion rate. While, increasing the pipe diameter, decreases the erosion rate. The maximum erosion rate was predicted at the end part of the curvature for 45 and 60 ° angles, while it was observed in the middle region for 120 and 135 ° curvatures. Finally, the maximum erosion rate for the 180 ° curvature was observed in two regions at the end of the first and second half. Using these results, precautionary considerations for the erosion, and the suitable plans for the repair and maintenance of the equipment can be offered.

Abstract The removal of Acrylonitrile (AN) from waste gas streams using biological methods, due to their better performance, has recently gained more attraction. The purpose of this research is modeling the AN removal by a bio-filter. The validation of the model is done by using the experimental data of a bench-scale bio-filter bed column including yard waste compost and shredded hard plastics and thickened municipal activated sludge. In this work the kinetics of the biodegradation of Acrylonitrile is first investigated. Then equations of the biofilm and air are obtained at a steady state and constant temperature. The unknown parameters of the model are determined by the least square optimization method along with solving the model equations using MATLAB. For inlet concentrations less than 1 g/m³ the model results show reasonable similarities to the experimental data. The effect of various parameters on the bio-filter performance is evaluated. The Peclet number, biofilm thickness and biomass concentration are the most important parameters. The proposed model can be useful for design purposes.