A volume-of-fluid methodology for interfacial mass transfer

• Published in: Chemical engineering science Vol. 275; p. 118720
• Main Authors: Macfarlan, Luke H., Phan, Mikey T., Bruce Eldridge, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 05.07.2023
• Subjects: Computational fluid dynamics; Interfacial mass transfer; Novel methodology; Structured packing; Turbulent mass transfer; Volume of fluid (VoF); Novel methodology; Interfacial mass transfer; Volume of fluid (VoF); Turbulent mass transfer; Computational fluid dynamics; Structured packing
• ISSN: 0009-2509; 1873-4405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2023.118720

[Display omitted] •Novel computational fluid dynamics model for interfacial mass transfer.•Capability of interfacial concentration jump with multiple orders of magnitude.•Validation with analytical solutions showed less than 1% error.•Additional model presented that is compatible with turbulent mass transfer model.•Additional model demonstrated in simulations of structured packing physical system. This study developed a novel interfacial mass transfer model for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) capable of handling a concentration jump of multiple orders of magnitude across the interface between two fluids. The interfacial mass transfer model uses a volume of fluid methodology. After establishing the mathematical foundation of the model, termed the Mass Fraction – Continuous Species Transfer (MF-CST) model, validation on a two-dimensional system was performed. Two different chemical systems were used: one system having the mass transfer resistance in only one phase and the other system having mass transfer resistance in both phases. For both validation cases, the MF-CST predictions agreed with the analytical solution to within 1 percent. A framework was also provided for combining a Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) approach with the MF-CST model. To demonstrate the use of the RANS and MF-CST models simultaneously, simulations were performed on a structured packing system.