Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203

www.elsevier.com/locate/ces
On the inuence of the liquid physical properties on bubble volumes and
generation times
Mariano Martn, Francisco J. Montes

, Miguel A. Galn
Departamento de Ingeniera Qumica y Textil, Universidad de Salamanca, Pza. de los Cados 15, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Received 13 July 2005; received in revised form 29 November 2005; accepted 14 March 2006
Available online 22 March 2006
Abstract
This work presents both theoretical and experimental studies about the specic inuence of viscosity, surface tension and density in the
formation of a gas bubble. The theoretical model includes both bubble formation and free rising and extends some previous work. As the
previous bibliography provides rather scattered data regarding the effect of the liquid properties on bubble generation times, the results can
be considered a step forward in the understanding of the subject because they separately describe the inuence of viscosity, surface tension
and density. The model yields satisfactory results of bubble shapes and formation times when compared to the experimental high-speed video
observations obtained using non-Newtonian solutions of carboxymetyl cellulose in water at different concentrations (0.41.6% w/w). The
complete experimental study also includes a range of different gas ow rates (110 cm
3
/s) and orice diameters (1.5 and 2 mm).
2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bubble phenomena; Bubble volume; Liquid properties; Two-stage model
1. Introduction
Bubble columns and sieve plate reactors are some of the most
typical aeration devices used in the chemical and biochemical
industries. If the bioprocess involves a cell culture that is sen-
sitive to high hydrodynamic stresses (Davis et al., 1986; Hua et
al., 1993), bubble columns and sieve plate towers are the most
adequate aeration devices. During the actual operation in a fer-
menter, most uid properties change with time. This change is
slow compared to the time of formation of a single gas bubble,
so when modeling the formation and rising of a single bubble,
the uid properties can be taken as constants. In contrast, when
modeling the formation of a series of bubbles during a large
period of time, the variation of the uid properties with time
must be considered.
One of the most important parameters regarding the
gasliquid mass transfer process is the volume of the gener-
ated bubble. Bubble volume together with the exposed bubble
surface determines the specic area involved in the transfer of
gas to the liquid phase in a bubbling system.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 923294479; fax: +34 923294574.

E-mail address: javimon@usal.es (F.J. Montes).
0009-2509/$ - see front matter 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ces.2006.03.027
There are numerous studies regarding the inuence of vis-
cosity, surface tension and density in the formation of a gas
bubble (Ramakrishnan et al., 1969; Satyanarayan et al., 1969).
However, the results are a little bit ambiguous. Undoubtedly,
the experimental study of the inuence of the uid properties
in the bubble volume is difcult, because it is impossible to
modify one uid property without affecting another or even
all the rest. Moreover, the effects of these properties on the
bubble volume are small and, sometimes, opposed to each
other. In this context, the main objective of this work is to
clearly determine the inuence of the uid properties on the
bubble volume and, consequently, on the time of formation
of such bubble. Since this goal is practically unfeasible from
an experimental point of view, it was decided to tackle the
problem form a theoretical point of view and later compared
the results with several experiments. In this way, the effect on
the bubble volume of three of the most basic properties of a
uid, density, viscosity and surface tension was studied sepa-
rately. The theoretical results should clearly point out which
uid property is responsible for a given variation of the vari-
able under study (generation time-bubble volume), because the
simulations are carried out keeping all uid properties con-
stant but one. Bubble volume and generation time are directly
M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203 5197
related when the experiments are performed under constant gas
ow rate.
In some uids, as the value of viscosity increases the ow
behavior changes from Newtonian to non-Newtonian. This fact
is also taken care of in the theoretical approach, in which the
terms corresponding to interfacial friction are modied from a
previous article (Martin et al., 2006) in both the modeling of
bubble expansion while attached to the orice and the modeling
of free bubble rising. The present model extends some previous
work (Terasaka and Tsuge, 1991, 2001; Li, 1999; Li et al., 2002)
improving the robustness of the differential equation solver and
including the free rising stage.
This paper presents a model including both bubble formation
and free rising in Newtonian and non-Newtonian uids. The
model yields satisfactory results regarding bubble shapes and
formation times when compared to the experimental high-speed
video observations obtained using water and non-Newtonian
solutions of carboxymetyl cellulose (CMC) in water at dif-
ferent concentrations (0.41.6% w/w). The complete experi-
mental study also includes a range of different gas ow rates
(110 cm
3
/s) and orice diameters (1.5 and 2 mm).
2. Theory
The theoretical approach is divided in two parts. First, a
model that applies to Newtonian uids will reveal the sepa-
rated effects of each of the uid properties (density, viscosity
and surface tension) on the formation time of the bubble, which
is directly related to the bubble volume when the experiment
is performed at constant ow rate. On top of that, an analysis
based on dimensionless variables will be performed. Second,
a revision of the previous model will extend its applicability
to the behavior of non-Newtonian uids. The combination of
both parts mostly covers the model of a process such as the
formation of bubbles in a fermentation broth, where the uid
properties can change in an appreciable manner as the fermen-
tation process progresses.
2.1. Newtonian model
A Newtonian model intended to predict bubble shapes and
detachment times has already been developed (Martn et al.,
2006). The model consists of two different stages. The rst
corresponds to the generation of a gas bubble in a liquid while
still attached to the orice. The second corresponds to the period
of free rising previous to the onset of the bubble oscillation.
Both stages are modeled by means of both a momentum bal-
ance, and a force balance. The momentum balance determines
bubble expansion taking into account surface tension, which
is responsible for the stability of the shape of the bubble, and
also considering the viscosity of the liquid, which offers some
degree of resistance to the expansion of the bubble.
The second balance, the force balance, determines the as-
censorial movement of the bubble, considering buoyancy, drag
forces, inertial forces due to the gas ow rate across the orice
along with those due to the liquid dragged by the bubble as it
rises and gasliquidplate interactions.
Once the bubble has detached, inertial forces due to the ori-
ce and those terms related to the presence of the plate are
modied.
2.2. Non-Newtonian model
2.2.1. Growing stage
The non-Newtonian model is based on a previous Newtonian
model (Martn et al., 2006), being the viscous terms modied
in order to cope with the rheological behavior of the uid.
Momentum balance has to be reconsidered including the power
law behavior, while drag forces in the force balance have to be
calculated in other terms.
Although it is referred to as the growing stage, both grow-
ing and expansion take place during this phase. Eq. (1) models
the bubble expansion from the orice using a momentum bal-
ance:
j
L
_
ju
r
jt
+ u
r
ju
r
jr
_
=
_
jP
jr
+ [div t]
r
_
, (1)
where
u
r
(r, t ) =
_
R
r
_
2
dR
dt
. (2)
Substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (1) and integrating Eq. (1) from
the surface of the bubble to innity, it yields
j
L
_
R
d
2
R
dt
2
+
3
2
_
dR
dt
_
2
_
= (P
L
P

)
_

R
[divt]
r
dr. (3)
The divergence of the shear stress can be described in terms
of its three normal components. As the liquid is considered to
be incompressible, the only active component of the stress will
be the radial component. Besides, the pressure at innity is
equal to the hydrostatic pressure. Under these considerations,
Eq. (3) becomes
j
L
_
R
d
2
R
dt
2
+
3
2
_
dR
dt
_
2
_
= (P
L
P
H
) + t
rr
|
r=R
3
_

R
t
rr
r
dr. (4)
At this stage, bubble expansion is modeled assuming that the
uid follows the potential law (Li et al., 2002). The shear stress
tensor for the non-Newtonian uid surrounding the bubble takes
the form
A : A =
_
4
R
2
dR/dt
r
3
_
3
+ 2
_
2
R
2
dR/dt
r
3
_
2
=24
_
R
2
dR/dt
r
3
_
2
(5)
and the main component of the shear stress is
t
rr
= 4m
f
(2

3)
n1

R
2
dR/dt
r
3

n1
R
2
dR/dt
r
3
. (6)
5198 M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203
Integrating the expression for the shear stress:
3
_

R
t
rr
r
dr =
4m
f
(2

3)
n1
n
_
dR/dt
R
_
n
. (7)
So the equation of the momentum balance is
P
B
P
H
= j
L
_
R
d
2
R
dt
2
+
3
2
_
dR
dt
_
2
_
+
2o
R
+
4m
f
(2

3)
n1
n
_
1
R
dR
dt
_
n
. (8)
The hydrostatic pressure (P
H
) is given by
P
H
= P
atm
+ j
L
g(H
L
z). (9)
The pressure inside the bubble (P
B
) is time-dependent and
it is determined assuming that the gas is ideal:
P
B
= m(t )
R
g
T
P
air
M
V
B
. (10)
The time change of the mass of gas inside the bubble is cal-
culated using a combination of Bernoullis equation and conti-
nuity throughout the orice where the bubble is generated:
dm
dt
=
C
s
A
t

1 (A
t
/A
1
)
2j
G
_
P
B
P
C
. (11)
The discharge coefcient (C
s
) is equal to 0.6 for orice plates
(Fox and McDonald, 1995).
The volumetric ow rate entering the bubble is related to the
rate of mass entering the bubble by
dV
B
dt
=
dm
dt
1
j
G
. (12)
In order to calculate the pressure in the gas chamber below
the orice, a mass balance is stated for the chamber:
dP
C
dt
=
P
C
V
C
_
Q
C

dV
B
dt
_
, (13)
where Q
C
is the experimental gas ow rate. The polytropic gas
coefcient for air is =1.4. Initially, m (t =0) is equal to the
mass of a semi-spherical bubble of radius equal to D
o
/2. The
pressure in the gas chamber at t = 0 is
P
C
= P
B
= P
atm
+ j
L
gH
L
+
4o
D
o
. (14)
It is convenient to transform Eq. (8) into a dimensionless
expression, so the results can be analyzed with more rational-
ity. Then, using the denitions given by Eq. (15), Eq. (16) is
obtained
P = P

(o/R), t = t

D
o
/u
0
, R = R

D
o
, (15)
(P

B
P

H
)
R

= We
_
R

d
2
R

d(t

)
2
+
3
2
_
dR

dt

_
2
_
+
2
R

+
4We
Re
_
1
R

dR

dt

_
n
, (16)
where We and Re are the Weber and Reynolds numbers. Eq. (16)
is solved to obtained R

(t

), considering that, initially, a semi-

spherical bubble of radius equal to D
o
/2 exists. Previously, Eqs.
(9)(13) are used in order to calculate, P
H
, P
B
(t ), m(t ), V
B
(t )
and P
C
(t ). The gas density (j
G
) is considered to be known
from the previous time step.
The growing phenomenon occurring while the bubble stays
attached to the orice is governed by a force balance given by
d
dt
_
M

dz

dt
_
= (j
L
j
G
)V
B
gfc
1
2
C
D
j
L
_
dz

dt
_
2
D
2
max
4
+
4j
G
D
2
o
_
dV
B
dt
_
2
(17)
being
M

= (j
G
+ Cj
L
)V
B
, (18)
where C and fc are equal to
11
16
and 0.005, respectively (Martn
et al., 2006). Regarding the drag under non-Newtonian condi-
tions, some authors use a theoretical result (Terasaka and Tsuge,
1991) while other references rely on a experimental relation
(Kelessidis, 2003) based on the drag coefcient (C
D
), which
is included in Eq. (17). The latter approach proved to be more
appropriate for this work:
C
D
= [2.25 Re
0.31
B
+ 0.36Re
0.06
B
]
3.45
, (19)
Re
B
=
j
L
D
max
(U
z
)
2n
m
.
Considering j
G
>j
L
and noticing that the inertial terms are
negligible, the dimensionless form of Eq. (17) is
d
dt

_
CV

B
dz

dt

_
=
Bo
We
V

B
fc
1
2
C
D
_
dz

dt

_
2
D
2
max
4
, (20)
where Bo is the Bond number and
D
max
= D

max
D
o
, V
B
= V

B
D
3
o
. (21)
Solution of Eq. (20) provides, dz

/dt

which is then used to

update the coordinates of the gas bubble, as it is explained in
detail elsewhere (Martn et al., 2006).
2.2.2. Rising stage
Once the bubble has detached from the orice, the free rising
stage is modeled based on Eq. (20), but now fully applying the
buoyancy term (fc = 1). Eq. (18) provides M

, being C = 0.5
in this case (Oguz and Prosperetti, 1993). Eq. (20), uses the
denition of C
D
given by Eq. (19). Eq. (16) is also used at
this stage to account for the changes in bubble shape due to
variations of pressure.
The scheme for the solution of the non-Newtonian model
follows the same structure than that of the Newtonian model
described elsewhere (Martn et al., 2006). Both, the momen-
tum (Eq. (16)) and the force balances (Eq. (20) with fc = 1),
together with the calculation of the pressure drop across the
M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203 5199
orice (Eq. (11)) and the mass balance to the gas chamber
in terms of pressure (Eq. (13)) conform a system of coupled
ODEs. The equations are implemented and solved using a com-
bination of routines written in Matlab

. As a result, the bub-

ble surface is calculated coupling the effects of expansion and
rising for the r- and z- axis, providing dR

/dt

and dz

/dt

dR

/dt

is the velocity of the radial expansion of the bubble

and dz

/dt

is the only component (vertical) of the bubble ris-

ing while still attached to the orice. Then, the global vertical
and horizontal components of the velocity for the rst stage of
bubble formation are:
Vertical component:
dz
real
dt
=
dR
dt
abs(cos(0)) +
dz

dt
. (22)
Horizontal component:
dr
dt
=
dR
dt
sin(0). (23)
3. Materials and methods
Fig. 1 shows the experimental setup used in this work. The
entire structure is built on top of an optical table. The bubble
column is a hand-made small glass cell of 15 15 20 (cm,
LWH). There are 8 cm of liquid above the plate where the
bubble is generated. The walls of the cell are at so the video
recordings are not distorted. The volume of the gas chamber be-
low the orice is 8 cm
3
. The images are obtained using a Red-
lake Motionscope

high-speed video camera, which records

at speeds up to 1000 frames per second. Three different gas
ow rates (1, 5 and 10 cm
3
/s) and two orice diameters (1.5
and 2 mm) were used during the experiments. The rheological
properties of the non-Newtonian solutions of CMC (Sigma

C-5678) were characterized experimentally at 20

C. Density is
Fig. 1. Experimental setup: (1) optical table; (2) ber optics; (3) supporting
structure for the bubble column; (4) magic arm holding the camera; (5)
high-speed video camera; (6) bubble column; (7) air cylinder; (8) rotameter;
(9) valve; (10) illumination source.
Table 1
Physical properties of the aqueous solutions of carboxymetyl cellulose
CMC (% w/w) j (kg/m
3
) o (N/m) m
f
n
1.2 1003 0.068 0.459 0.740
1.4 1003 0.067 0.502 0.750
1.6 1004 0.066 0.581 0.757
measured by picnometry. Surface tension is calculated using a
stalagmometer calibrated with deionized water. Viscosity was
measured using a rotational viscosimeter from Fungilab S.A.
Five different solutions of CMC in water (0.4, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2,
1.4 and 1.6% w/w) were used along the experiments. Just the
three most concentrated solutions showed non-Newtonian be-
havior, verifying the potential law. The physical properties of
those solutions and the coefcients of the potential law are
schematized in Table 1. The two most diluted solutions showed
an intermediate behavior between a Newtonian uid and non-
Newtonian uid. That is the reason why the results obtained
from these solutions are not reported in Table 1.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Newtonian uids
Table 2 shows the values of the different liquid properties,
orice diameters and gas ow rates used during the theoretical
simulations of bubbles growing in a Newtonian uid. In the
simulations, the uid properties are changed one at a time.
Density has been reported not having any effect on bubble
volumes (Quigley et al., 1955; Siemes and Kaufmann, 1956)
or to slightly decrease bubble volume when density increases
Table 2
Values of the different liquid properties and gas ow rates used during the
theoretical simulations of bubble generation times using a Newtonian uid
D
o
(mm) Q
C
(cm
3
/s) j (kg/m
3
) o (mN/m) j (mPa s)
1.5 750 18.2 1
900 36.5 5
1 998 54.7 10
1125 73.0 25
1250 91.2 50
109.5 100
1
18.2 5
750 36.5 10
5 998 73.0 25
1250 109.5 50
100
2.0 1
18.2 5
750 36.5 10
1 998 73.0 25
5 1250 109.5 50
100
5200 M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203
Fig. 2. Effect of density, viscosity and surface tension on bubble generation times. Q
C
= 5 cm
3
/s and D
o
= 2 mm.
(Coppock and Meiklejohn, 1951; Davidson and Schler, 1960;
Benzing and Myers, 1955). Looking at Fig. 2 it can be con-
cluded that there is a small but positive variation of bubble vol-
ume when density increases. Obviously, the buoyancy effect
increases as density increases but, on the other hand, the mass
of liquid that moves with the bubble during the rising affects
in the opposite way.
The effect of viscosity on bubble volume is almost negligible
when the values of viscosity are close to those of water. When
using values 10 times bigger than the viscosity of water, the
effect starts to be important. That is the reason why the results
of different authors disagree with each other. Some authors
(Coppock and Meiklejohn, 1951; Benzing and Myers, 1955)
report no variations with viscosity. Meanwhile, other references
(Datta et al., 1950) show a negative variation, and some others
(Quigley et al., 1955) a small positive variation or even a large
positive variation (Siemes and Kaufmann, 1956; Davidson and
Schler, 1960).
The theoretical simulations showed in Fig. 2 predict that
for viscosity values close to that of water, the variation is
small but positive. When using values of viscosity 25 times
the viscosity of water at 20

C or larger, the variation of bub-

ble volume and generation time is largely positive. Physically,
this effect can be explained observing the ow patterns of a
Fig. 3. Flow patterns inside and outside a growing bubble.
growing bubble while still attached to the orice as it is shown
in Fig. 3. The streamlines indicate that the constriction or bot-
tleneck that eventually will lead to the detachment of the bubble
M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203 5201
is formed as a consequence of the direction of the movement
of the gasliquid interface. The velocity of the liquid layer that
stays in contact with the gas must equal the velocity of the gas
in its outer layer. This layer of liquid is directed from the top
of the bubble to the orice, surrounding the shape of the bub-
ble. The dynamic pressure exerted by this streamline of uid
when it reaches the gasliquidplate point (three phase point)
is responsible for the formation of the bottleneck of the bubble.
As viscosity increases, the velocity of the particles contained
in this streamline of liquid will be smaller, allowing the bub-
ble to grow further before the dynamic pressure on the three
phase point is high enough to cut the bubble neck. This is the
reason why, for high-viscosity liquids, long cylindrical-shaped
bubbles are obtained (Terasaka and Tsuge, 2001).
The effect of surface tension presents more complexity. The
model predicts that decreasing surface tension will increase
bubble volume. This is a logical result when thinking that the
bubble tries to minimize its supercial energy when growing
from the orice. At high surface tensions, the maximum reach-
able bubble surface is quite small. Meanwhile, at low values of
surface tension, the bubble is allowed to grow further. The ex-
perimental results from bibliography are once again scattered.
Some authors report no inuence (Quigley et al., 1955; Siemes
and Kaufmann, 1956; Davidson and Schler, 1960). Other au-
thors report increase in bubble volume when increasing surface
tension (Datta et al., 1950; Coppock and Meiklejohn, 1951;
Benzing and Myers, 1955). The main difculty when analyzing
the effect of surface tension is due to fact that the inuence of
some other experimental variables (orice diameter, plate ma-
terial, gas ow rate) can modulate the inuence of surface ten-
sion. For example, at low gas ow rates, the effect of surface
tension is very high, showing an increase of bubble volume
when surface tension increases. However, at higher gas ow
rates, bubble volume is almost not affected by surface tension
(Ramakrishnan et al., 1969).
Table 3 shows a comparison of experimental and theoretical
detachment times for bubbles generated from different orice
Table 3
Comparison of experimental and theoretical detachment times for bubbles
generated from different orice diameters at different gas ow rates in deion-
ized water (20

C, j = 998 kg/m
3
, o = 0.073 N/m and j = 0.001037 Pa s)
D
o
(mm) Q
C
(cm
3
/s) Experimental
detachment
Theoretical
detachment
time (ms) 1 ms time (ms)
1.5 1 20 20
5 20 19
10 19 19
2.0 1 32 30
5 30 30
10 30 29
2.5 1 40 41
5 39 39
10 39 38
3.0 1 53 52
5 47 48
10 50 50
diameters at different gas ow rates in deonized water (20

C,
j = 998 kg/m
3
, o = 0.073 N/m and j = 0.001037 Pa s). The
agreement between the obtained theoretical results and the ex-
perimental data is notorious.
The task of explaining the experimental inuence of the liq-
uid physical properties on the generation of a bubble at a sieve
plate is quite complex if one tries to tackle the problem from
the dimensional point of view. The dimensionless approach in-
troduced in the theoretical section allows to explain the results
of the model based on the Weber and Reynolds numbers, which
constitutes a more rational and straightforward way of looking
at the results.
Reynolds number denes the relationship between inertial
and viscous forces, meanwhile Weber number identies the
ratio between inertial and surface forces as measurement for
the deformability of the bubble. Fig. 4 shows the inuence
of the Reynolds, Weber and Bond numbers on the dimension-
less formation times. Fig. 4 indicates that at low values of
the Reynolds number, there is an appreciable inuence on the
dimensionless formation time, decreasing this value when in-
creasing the Reynolds number. For turbulent Reynolds num-
bers, this inuence becomes very small. Regarding the Weber
and Bond numbers, the results were plotted against a com-
bination (the product) of those numbers. At low values of
We Bo, an increase of this number results in a big increment
in the dimensionless formation time. This increase becomes
less sharp at higher values of We Bo Obviously, the prod-
uct We Bo decreases as the surface tension increases, which
causes a reduction in the bubble formation time because high
surface tensions strongly constrain the expansion of the growing
bubble.
Fig. 4. Inuence of the Reynolds, Weber and Bond numbers on the dimen-
sionless bubble formation time.
5202 M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203
Fig. 5. Theoretical (above) and experimental (below) bubble shapes and generation times of bubbles growing in a non-Newtonian uid (1.2% aqueous solution
of CMC) with Q
C
= 1 cm
3
/s and D
o
= 2 mm.
4.2. Non-Newtonian uids
Both visualization experiments and theoretical simulations of
bubbles generated in non-Newtonian aqueous solutions of CMC
(1.2, 1.6 and 1.8%w/w) were carried out using orice diameters
of 1.5 and 2 mm and gas ow rates of 1, 5 and 10 cm
3
/s.
The experimental results obtained with the solutions containing
0.4 and 0.8%w/w of CMC are just used for determining the
transition of bubble generation times when the uid evolves
from Newtonian rheology to non-Newtonian rheology. Neither
the Newtonian nor the non-Newtonian model can completely
simulate the experimental bubble shapes obtained with these
two CMC solutions.
Theoretical and experimental results of bubbles shapes and
generation times obtained using the three most concentrated
solutions of CMC present magnicent agreement, as it is shown
in Fig. 5, which was obtained using a 1.2% w/w CMC aqueous
solution, an orice diameter of 2 mm and a gas ow rate of
1 cm
3
/s.
In general, generation times and bubble volumes increase as
the coefcients of the potential law (n and m
f
) increase. Re-
garding the orice diameter and the gas ow rate, the effect of
orice diameter is small for high gas ow rates but is appre-
ciable for low gas ow rates. A compilation of these results is
shown in Table 4. Both density and surface tension of all CMC
solutions are quite similar, so the variation in bubble volume
at equal values of orice diameter and gas ow rate is mainly
due to the effect of viscosity.
5. Conclusions
Considering that bibliography provides rather scattered data
regarding the effect of density, viscosity and surface tension on
bubble generation times, the results obtained by the theoretical
model presented here can be considered a step forward in the
understanding of this matter because it allows to describe in
a rational manner the inuence of the different liquid proper-
ties agrupated in dimensionless numbers on bubble generation
times.
The results of bubble generation times as a function of the
Reynolds, Weber and Bond number indicate that at low val-
ues of the Reynolds number the dimensionless formation time
Table 4
Theoretical and experimental detachment times of air bubbles generated
in different aqueous solutions of CMC for different orice diameters and
gas ow rates
D
o
(mm) Q
C
(cm
3
/s
1
) CMC Experimental Theoretical
(% w/w) detachment detachment
time (ms) 1 ms time (ms)
1.5 1 0.4 29
0.8 29
1.2 29 27
1.4 32 29
1.6 33 33
5 0.4 29
0.8 30
1.2 29 26
1.4 31 28
1.6 32 32
10 0.4 30
0.8 30
1.2 30 27
1.4 31 30
1.6 31 32
2.0 1 0.4 33
0.8 34
1.2 34 34
1.4 37 36
1.6 38 39
5 0.4 33
0.8 33
1.2 34 32
1.4 36 36
1.6 37 38
10 0.4 33
0.8 33
1.2 33 32
1.4 36 35
1.6 36 36
decreases when increasing the Reynolds number. For turbu-
lent Reynolds numbers, this inuence is small. Moreover, at
low values of the product We Bo, an increase of this num-
ber results in a big increment in the dimensionless formation
time. This increase becomes less sharp at higher values of
We Bo. For very high values of viscosity, real uids behave as
M. Martn et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 51965203 5203
non-Newtonian, so the model is modied including different
terms for the drag coefcient and the shear stress following
the potential law. The non-Newtonian model describes bubble
shapes and generation times with pretty good approximation,
concluding that the factor fc is mostly characteristic of the plate
and it is not inuenced by the type of uid.
Notation
A
t
orice area, m
2
A
1
ow area of the gas chamber, m
2
C constant in Eq. (18)
C
s
discharge coefcient
C
D
drag coefcient
D
o
orice diameter, m
fc experimental factor related to buoyancy
g gravity m/s
2
H
L
height of the liquid in the column, m
m mass of gas entering the bubble, kg
m
f
uid constant in the power law
M

virtual mass, kg
n uid exponent in the power law
P
atm
atmospheric pressure, Pa
P
B
bubble pressure, Pa
P
C
chamber pressure, Pa
P
H
hydrostatic pressure, Pa
P
L
pressure at the gasliquid interface, Pa
P
air
M
molecular weight (air), (kg/mol)
Q
B
gas ow rate entering the bubble, m
3
/s
Q
C
gas ow rate entering the chamber, m
3
/s
r radial coordinate, m
R bubble radius, m
R
g
universal gas constant, J mol/K
Re
b
bubble Reynolds number: j
L
D
max
(U
z
)
2n
/m
f
Re Reynolds number, Newtonian uids j
L
u
0
D
o
/j
L
,
Non-Newtonian uids j
L
u
2n
0
D
o
/m
f
t time, s
T temperature, K
u velocity, m/s
V
B
bubble volume, m
3
V
C
volume of the gas chamber, m
3
V
0
initial bubble volume, m
3
We Weber number: j
L
u
2
0
D
o
/o
z

apparent height of a point on the bubble surface, m

Greek letters
: exponent relating uid density and bubble genera-
tion time
:
L
liquid fraction in the column
[ exponent relating surface tension and bubble gener-
ation time
o exponent relating uid viscosity and bubble gener-
ation time
polytropic gas coefcient
j liquid viscosity, Pa s
j liquid density, kg/m
3
o surface tension, N/m
t shear stress, N/m
2
Acknowledgments
The support of the Ministry of Education and Science of
Spain providing a F.P.U. fellowship to Mariano Martn and re-
search funds (project PPQ2000-0097-P4-02) are greatly appre-
ciated.
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