Investigation of Droplets Distribution and Reaction Kinetics on SO 2 Removal in Flue Gas via Venturi Scrubber

This paper investigates the problem of gas-liquid flow SO 2 removal in nonquiescent flue gas. Using venturi scrubber as the prototype, the population balance model (PBM) combined with the CFD is implemented to characterize the droplets behaviors. Discrete methods as class model (CM) and various quadrature-based moment models (QBMMs) are applied to numerically solve the population balance equations (PBEs). Taking NaOH solution as the reaction kinetics, the sulfur removal efficiency simulation with CM and different QBMMs methods is validated through the operation measurements. The comparison results show that the CM can achieve better accuracy with more bins, which showed the minimal error 3.6%, consisting 30 bins. However, the computational time of the CM is approximately 19.3 times as long as QBMMS. Among the QBMMs, the ECQMOM approach enjoys the best balance between the simulation efficiency and accuracy, while EQMOM shows the least computational load and CQMOM wins the minimal calculation precision. This result will provide sufficient reference for engineers working in the field of the droplets distribution in the venturi scrubber design.