International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology (IJMET), ISSN 0976 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 6340(Print), ISSN

N 0976 6359(Online) Volume 4, Issue 2, March - April (2013) IAEME

AND TECHNOLOGY (IJMET)

ISSN 0976 6340 (Print) ISSN 0976 6359 (Online) Volume 4, Issue 2, March - April (2013), pp. 461-478 IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijmet.asp Journal Impact Factor (2013): 5.7731 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com

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HYDRODYNAMIC STUDY OF AN ADJUSTABLE HEIGHT PACKED COLUMN OPERATING ON THE PRINCIPLE OF AN AIR LIFT PUMP
Adel OUESLATI 1 *, Ahmed HANNACHI2, Mohamed EL MAAOUI3
1

College of technology, Department of Chemical engineering, Mogran, 6227,Zaghouan Tunisia 2 National school of Engineers, Gabes, Department of chemical engineering, Omar ibn El khattab, Zrig, 6072- Tunisia 3 Faculty of sciences of Tunis, Department of chemistry, Elmanar 1002- Tunisia

ABSTRACT A setup consisting of a glass column packed with calibrated glass rings has been achieved. It operates on the principle of an air lift pump. It was designed for the best contact between air and water. Performances of this system were determined by measuring the displaced water flow rates for different submersion depths and various air flow rates. We studied the pressure drop versus the immersion depth in the column. The results show that the pressure loss is described by a second order polynomial equation. Efficiency was calculated for different conditions. The study shows that the proposed system can be set easily, has low power consumption, provides a good mix between phases and is very important for many applications where heat and mass transfer are involved. Keywords: air lift pump, porous media, packed column, efficiency 1. INTRODUCTION The pumping system of water by air lift consists of the injection of compressed air at the base of a pipe in order to drive the liquid therein. The only source of energy, used for pumping, is compressed air. A two-phase mixture is water-air, of lower density than the surrounding liquid. Upward movement is initiated, and causing a stream of water.

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Air lift pumps are widely used in aquaculture (Parker et al., 1987 [1)), in bioreactors (Chisti V., G. Trystam [2], 1992) in geothermal wells (Reley DJ, Parker GJ [3], 1982) in underwater exploration (JL Mero [4]; Stenning and Martin [5], 1968), the extraction of sludge in wastewater treatment (Casey TJ [6], 1992 and storck [7], 1975). Pumping systems air lift type are considered effective for low head conditions compared to centrifugal pumps and other pumps (Lee, 1997 [8]; Kumar [9], 2003 and Oh [10], 2000). However, this efficiency was defined by Nickelin [11], (1963) and used by Rienemann [12], (1987) is given by the following relationship:

(1)

With: : Density of the liquid, g: Acceleration due to gravity, Q , Q : volume flow rates of the liquid displaced and gas respectively, Z : Pressure head (m), P , P : Gas pressures respectively at the top and bottom of the column. Here we see that for values of QG and P0 data, QL and P1 will depend on factors that influence the hydrodynamics of the system. The hydrodynamic in a gas-liquid contactor is very complex. Characterization begins with the determination of gas flow regimes. Several authors have defined flow regimes co-updraft gas. Five regimes, two-phase flow water-air vertical co-current, observed by Roumy [13] (1969): Bubbles, separate dense bed of bubbles, slugs, annular and churn.In general, the transition from one regime to the other takes place by varying one or both of air flows and water. But in the case of an air lift, the gas flow rate and the initial height of the liquid, in the riser, that secure the flow rate of the circulating liquid and the flow regime. The pressure drop (P0 - P1) resulting mainly to gravity and viscous forces. They depend closely on speeds of fluids and therefore, they are dependent on the flow regime. Correlations for determining the pressure drop have been established by Govier GW and Aziz A. [14] (1972), Govier and Radford,[15] (1957) for bubbles regimes, by Friedel [16], (1979) in the case of slug regime and by kern [17], (1975) if the flow is like churn and annular. The gas hold up is the ratio of the volume of gas contained in the mixture biphasic on the useful volume of the column. It is the sum of the dynamic gaseous fraction and the static gaseous fraction. Experiments carried out by several authors (Wallis (1969) [18], Nicklin [19] (1962)) showed that the value of gas holdup varies with superficial gas velocities. It has an effect on the flow rate of the liquid and interfacial area (Merchuk [20], 1981). For flow rates of gas and liquid, gas retention is variable from one point to another in the column. It also depends on the design of the closed loop air lift system including the connections between the riser pipe and tube down comer (Merchuk [21], 1994). The author reports elucidated the effect of sections of the riser and the down comer of the gas holdup value. Nakoryakov [22] (1986), Rienemann [12] (1987) and Merchuk [21] (1994) showed that the gas holdup depends on the diameter risers and the effects of viscosity, surface tension and Reynolds number . The authors confirmed that if the tube diameter is much less than 6 mm and if the gas flow is cut, surface tension prevents the rise of gas bubbles.
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Air lift pumps that we present above are exclusively formed by a vertical tube in which there is water at a given height and air injection at the base. Our work is to use an air lift system wherein the tube is filled with packing. Although packed columns are very well known, the combination air lift and packing has not been addressed. Merchuk [21], (1994) studied the air lift bioreactors unlined but improved turbulence by design. There are other researches achieved a packed column reactor where liquid and gas are sent by two different pumps (Barrios QEM [23], 1987; Sicardi S., G. Baldi, V. Specchia, I. Mazzarino [24], 1984, A. LARA Marquez [25], 1994). The packed column is used for the mixing and intimate contact between the phases. The rest of the studies, which are related to our work, concerned to conventional packed columns in which we seek to characterize the concurrent up flow of air and water. The parameters involved are flow regimes, gas and liquid hold up, liquid and gas flow rates and pressure drop. Flow regimes are studied by JL Turpin, R. L. Huntington, [26], (1967); Y. Sato et al. [27], (1974), Nakamura et al. [28], (1978);, Barrios [23], (1987) and Lara et al. [29], (1992). The studies have shown that the gas flow depends on flow regimes and fluid characteristics of packing. Since the regime depends on the characteristics of solids, so we cannot make flow regimes maps similar to that of a biphasic system. On the gas holdup, studies by Moustiri [30], (2002); Therning [31], (2001), Lara Marquez [29], (1992), Abraham [32], (1990) and Barrios [23], (1987) showed that the overall retention of the gas increases as a function of the superficial velocity gas and decreases with that of the liquid without offering an explanation of the effect of solid packing on the gas holdup. The pressures drop in a packed column where the flow is co-current upward can be described by the modified formula Ergun whatever regime (Maldonado JG, G. Hebrard, D. Bastoul, Roustan, JL Westrelin S. Baig, [33], 2004). The same authors have defined sleep velocity and their effects on the mass transfer. This work is a study of co-flow updraft of a water-air mixture in a packed column vertical operating on the principle of an air lift pump. The column is filled with glass rings. The water is flowing in a closed loop. In addition to its large surface area, the glass rings are characterized by a high void fraction which maintains a low pressure drop. Possible applications are expected in the field of air humidification or stripping. The tests are performed in ambient conditions. Only two parameters are adjustable: the gas flow rate and the initial height of the liquid in the riser. Water flow generated, the gas holdup, pressure drop and pump efficiency are determined to evaluate the performance of assembly. According to the trends observed in the experimental study a physical interpretation is proposed. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. The experimental setup Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the setup. The system main components are: evaporator (1), down comer (2), water heater (3), cyclone (4), compressor (5), water flow meter (6), water make up Tank (7), air heater (8), air flow meter (9), temperature control (10), swirl chamber (11), vapor condensers (12) and (13), Inlet cooling water (14), outlet cooling water (15), pure water Tank (16), water level control (17), Temperature sensor (18), Relative Humidity (HR) sensor (19) and pressure manometers.

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The experiments were performed on a vertical cylindrical column made up in three glass tubes 0.072 m diameter and 0.4 m length. The total height of the column and the packed bed are 1.2 m and 1.0 m respectively. The characteristics of the solid packing are shown in Table 1. The column is provided with equidistant pressure sensors in order to measure the local pressure at different heights. Four polypropylene disc diffusers, with 67 circular pores of 5 mm each, are arranged at the ends of the glass tubes. They have a double role: first they change the fluid flow direction, second they prevent the exit of solid packing out of tube. Only one air jet nozzle is used in the experiments. It has a diameter of 3 mm. At the input of the column, a swirl chamber, stainless steel, is designed for the injection of water and air. At a height equal to 1.02 m of the column, water is recycled through a down comer and the air continues its path to the cyclone and condensers. Water droplets separated at the cyclone are routed to the swirl chamber. A make-up tank of water is placed to keep a constant liquid level in the down comer. The water flow rate is measured by an orifice, with piezometers, placed between the down comer and the riser. His uncertainty is less than 5%. The compressor used of 2 kW power, Michelin type and 25 liters of tank, provided with a flow controller valve. The air flow meter is air float type; brand Tubux whose measuring range is between 0 and 25 m3 / h and the uncertainty of 4%. The setup is designed in a manner that the amount of water evaporated will be replaced, automatically, by the same amount of liquid water issued from the tank (7). The riser will be used as an evaporator chamber. It is insulated by a transparent polyethylene layers. The airflow humidified by passing through water level in evaporator chamber then leaves from the outlet pipe in the direction of condensers. The water level in the evaporator chamber is controlled by the level of water make up tank (7) and an electric heater (3) of 2 kW power. The inlet water flow rate in the evaporator is measured by a calibrated orifice (6). The physical properties of the packing particles are given in table.1.
Table 1: Physical characteristics of the packing particles Type of packing particles Glass rings

Density : S Average diameter: dp Averagelength : lp fixed bed porosity: Form Factor:

2.187 (kg/m3) 0.008 (m) 0.008 (m) 77.3 0.681

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Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the set up Fig.1: Schematic diagram of the experimental setup: evaporator (1), down comer (2), water heater (3), cyclone (4), compressor (5), water flow meter (6), water make up Tank (7), air heater (8), air flow meter (9), temperature control (10), swirl chamber (11), vapor condensers (12) and (13), Inlet cooling water (14), outlet cooling water (15), pure water Tank (16), water level control (17), Temperature sensor (18), Relative Humidity (HR) sensor (19). The submersion ratio Sr is defined by this expression:

(2)

Where: Z s: submerged depth (initial liquid height), The design for air lift pumps has typically been based on data derived from performances within the limits of S r (40% - 90%) (CHO Nam Cheol, Hwang in ju, Lee chae-Moon, Park jung-won [34]). The total head, L is given by the following equation: Zs+ZL=L (3)

For this study, the total head is 1.02 m, so Z s, can any value between 0.4 and 0.9 m.

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2.2. Measuring the pressure drop To measure the pressure loss due to the fluid flow between the ends of packed column, we used a differential manometer connected to the tail and the head of the column. Another differential pressure gauge is intended for measuring the pressure at the head of the column with respect to that of the atmosphere. The measurement error by differential manometer is equal to 2 mm. 2.3. Measuring the global gas hold up The gas hold up is defined as the volume occupied by gas in the packed column crossed by a diphasic mixture in continuous operation. It called also void fraction. It is measured by set a level of liquid in the packed column, which corresponds to a volume V0 of the liquid. Then, we inject a gas flow rate. Once the steady state is reached, flows into and from the packed column are cut by closing the corresponding valves. The new liquid volume V1 in the packed column is noted. The void fraction is then:

(4)

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1. Average water flow rate The results of measurements are plotted in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Effect of the Gas flow rate on the water flow rate for many submersion ratios The examination of Fig.2 shows that there is a jump, in all the curves. This is attributed to movement of the packing which is subject only to his weight. Under the effect of flow, the mixture of gas and liquid induce a movement of packing, the void fraction increases and the liquid flow rate increases also. Unless the presence of the perforated discs all the packing would be ejected. This jump, which has a great influence on the liquid flow rate and pumping efficiency, becomes more important if submersion ratio, Sr, is also important.
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Fig. 3. Liquid flow rate is a function of submersion ratio Sr Fig.3 is a graphical representation of liquid flow rate as submergence ratio. We find that the liquid flow rate increases with the gas flow. This curve confirms the relationship between the liquid flow rate and the submergence ratio is linear when QG= 1.265 Nm3/h. But, when the gas flow rate increases, the relationship becomes nonlinear. Some authors like to show the effect of the superficial gas velocity on the superficial liquid velocity. In order to find a model that includes the operating parameters (gas and liquid flow rates, submergence ratios) with the characteristics of the system (tube section, etc.), we represented the flow rate ratio (QG / QL) based on liquid flow rate QL for different submersion ratios (Fig. 4a). We got a parabolic relation in the range of liquid flow rates (0-105 L.h-1).

(a) This study

(b) D. Moran study [35]

Fig. 4. Effect of Liquid flow rate on the Gas liquid flow rate ratio Outside this range, the curve is no longer parabolic, due to change of void fraction in the bed. It is worthy to say that the curves of fig. (4a) of this study are similar to that obtained by D. Moran [35] (Fig. 4b) with other conditions and type of air lift pump.
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Fig.5a. Effect of mass gas flow rate on the mass liquid flow rate (Our results and there obtained by Khalil [36] and Parker[1]))

Fig.5b. Effect of mass gas flow rate on the mass liquid-gas ratios The fig. 5a shows a comparison between results of this study with the analogous results obtained by other authors (parker [1] and Khalil [36]).The latters were related to other air lift pumps and other conditions, in which there is no packing, but in a same submergence ration (S r = 0.55). We observe the same trends. In our case, it is obvious to note that packing causes the decrease of the liquid flow rate.

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Parker [1] considered the pumping efficiency can be described by liquid- gas mass ratio versus mass gas flow rate. He obtained a parabolic curve similar to that obtained in this study (Fig. 5b). The same author recommended plotting a dimensionless liquid flow rate [QL / (Ar*(2*g*Zs) )] versus gas-liquid flow rate ratios (QG / QL). With, Ar is riser section, g is the gravity and Z s is the submersion depth.

Fig. 6.Effect of gas-liquid flow rate ratios on the dimensionless liquid flow rate The curves, obtained in (fig. 6), show that a model can describe the relation between the operating parameters and setup characteristics. This model has been given by the following expression: . Where:

(5)

(6) (7) (8) (9)

386.04 701.4 1.314 1.618

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Table 2, gives the values of and for each submerged ratio value. Table 2: fitted equation for each submerged ratio S r 0.5 0.9656 0.6 0.9791 0.7 0.9806

): Fitted equation

R2 386.04 /

701.4

435.9

3.2. Pressure drop across the height of the fixed bed Experiments to measure the pressure drop through the bed were carried out for different initial liquid heights using a differential manometer. The scope is to determine the effect of gas flow rate, submerged depth and bed porosity on pressure drop.

Fig. 7.Effect of gas flow rate en drop pressure for dry packing

Fig. 7 shows the effect of air flow rate and the dry packing on the pressure drop. The tests are achieved in ordinary conditions. The obtained results can be fitted by a linear equation indicated in fig. 7. The pressure drop increases linearly with the gas flow rate and his maximum value is less than 450 Pa in the test conditions.

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(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 8.Effect of air flow rate, submersion ratio and the fluid velocity on the pressure drop. Fig. 8a shows the experimental curves relating the pressure drop per unit bed height versus air flow rates for different submersion depth. The analysis of the results shows the influence of the submerged depth and the gas flow rate on the pressure drop. Fig. 8b shows the variation of pressure drop per unit height of packed column, against the submersion depth for different gas flows. The curves obtained have a positive slope. For QG = 0.758; 1.265 and 1.517 Nm3/h all the curves are linear and in agreement with the fact that when the liquid height, Zs, (i.e. Sr) increases, air flow encounter more difficulties to cross the packed column. So, P increases. The lines are classified according to increasing QG. This is consistent with the fact that P is of the form:
. . .

(10)

(Leva [37], 1959)) where, and are the density and the superficial velocity of the fluid mixture respectively. and are the shape factor and diameter of packing respectively. n is a constant. f is the friction factor, which is related to Reynolds number, Re, by the following equation:

(11)

Where, b is constant and the Reynolds criterion based on grain size is: / (12)

f is the fluid viscosity (pa /s).

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For QG = 2.023 Nm3/h a change in the slope is observed at 0.6. This phenomenon could be attributed to the displacement of the packing rings when they are submitted to a high gas velocity. The new curve branch is linear and shows a significant increase in the slope. We see, in a first approximation, that: - When the submersion ratio is very important, P has approximately a parabolic form. - For a lower value of Sr (Sr = 0.6) the parabolic form is more flat. - For Sr more lower, (Sr = 0.5), we have a parabolic branch very close to a linear form. Considering that a parable is described by the following formula: . . . We know that the parable is more and more flat when the coefficient, a, is smaller and smaller. To a fixed liquid immersion depth, the pressure drop increases with increasing gas flow, which can be attributed to the growth of the water flow. These experiments show the importance of the degradation of energy by friction. The pressure drop is given by the expression of Ergun [38], (1952):

(13)

This equation can be written as follows:

. . . .

(14)

With:

(15)

And

(16)

Fluid velocity: Uf = (UG + UL) = (QG + QL) / Ar (17)

According to this equation, the pressure drop increases with the superficial liquid velocity UL. Trends illustrated in Fig. 8c are described by the second order polynomial equation. We note that the viscosity f and density, f depend on the temperature, so that the value of the pressure loss depend on the thermodynamic conditions of the measurements. Fortunately, all the experimental values in this work were obtained at constant temperature (27C). It should be noted that each submersion ratio corresponds to a hydrostatic pressure, , which is equal to : . . (18) Where: : Liquid density (kg. m-3),:Gravity (m. s-2),
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Thus the air must have a pressure greater than ( ) for flowing in the packed column. Below this value, the gas does not pass through the packed column; therefore we cannot talk about pressure loss. So, the curves of pressure drop versus fluid velocity for different submersion ratios (Sr= 0.5; Sr=0.6 and Sr=0.7) do not go through the origin. They have the following equations in the following table 3: Table 3: fitted pressure drop equation for each submerged ratio Sr R2 0.5 0.9696 0.6 0.9817 0.7 0.9863 0 (dry packing) 0.9384

Fitted Pressure drop equation

0 5326.7 1138.7

117966 10601 1837.4 214499 18464 2214.2 0 1575.6 41.43

It is instructive to say that we can find easily the effect of liquid flow rate on the pressure drop. For a submersion depth of 60cm and for a gas flow rate of 2.023 Nm3/h, the characteristics of the bed change due to the porosity variation explained above, the pressure will increase rapidly. A jump is observed for submersion depth of 60cm and 2.023 Nm3/h of gas flow rate (fig. 8a) the same jump is observed at a point having the coordinates 70 cm as submergence depth and 1.5 Nm3/h as gas flow rate (fig. 8b). So the jump depends on the gas flow rate and the submergence depth. 3.3. Gas hold up The global gas hold up profiles obtained in the fixed bed at different gas flow rates and liquid heights submersions were determined. The same tendencies are observed at all submersion ratios (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9. Effect of gas velocity on the gas holdup

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Whatever, we can note that global gas holdup increases with increasing gas flow rates and decreases with increased liquid flow rates. These variations have been already pointed out by Heilman [39], (1968); Achawal [40], (1976); Barrios [23], (1987);Lara Marquez [29], (1992) and Gillot [41], (2005). The global gas hold up is the sum of the dynamic and static gas fractions. The dynamic gas fraction is the volume of gas in the packed column which is renewed continuously by the inlet gas throughput. But the static gas fraction corresponds to the remaining gas in the packed column when the gas flow is cut off. It depends on the characteristics of the fixed bed such as porosity, shape and nature of the packing (Maldonado [33], 2005; Tung et al. [42], 1988). The decrease of the global gas holdup with increasing of submersion ratio is attributed to the decrease in the drag force. 3.4. The slip velocity The slip velocities are calculated from the following equation:

(19)

Fig.10a. Effect of gas velocity on the Slip velocity (This study)

Fig. 10b.Effect of gas velocity on the Slip velocity (Maldonado [33] study)

The fig.10a shows the increase of the slip velocities with the superficial gas velocities. Moreover, it appears that the high values of slip velocities are obtained with low submersion ratios. So, the slip velocities increase with decreasing contact area. A comparison of this study with that achieved by Maldonado [33] (fig. 10b), we conclude that the slip velocity, obtained in this, is greater than that obtained by Maldonado [33]. This greatness is attributed to the importance of gas hold up in our case, which is related to the high gas velocities and glass ring as packing used in this study.

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3.5. Efficiency of the air lift pump The term air lift pump efficiency was presented by equation (1). It is used by several authors for system pumping evaluation. Fig. 11a shows that the efficiency of the air lift pump increases with increasing gas flow rate up to a certain value where it becomes almost constant and decreases after. The submergence ratio (Sr) effect is observed in this curve. The efficiency decreases with the increase of submersion ratio.

(a) (b) Fig. 11. Effect of the air flow rate on the efficiency of the air lift pump The comparison of this study with that achieved by Khalil [36] shows easily the same curves trends; even the two air lift pumps and the operating conditions are different (fig. 11b). So, it is important to underline the gas energy loss caused by liquid flow rate, packing and the connection between the riser and the down comer. Merchuk [21] showed that if, Ad and Ar are the sections of down comer and riser respectively, the decrease of the ratio (Ad / Ar) have a negative effect on the gas holdup but also a negative effect on the pumping liquid efficiency. However, it should be interesting to announce that the setup is designed not for very high pumping liquid flow rates but for high heat and mass transfer efficiency. Consequently, liquid flow rates recorded, in the experimental study, are very high for many applications. 4. CONCLUSIONS In this study we determined, under ambient conditions: atmospheric pressure and temperature of 27C, the effect of immersion depth and the gas flow on the liquid flow rate. Air flow rate have an important effect on the liquid flow. At a given submerged ratio, liquid flow rate depends on gas flow rate, bed porosity and system design. When gas flow rate increases, then liquid flow rate increases also. Besides, the submerged ratios increase the liquid flow rate increase also. In the range of operating conditions tested the liquid flow rate decreases with increasing of gas -liquid flow rate ratios. We found that liquid flow become high enough when immersion depth is greater than 40%. Below this value, the pumping of water in a granular medium by the air is impossible.
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It is observed that the pressure drop per meter of packed bed increases with increasing gas flow rate. It increases more intensively with the increase of submerged ratio. It can be described by a second order polynomial equation. Average gas holdup and slip velocity increase with superficial gas velocity but decreases with an increase of submerged ratio and liquid velocity. Finally this study shows that the pump efficiency increases with increasing gas flow rate up to a maximum is reached. Then it decreases regardless on the gas flow. The packing presence is really an obstacle to liquid flow. A model giving the liquid flow rate for a given gas flow rate and for submergence ratio range, between 0.5 and 0.7, is proposed. As a conclusion we can say that the studied set up is very interesting and may constitute the base of several useful applications. REFERENCES [1] [2] [3] Parker G. J., The Effect of foot piece Design on the performance of small air lift pump, INT. J. HEAT & FLUID FLOW vol. 2 NO . 4. Chisti V., G. Trystam, 1992, Assure Bioreactor Sterility , Chem.Eng.Prog., September 1992, pp. 80-85 Reley D.J., Parker G.J. Flowing geothermal wells: Cerro Priet wells M.91 and Krafla well KJ-9.1: Computer analysis compared with experimental data , Int. Conf. On Geothermal Energy, Florence Italy, May 1982, pp. 187-196. Mero J.L., Seafloor Minerals: A Chemical Engineering Challenge , Chem. Eng. Prog., July 1 1968, pp.73-80 Stenning A.H., Martin C.B. "An analytical and experimental study of airlift pump performance", J.Eng.Power, 90, 1968, pp. 106-110 Casey T.J., "Water and Wastewater Engineering", Oxford University Press, 1992, pp. 181- 185 Storch. B., 1975. Extraction of sludges by pneumatic pumping.In : second symposium on Jet pumps and Ejectors and Gas lift Techniques, Churchill College, Cambridge, England, G. A. PP. 51-60. Lee H S, Yoon C H, Kim I K et al., 1997. Overflow volume generated by air lift pump, The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers, The Proceedings of the 2nd ISOPE OMS, 1997(1): 117121. Kumar E Anil, Kumar K R V, Ramayya A Venkata, 2003. Augmentation of airlift pump performance with tapered up riser pipe an experimental study, the Institution of Engineers (India). Journal of Mechanical Engineering Division, 84: 114119. Oh S K, 2000. A study on airlift pump for water circulation and aeration.Ph.D Thesis.Pukyoung University, Korea. 1927. Nicklin, D. J. 1963 the air-lift pumps: theory and optimization. Trans. Instn chem. Engrs 41, 29-39. Reinemann D J, Parlange, J. Y., Timmons, M. B., Theory of small-diamter airlift pumps , Int. J. Multiphase Flow Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 113-122, 1990. Roumy, R., 1969. Structure des coulements diphasiques eau-air. Etude de la fraction de vide moyenne et des configurations dcoulement, CEA-R-3892. Commissariat lEnergieAtomique, France. Govier G.W., Aziz A., The flow of complex mixtures in pipes, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1972.
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