CFD Studies in Heat and Mass Transfer Phenomena

An understanding of the heat and mass transfer phenomena in porous media implies a good description of the flow behaviour within it; this fact is of fundamental importance to many chemical engineering systems such as packed bed extration or catalytic reaction equipment. In general, porous media is described as an effectively homogeneous system, neglecting the complexities of the flow within the void space studies equipment. The details of this local flow process may, however, be the most important factor influencing the behaviour of a given physical process ocurring within the system. Computational Fluid Dynamics as a simulation tool allows obtaining a more approached view of the fuid flow and transport mechanisms in supercritical packed bed equipment, though the resolution of continuity, momentum, mass and energy balances around the complex geometry of the studies cases. In this book, CFD is used for solving fluid flow and heat and mass transfer phenomena in packed beds with supercritical solvents, developing a modeling strategy applicable to the design of heterogeneous reaction and extration equipment.