Effect of gas-water ratio on the water treatment efficiency in jet foam fractionators
Recirculating aquaculture,characterized by its energy and water efficiency and environmental friendliness,stands as one of the representative models of advanced aquaculture practices both domestically and internationally.As a crucial component of recirculating aquaculture systems,the foam fractionator significantly influences the system's water purification effectiveness through its structural design and operational management.Currently,the adjustment and management of operational parameters for foam fractionators primarily rely on empirical approaches,lacking theoretical support.This study focuses on widely applied jet-type foam fractionators and employs computational fluid dynamics(CFD)to investigate the foam generation efficiency under different gas-to-water ratios(1∶2,1∶2.5,1∶3).Furthermore,experimental trials explore the impact of different gas-to-water ratios on the removal efficiency of suspended particulate matter.The CFD results indicate that the foam classifier produces the highest number of bubbles when the gas-to-water ratio is set at 1∶2.5.The experimental results reveal that the foam fractionator's removal efficiency for solid particles at gas-to-water ratios of 1∶2,1∶2.5 and 1∶3 is 35.23%±0.77%,44.85%±0.81%and 44.52%±0.58%,respectively.The foam fractionators with gas-to-water ratios of 1∶2.5 and 1∶3 exhibit a significant improvement in solid particle removal compared to the foam fractionator with a gas-to-water ratio of 1:2.Based on these findings,it is recommended to set the gas-to-water ratio for jet-type foam fractionators at 1∶2.5 to achieve optimal particle removal efficiency and substantial foam generation.This study provides novel insights for optimizing the operational parameters of foam fractionators.
jet foam fractionatorgas-water ratioremoval rate of suspended particlesnumerical simulation