Experimental and analytical investigations of airlift pumps operating in three-phase flow

Based on the control volume approach, a theoretical model is developed to predict the airlift-pump performance in air-water-solid three-phase flow. Experiments were performed using coarse, irregular non-uniform crushed pink limestone particles. The effect of the submergence ratio and size of solid particles on the pump performance are investigated. The predictions of the proposed model are in good agreement with the experimental results of an airlift pump conveying solid particles. In addition, the comparison with the experimental results shows that the proposed model can be used, with good accuracy, to predict the performance of airlift pumps operating in air-water two-phase flow when the solid mass flow rate is set to zero. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.