Hydrophilic wire gauze packing in a wet scrubber column with extremely low liquid spray density for air detritiation: Experiment and CFD analysis

The wet scrubber column for air detritiation required operation with very low liquid spray densities (0.02 to 0.5 m³/(m²⋅h)), which posed a considerable challenge in developing suitable structured packings. The hydrophilic modification of the phosphor-bronze wires was achieved by growing copper oxide nanowires on the wire surface. Compared to the original wire, the double-layer wire gauze with hydrophilic CuO coating exhibited more sufficient spreading. The VOF model effectively simulated the water droplets on the wire gauze and demonstrated that the liquid film formed within the wire sheets reduced flow disturbance between the two wet wire sheets. Experimental results confirmed that the wet pressure drop was significantly lower than the dry pressure drop, due to the sufficient wetting of the packings. The study provided valuable insights into the development of wire gauze packing, which is beneficial for further enhancing the performance of wet scrubber columns for air detritiation.