Intensification of nitric acid production

A mathematical model enabling a quantitative description of the oxidation of nitrous acid using the ozone-oxygen mixtures in the continuous bubble columns has been proposed. The model consists of mass transfer kinetic equations and material balance equations of gas and liquid phases flowing through the absorber. The material balance equations refer to the parallel, co-current flow of gas and liquid phase and take into account a complex chemical reaction in the liquid phase. The proposed model is used in a numerical simulation of oxidation in a bubble absorber for different process conditions: the flow rate and the composition of the gas and liquid phase, temperature and pressure, and different heights and diameters of the column.