Bubble columns are used as a retention mechanism for aerosols that are harmful to the environment and human health. Radioactive material in the aerosol form and in the gas phase released during a hypothetical nuclear reactor severe accident event can be captured efficiently using a pool scrubbing process in which the contaminated gas is transported through a liquid pool. Wet scrubbers used for this purpose have to operate at a wide range of two-phase flow regimes. The numerical and experimental studies could only yet assess aerosol transfer and hydrodynamics for a narrow flow range.

Here we show a new experimental approach based on tomographic measurements using Wire-mesh sensors to simultaneously measure the two-phase flow properties and aerosol mass transfer from gas to the liquid phase. This instrument provides a high-speed visualization of the two-phase transient flow and the electrolytic concentration in the liquid phase. In our experiments, we produce a NaCl-based aerosol injected in a bubble column in which the Wire-mesh sensor is installed. The mass transfer is calculated as the time derivative of the concentration in the liquid. The results are compared with the aerosol filter concentration measurements at the column inlet and outlet. The value of the total mass transfer recorded with the two methods shows good agreement. The wire-mesh sensor can, therefore, reliably measure aerosol retention in the liquid. In future work, the study will be extended to high turbulent heterogeneous flow regimes.