Method for the prediction of the particle attachment to the bubble in oil at elevated temperatures

In three phase catalytic reactions or in floatation the position of particles in respect to the gas/liquid interface is a crucial parameter affecting the efficiency of those processes. It is commonly assumed that three phase interactions are described by the contact angle, and in general the higher the contact angle the greater the probability of particle attachment to the gas/liquid interface. Contact angles are notoriously difficult to measure accurately for porous particles of wide size distribution and/or irregular shape. Also, it is practically impossible to measure the contact angles at high temperature/pressure e.g. at the conditions typical in many catalytical reactors.
Here a new method, based on the thermodynamical description of interfacial/surface energies, enabling prediction of the position of particles in three phase solid/gas/liquid systems is discussed. In this method the surface energy of catalyst particles at elevated temperatures is measured using inverse gas chromatography enabling the calculation of total interaction energy between three phases and the prediction of the position of particles in gas/liquid dispersion. The predictions were in very good agreement with experimental results obtained with the bubble pick up method.