What is a Sparging? Sparging is a technical term for injecting gas into a liquid or for spraying a liquid onto a solid. Spargers are porous disc or tube assemblies that are also referred to as Bubblers, Carbonators, Aerators, Porous Stones and Diffusers. Porous Metal Spargers are widely used in Gas-Liquid contacting applications that affect everyday living. A common example of sparging can be seen in an aquarium where air is bubbled into the tank through a fine porous “stone” in order to maintain the level of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Spargers are also used to carbonate beverages such as Beer and Soda. Gas Liquid Contacting can also be used to extend the shelf life of foods and beverages such as Orange Juice, Wine and Yogurt. By injecting fine Nitrogen bubbles into the food or beverage, the overall Oxygen content is reduced (Oxygen Stripping) and the product life is extended.
If a pressurized gas is forced through the fine network of pores in a porous metal sparger, very small diameter bubbles (0.5 to 10 micrometers) are produced to allow a high efficiency transfer of the contact gas to the liquid. Conventional drilled pipe spargers have larger holes which produce large bubbles that do not dissolve as well. Finer bubbles generated by porous sintered metal sparger have a higher surface area and therefore speed up the chemical reaction saving processing time. The increased efficiency of the contact gas also results in significant cost savings since the overall gas consumption can be significantly reduced. Finer pore size materials are also used to prevent the liquid from penetrating back into the pores at lower internal pressures.
Spargers are also utilized to control process chemistry or the pH of a process such as for Steel Refining, for Water Treatment, for Fermentation and for Hydrogenation. Sparging Ozone is being used to kill bacteria in water and eliminates the need to add Chlorine. Steam Sparging commonly uses porous stainless steel sparger assemblies to generate fine bubbles and reduce the effects of steam hammering that is typical with larger bubbles from drilled pipe spargers. Porous Metal Spargers can be used for injecting gas (aeration) in food packaging applications or for bulking up the volume of products such as Mayonnaise and Yogurt. Porous metal spargers have the advantage of a rugged design that can be cleaned and reused. Porous Metal Spargers also provide superior temperature and corrosion resistance in demanding service environments and applications.
