Numerical investigations using scale adaptive simulation (SAS) in 3D transient Euler-Euler framework for bubble columns have been carried out and all the simulation results are compared with available experimental data. The performance of SAS model was also compared with re-normalization group (RNG), large eddy simulation (LES) and k-epsilon models. Numerical results are in good agreement with experiments in predicting time averaged turbulent kinetic energy and axial velocity profiles. The superior flow predicting ability of SAS model is highlighted and it has shown that SAS turbulence model can capture large scale turbulence behavior and can be used efficiently for simulating flow field and turbulent quantities in case of bubble column flows. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.