Pressure drop in slotted spouted beds of grains: Comparison of data with models

Data obtained in a rectangular slot spouted bed for two different grains (wheat and oats) have been analyzed to determine the minimum spouting velocity (V_ms) and the minimum spouting pressure drop (ΔP_ms) as a function of the bed height.Three different aerodynamic regimes occur as the bed height is increased.The results are compared with the literature models for the conventional (conical-cylindrical) spouted bed.For shallow beds, the experimental minimum spouting velocity and minimum spouting pressure drop can be well represented by the Littman et al.'s two-dimensional model.     

Fluidization and coating of very dense powders by Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapour Deposition

The hydrodynamic behaviour of a very dense tungsten powder, 75 μm in median diameter and 19,300 kg/m³ in grain density, has been studied in a fluidized bed at room temperature using nitrogen and argon as carrier gas. Even if fluidization was achieved, the small bed expansion indicated that it was imperfect. Then, the fluidization was studied at 400 °C in order to investigate the feasibility of coating this powder by Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapour Deposition (FBCVD). In particular, the influence of the H₀/D ratio (initial fixed bed height to reactor diameter) on the bed thermal behaviour was analyzed. It appeared that at least 1.5 kg of powder (corresponding to a H₀/D ratio of 1.8) was necessary to obtain an isothermal bed at 400 °C. Finally, first results about alumina coatings on the tungsten powder by FBCVD from aluminium acetylacetonate are detailed. They show that for the quite low temperatures tested, the coatings are uniform on all bed particles and are formed of amorphous carbon containing alumina. This study demonstrates the efficiency to combine fluidization (instead of spouted bed) and CVD to coat such very dense powders.     

Evaluation of the turnover times of the bed particles and of the fine powders in a circulating powder-particle fluidized bed (CPPFB)

Circulating fluidizing system of binary Geldart C powders and Geldart A particles was formed, and was called a circulating powder-particle fluidized bed (CPPFB). Solid residence in the CPPFB was concerned in two aspects, namely, bed turnover time and average turnover time of fine powders. The former represented the average time needed for all the bed particles to be circulated, while the latter represented the time needed for all the fine powders in the bed to be discharged out of the bed. Both parameters were investigated under different operating conditions as to the superficial gas velocity, size and hold-up of fine powders. FCC particles of 66 μm were used as coarse particles and 1-5 wt.% Al(OH)₃ powders of different sizes ranging from 0.5 to 15 μm were used as fine powders.The bed turnover time decreased with increasing the size of fine powders to a certain level and then became almost constant with further increase of the size of fine powders. When the size of fine powders was larger than this critical size, neither the size nor the hold-up of fine powders affected the bed turnover time. The bed turnover time drastically increased with increasing the hold-up of fine powders for the cases of using very fine powders of 1.0 μm or smaller. On the other hand, the average turnover time of fine powders decreased with increasing the size of fine powders to a minimum at around 3.5 μm and then increased with increasing the size of fine powders. It also decreased with increasing the gas velocity and decreasing the hold-up of fine powders in the bed. The average turnover time of fine powders was several times larger than the bed turnover time at the same operating conditions.     

Hydrodynamic characteristics of jet-spouted beds

Jet-spouted beds characterised by high velocity gas jets (above 1.7 U_msl), and shallow bed depths H₀ of around 2 D₁ were investigated on laboratory scale beds and industrial scale beds and the results obtained thereof are correlated and presented in this work. Compared with the classical spouted beds, important differences in bed structure, solid movements and basic hydrodynamic characteristics were observed. The minimum spouting velocity, bed voidage and pressure drop during stabilized spouting are described in terms of dimensionless equations. Bed expansion was used as the basis for the classification of different jet-spouting regimes (incoherent spouting, fast spouting, pneumatic conveying) and changes in the slope of the bed expansion curve are correlated with regime changes. This classification could be useful in the optimization of industrial scale jet-spouted beds. A typically applicable regime of fast spouting was identified.     

Hydrodynamics and interphase heat transfer in a swirled spouted bed

A new modification of a spouting technique, a swirled spouted bed (SSB), is developed and proposed to increase the efficiency of heat treatment of polyfractional and fine particles and to reduce their entrainment. It is shown that under the developed spouting conditions the SSB pressure drop is 20-30% and incipient spouting velocity is 40-50% lower whereas an interphase heat transfer rate is 15-25% higher as compared to a classical spouted bed (CSB). An empirical correlation is proposed to determine the SSB pressure drop under developed conditions.     

EFFECT OF THE PRESENCE OF PASTE IN A CONICAL SPOUTED BED DRYER WITH CONTINUOUS FEEDING

ABSTRACT

The spouted bed with inert particles has been used as a paste dryer, producing a fine powder. Few authors have studied the behavior of the bed in the presence of paste, which is important for the design of this equipment. In this work the spouting pressure drop, the minimum spouting velocity and the paste residual content in the bed were measured as a function of the feed rate. Experiments were carried out with two Newtonian pastes (egg paste and blood), a pseudoplastic one (xanthan gum suspension) and water, used as a referential material. These three types of paste behaved differently in terms of the variation of the spouting pressure drop and the minimum spouting velocity. The paste residual content in the bed was only measured with the egg paste, and in this case it increased very slightly with the feed rate, until the maximum throughput allowed by the system.     

开孔导流管喷动床烟气脱硫技术实验研究

研究了一种新型的半干法脱硫开孔导流管喷动床。在相同静床层高度下,研究了其最小喷动速度、最大喷动压降、喷动高度;在相同钙硫摩尔比、入口SO2质量浓度、进气温度、绝热饱和温差条件下,以消石灰为脱硫剂,研究了其脱硫性能。实验结果表明,与传统柱锥型喷动床相比,开孔导流管喷动床具有更好的流体力学性能和脱硫效率。实验条件下最适宜的操作条件为:钙硫摩尔比为0.9—2.5,进气温度为120—130℃,绝热饱和温差为10℃。     

Determination of Minimum Spouting Velocities in Conical Spouted Beds

Minimum spouting velocities in conical spouted beds have been obtained from pressure drops versus the superficial gas velocity curves, based on both increasing and decreasing the superficial gas velocity. It has been shown that the minimum spouting velocity from decreasing the superficial gas velocity is lower than from increasing the superficial gas velocity in most cases. This phenomenon is similar to that in conventional spouted beds and different from the early works. The experimental results also showed that there isn't significant difference in the pressure drop and U_ms under identical operating conditions between semi‐circular and circular conical spouted beds, and the same U_ms can be obtained from absolute pressure drops at any position above the gas inlet. The U_ms is found to increase with increasing the cone angle and static bed height, as well as the gas inlet diameter to a less extent.     

Cavity formation and breakup forces in conical spouted beds

A method has been developed to deduce a “breakup” force in a packed bed based on measured pressure drop and internal cavity size hysteresis data in a conical spouted bed. The pressure drop over the vertical jet is estimated by the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model using the commercial Fluent software. The pressure drop over the packed bed is extracted from the measured total pressure drop following a flow rate descending process in the spouted bed, while the “breakup” force is determined from the combination of measured total pressure drop and internal jet height following the flow ascending process, the simulated pressure drop over the gas jet and the pressure drop over the loosely packed upper bed section. Such a proposed method can be applied in the future to develop a generalized expression for the “breakup” force in spouted beds and other packed bed systems where a vertical fluid jet is issued into the packed particles.     

双喷嘴矩形导流管喷动床喷动压降

引言 传统的柱锥形喷动床(CSBs)的应用受到一些因素的限制,例如处理物料能力、起始压力大及难以放大等,为此,Romankov等[1]最早提出了长方形截面的矩形喷动床结构,来克服CSBs的缺点.此后,Rocha等[2]用矩形喷动床进行了片剂包衣的研究.     

Behaviour of Cohesive Powders in a Powder‐Particle Spouted Bed

Behaviour of cohesive powders in a powder‐particle spouted Bed (PPSB) has been investigated under several operating variables and solids properties. The elutriation rate constant based on the hold‐up of fine powders in the bed decreased with a decrease in the size of fine powders, and with an increase in the size of coarse particles under a constant superficial gas velocity. This finding is quite different from the elutriation phenomena of particles more than 100 µm in size. Moreover, the mean residence time of fine powders increased with a decrease in the superficial gas velocity and the size of fine powders, and decreased with a decrease in the size of coarse particles.     

Analysis of pressure fluctuations during water evaporation in spouted bed

The aim of this work was to study the behaviour of conventional spouted beds during water evaporation and to analyze the pressure fluctuations at the maximum water evaporative capacity for different bed heights and air flow rates. The results showed that spout pressure drop could not indicate the proximity of maximum evaporative capacity; however this condition is denoted by a minimum in fountain height. The standard deviation and amplitude of the pressure fluctuations also showed a minimum point at the maximum water evaporation capacity. The frequency domain analysis of pressure fluctuations revealed that the dry bed has a dominant frequency varying from 6 to 8.2 Hz and that the peak of dominant frequency tends to disappear with the increase in water feed rate.     

Aerodynamics and heat transfer during coating of tablets in two-dimensional spouted bed

The two-dimensional spouted bed has been pointed out in recent research works as an improved configuration of spouted beds. The main advantages in relation to the conventional spouted beds are the easy construction and scale-up. In this work we begin the study of coating of tablets in two-dimensional spouted beds. An experimental system was constructed and the data obtained were used to determine the values of maximum pressure drop, minimum spout flowrate and gas-to-particle heat transfer coefficient, for 36 process conditions. The experimental results have been correlated with process and geometrical parameters.     

超细粉在导向管喷动床中的固体循环速率

Ultra-fine powders are difficult to be fluidized due to the strong particle to particle cohesiveness.However, the authors‘ experiments showed that the ultra-fine powder CaCO3 could be stably fluidized in a spouted bed with a draft tube. The effects of geometric and operating parameters on solid circulation rate of ultra-fine powder CaCO3 were investigated in a 120 mm diameter transparent semicircular spouted bed with a draft tube. Three draft tubes with different sizes were used in this study. It was found that the solids circulation rate was mainly dependent on the drawing rate of the gas jet from the nozzle, then on the gas transport capacity in the draft tube. With increasing gas feed rate, distance between the nozzle and the draft tube inlet and draft tube diameter, the solids circulation rate could be increased. Based on the jet theory, a quantitative correlation was proposed for predicting the solid circulation rate of ultra-fine powders in a spouted bed with a draft tube by taking into account the gas transport capacity in the draft tube.     

Minimum fluid flowrate,pressure drop and stability of a conical spouted bed

A model for calculating the minimum spouting flowrate and pressure drop in a conical spouted bed has been developed and described in our previous paper (Had?ismajlovi et al., 1986). In the present work, this model was examined at a wider range of experimental conditions and it was found that measured and predicted values of the minimum spouting flowrate and pressure drop differed by about 10.3% and 20.0%, respectively. It is shown that the spouted bed in a conical column is stable when the inlet tube diameter is less than 25 particle diameters.     

HYDRODYNAMICS AND STABILITYOF SLOT-RECTANGULAR SPOUTED BEDS. PART I: THIN BED

Spouted beds of rectangular cross-section with gas entry through bottom slots have been proposed as a means of overcoming scale-up difficulties of conventional spouted beds. A study was undertaken of bed hydrodynamics in a thin slot-rectangular column of width 150 mm and slot width 2 to 20 mm for four types of particles. Flow regimes and bed hydrodynamics are qualitatively similar to those in cylindrical spouted beds, but there are significant quantitative differences caused by the different geometry. Slot width exerts a strong influence on such features as flow regimes, maximum spoutable bed height, minimum spouting velocity, pressure drop and fountain height.     

Cold flow experimental study and computer simulations of a compact spouted bed reactor

Spouted beds are a very interesting class of gas–solid contactors that possess excellent heat transfer and mixing characteristics, while they are particularly suited to process coarse particles. Proper design of such beds requires the prediction of various hydrodynamic characteristics, such as the minimum spouting velocity and maximum spoutable height. Contrary to their typical initial applications, spouted beds have been finding recently more frequent use on the one hand at endothermic processes and on the other hand using much finer particle sizes. In the current work, the hydrodynamic characteristics of a laboratory scale spouted bed of 0.05 m diameter have been investigated via cold flow studies using olivine particles of 3.55–5.00 × 10⁻⁴ m size. Hydrodynamic parameters have been measured at this compact geometry and fine particle size and were compared with common literature correlations. An empirical correlation was derived to predict the fountain height for the studied fine particle spouted bed. Computer simulations have been further used to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of the bed under endothermic reactive conditions, using methane reforming as a case study. Given sufficient external heat supply, a spouted bed operating at a well-mixed regime can efficiently drive even highly endothermic reactions.     

HYDRODYNAMICS AND STABILITYOF SLOT-RECTANGULAR SPOUTED BEDS. PART I: THIN BED

Spouted beds of rectangular cross-section with gas entry through bottom slots have been proposed as a means of overcoming scale-up difficulties of conventional spouted beds. A study was undertaken of bed hydrodynamics in a thin slot-rectangular column of width 150 mm and slot width 2 to 20 mm for four types of particles. Flow regimes and bed hydrodynamics are qualitatively similar to those in cylindrical spouted beds, but there are significant quantitative differences caused by the different geometry. Slot width exerts a strong influence on such features as flow regimes, maximum spoutable bed height, minimum spouting velocity, pressure drop and fountain height.     

Heat transfer in a pulsed bubbling fluidized bed

Surface-to-bed heat transfer and pressure measurements were carried out in a 0.17 m ID pulsed bubbling fluidized bed with glass bead and silica sand particles having mean diameters ranging from 37 μm to 700 μm to investigate the effects of flow pulsation on heat transfer and bed hydrodynamics. A solenoid valve was used to supply pulsed air to the bed at 1 to 10 Hz. The bed surface was found to oscillate with the frequency of pulsation, the oscillation's amplitude decreasing with frequency. The standard deviation of the bed pressure drop in the pulsed bed was found to be larger than that in the conventional bed due to the acceleration force imposed by pulsation. For both Geldart B and A particles, high frequency pulsation (7, 10 Hz) enhances the heat transfer compared to continuous flow, the enhancement diminishing with superficial gas velocity and particle size. For Geldart B particles, the effect of pulsation on heat transfer ceases around U_o/U_mf = 3.5, whereas 24% improvement in heat transfer coefficient was obtained for 60 μm glass bead particles (Group A) at superficial gas velocities as high as U_o/U_mf = 27. Furthermore, in the fixed bed (U_o/U_mf < 1) for Geldart B particles, 1 Hz pulsation was found to be very effective resulting in two- to three-fold increase in heat transfer coefficient compared to continuous flow at the same superficial gas velocity. The flow pulsation loses its effect on heat transfer with increasing static bed height, i.e., when H_bed/D > 0.85.     

Bed height and material density effects on fluidized bed hydrodynamics

Characterizing the hydrodynamics of a fluidized bed is of vital importance to understanding the behavior of this multiphase flow system. Minimum fluidization velocity and gas holdup are two of these key characteristics. Experimental studies addressing the effects of bed height and material density on the minimum fluidization velocity and gas holdup were carried out in this study using a 10.2 cm diameter cylindrical fluidized bed. Three different Geldart type-B particles were tested: glass beads, ground walnut shell, and ground corncob, with material densities of 2600, 1300, and 1000 kg/m³, respectively. The particle size range was selected to be the same for all three materials and corresponded to 500–600 μm. In this study, five different bed height-to-diameter ratios were investigated: H/D=0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3. Minimum fluidization velocity was determined for each H/D ratio using pressure drop measurements. Local time-average gas holdup was determined using non-invasive X-ray computed tomography imaging. Results show that minimum fluidization velocity is not affected by the change in bed height. However, as the material density increased, the minimum fluidization velocity increased. Finally, local time-average gas holdup values revealed that bed hydrodynamics were similar for all bed heights, but differed when the material density was changed.