Studies on the operation of loop-seal in circulating fluidized bed boilers

Loop-seal, considered heart of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB), returns solids captured by cyclone to the base of the riser while preventing direct flow of gas from high pressure riser to the low-pressure cyclone. This non-mechanical valve is used in thousands of CFB systems yet only a limited information is available on its working. Present research studies the flow of solids through a loop-seal and the effect of several design and operating parameters on it. This experimental study was conducted in a loop-seal 110 mm × 448 mm × 400 mm high connected to a riser 152 mm diameter and 5180 mm high. Majority of the experiments was done with 171 μm sand though several other size and type of solids were studied for their flowability. It was found that for the solids to flow through the loop-seal a minimum level of aeration, in excess of that required for minimum fluidization was required. The length of the horizontal passage connecting the supply and recycle chambers of the loop-seal had an important effect on the solids flow. For example, the minimum aeration for the onset of solids flow increases with increase in this length. The pressure drop per unit length across the passage also increased with the passage length. The air fed into the supply chamber is split such that the superficial air velocity in the supply chamber (or the standpipe) remained below the minimum fluidization velocity of the particles while the remaining air conveys solids through the horizontal passage. Present study showed that the solids flowing through the horizontal passage are neither fully fluidized nor moving packed or suspended solids. It moves as a segregated flow of solids driven by hydrostatic pressure and fluid drag.