ABSTRACT

Two-phase and three-phase fluidized beds have been applied successfully to many
industrial processes such as in the H-oil process for hydrogenation and hydro-
desulfurization of residual oil, the H-coal process for coal liquefaction, Fischer-Tropsch process,
and the bio-oxidation process for wastewater treatment. During the last four decades,
considerable research efforts have been made to understand the hydrodynamic aspects of three-
phase fluidization. The problems related to the effect of distributor, irregular and regular shape
particles, liquid viscosity and surface tension, scaling up, particle size and density, which
affect the hydrodynamics, and its structure still create practical dilemma. Even though a
large number of experimental investigations have been directed towards the quantification of
various hydrodynamic parameters of gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds, the complicated
phenomena have not yet been fully understood.