Pergamon Chemical En#ineerin9 Science, Vol. 52, No. 15, pp.

2471-2482, 1997
( 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
P I I : S0009-2509(97)00066-3 0009-2509/97 $17.00 + 0.00

Circulating fluidized-bed reactors

Daizo Kunii* and Octave Levenspiel**
"1-25-16 Nakamachi, Meguro ku, Tokyo 153, Japan; *Chemical Engineering Department,
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, U.S.A.

(Accepted 15 May 1996)

Abstract--This paper develops a flow and contacting model to represent a CFB. Best estimates
of contacting efficiencies are presented for the turbulent, fast fluidized, and pneumatic transport
regimes of the CFB. Material balances are presented, ending up with conversion equations for
first-order solid-catalyzed gas-phase reactions. Four examples show how to use this model and
show its predictions. 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Keywords: CFB reactors; conversion; circulating solids reactors.

1. INTRODUCTION relationship between ds. and dp. The best we can say
Let us first sketch the contacting regimes encountered for pressure drop considerations is
when a bed of solids is fluidized by gas at progress-
ively higher velocities. Because contacting differs in
these contacting regimes, different reactor models qSsdsCr for irregular particles with no (4)
must be used for predicting reactor behavior; see seeming longer or shorter
Fig. 1. dimension
This paper deals with circulating solids reactors, ds~r for irregular particles with one
These contain very fine particles which are fluidized at somewhat longer dimension but
a rather high gas velocity, are blown out of the bed dp ~- with length ratio not greater (5)
and reactor, and have to be replaced by fresh solids. than 2:1 (eggs, for example)
We call these circulating fluidized beds (CFB). q52dscr for irregular particles with one
We must first find what contacting regime is in- shorter dimension but with (6)
volved, and then deal with the reactor and its conver- length ratio not less than 1:2
sion equations. (pillows, for example)

2. CHARACTERIZATIONOF PARTICLES
The equivalent spherical particle diameter is de-
fined as
diameter of a sphere ) (~_)1/3
dsph = which has the same = (1)
volume as the particle, V
and the particle sphericity q~s is defined as
= ( s u r f a c e o_f a_ sphere']
qS~ \ surface of particle J . . . . . . lume
From the above two expressions we define the particle
size to be used for suspended solid reactors as
3. GAS/SOLIDCONTACTINGREGIMES
For given particles (dp and ps) and given superficial
gas velocity through the bed (Uo), we first need to find
what contacting regime is involved--packed bed,
bubbling fluidized bed (BFB), or circulating fluidized
bed (CFB), with its subregimes--turbulent fluidized,
fast fluidized, or pneumatic transport. To do this first
evaluate the dimensionless measures of particle size
and gas velocity. These are defined as
(2) d V p~(p~ - pg)g],/3
= Y (7)
= u - . (8)

dp = ~b~dsph. (3) #(p~ - pg)g

For fine particles we evaluate the size by screen analy- 3.1. Minimum fluidizing velocity
sis, which gives dscr. Unfortunately, there is no general The solids will be suspended when the pressure
drop exceeds the weight of solids. This happens when
the gas velocity exceeds the minimum fluidizing velo-
:Corresponding author. city. This velocity is given by Ergun (1952), and in
2471
2472 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel

Freely Turbulent or fast

bubbling fluidized
bed with solids
present in the /~
Bed at freeboard I.I
minimum I I f
Fixedbed condibons
fluidizing.. _ ~-_ ~,L;:"c~"~'~~: ~'"ll
~, 1~;,~4~:
-~- "~'2 :::. ::.:.:-':,"~ ~@I - ", ,
"4 E ' " Xmt r:!.":-~-+?-:~.%:,~1
I:'.'..:."-.::.:<f::.~ ;.-;1<
-'" - - ~
]
",~ I~':,':,'~:~ _~_.,~.._._.,,-.~ ,,
:, :":'~.::.,~ ..".'~.. ;;

!.
:- ~,~"- ~ "~I _ Some
v,~. ~, r e a c t i o n
"-:"

~.. .I': Z.,I occurs

Very low Uo = Umt " " ' , --_':,':~"i~ ~~i'~..':~,~ here
gas velocity
~ t ....... .. .':~,~:~.?~.~
.

Slugging occurs in narrower or -- -.'~--~1

small beds, or in beds with ~ "h f ( so,i<
~:-:.'..
closely spaced internals
V
" circulation
s,stom 5y
A
very high
gas velocity

Fig. l. Gas/solid contacting regimes depend on the gas velocity and bed geometry.

dimensionless form is velocity for spherical particles as

150(1 -- emS) u. s + 1.75 (U's) 2 d* = (dp*)2 (9) f 18 0.591 ] - 1

~s ~mf u* = L ~ + -(d*)
- '/2] (10)

3.2. T e r m i n a l velocity, ut and for irregularly shaped particles of sphericity q~s,

Individual particles are blown out of the bed when
the gas velocity exceeds what is called the terminal I18 2.335 - 1.744~b,] -1
velocity, ut. Haider and Levenspiel (1989) give this "'* = ~ + (-d})~ J (11)

Bed expands, then - ' ' ' I''"I ' ' ' I' "'I ' -
forms bubbles.
These split and 5 "---- Bubbles grow
coalesce and stay large. Bed
about 10 cm in internals help
size. Solids mix ~: keep bubble
vigorously, o size down.
- ~ ~ , Sandqike \ -I

Very large
~ 0.5 - - C "////////\. . . . . ,'! Aeratabl exploding
Difficult to bubbles. Low
fluidize. Solids Cohesive'//////////. ~ k bed voidage.
clump, and rise \ \ Liable to spout.
as slugs. Gas
channels.
0.1 , , i iI i'',' I , ,, I ,,,,I ,
10 SO 100 500 1ooo
(~tm)

Fig. 2. Classification of solids in terms of their behavior when suspended by gas.

 Circulating fluidized-bed reactors 2473

10

"k

10-1

10-2

10-3
10 102 1 10 102
(a)

Fig. 3. The generalized map of gas/solid contacting.

3.3. Behavior of suspended solids

Based on observations of many different solids,
Geldart (1973) and Geldart and Abrahamson (1978)
came up with the A, B, C, D classification of solids, as
shown in Fig. 2. BFB reactors usually use Geldart A,
AB, and B solids. C F B reactors can go down to
Geldart C solids.
.Q

3.4. Gas-solid contacting regimes "o

Grace (1986) prepared a graph to show the ex-
pected behavior of gas-solid systems all the way from o
t~
BFB to CFB. Figure 3 show a somewhat modified
version of his chart.
-r-
4. REACTORS WITH THROUGHFLOW OF SOLIDS, uo > u,

4.1. Observed behavior

Very fine solids have a very small terminal velocity
in gas, say mm/s, so with a reasonable throughflow of
gas, say in m/s, solids are continuously carried out of
the bed and have to be replaced with make-up solids.
Let this throughflow be at a bed mass velocity of 0 0.2 0,4 0.6
Gs (kg/m 2 s). This leads to suspended solids reactors of Volume fraction solids: f
various types depending on the ratio of u, to Uo.
Roughly, the solids distribution in the vessel is as Fig. 4. Vertical distribution of solids in different contacting
shown in Fig. 4. regimes.
2474 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel

f
"' [-
[i.,;:.,...,,:.,:;.;.
~"~::":::.":;': I Il
l',:~..,'.'i-.~.,,:.l
V:,".~.~,|'~(~'t~,~
i,i
, ~:-'
"

k ' ,;'~
~.~' i~'' ~
"

":..
'iI
"
I!l, """.." ~.~rl :

,::s,
~."
l:.

'''.
.,.
.....
" " " -

;, '.'.-.
' "
.',
region

Dense
n~,~ ~;~'.',,~.","::.";:":i:]n~v~ I~~,...'.',~. n~,rs [, ~-~ !,~q n~,~r [:i .'~:~i Ha,/'C /" :"'-"" ": "'] region
........... . ~i~ ,~ ,.,.~ ;:~ .: .': ....

v,: "r

Fig. 5. Contacting models of vessels with throughflow of solids.

As observed, when the gas velocity of a bubbling

fluidized bed (BFB) is progressively raised, the bubbl-
ing action becomes very violent, bubbles coalesce and 2 :~'-'.~
become very large and finally expand to form a core
space in the dense region of the vessel. At the same
time the cloud and emulsion merge and retreat to the U" - "
r . " -
walls of the vessel. In this state we have a fast fluidized i * "

contactor (FF). Between the BFB and the F F regimes ~, . " . , . ,

we have a difficult to describe turbulent bed (TB). X .t,C~,

....
At even higher velocities the wall region thins, dis- o

solves, as the vessel enters the pneumatic conveying

regime (PC).
. " " i

. K " ..;,
4.2. Contactin9 models
In CFB, solids are found throughout the vessels, in
a dense region in the lower part of the vessel, and
having a solid fraction fa, and a lean region above,
having a solid fractionf~ which decreases with height
I
L'.~
ul ".
-
i!i:;i!
~-':
as shown in Fig. 5.
In the lower dense region of the vessel the fraction
of solids is found to be
h~ . ~ Dense
.~... ~.~ ,~. .,'
~i'": , ' ~ "-,. - ~ ; ~ ' , : , ~ ; ;:~# / lower
bubbling bed fa = 0.4 ~ 0.6 ~ ,',:.,. ,.,..,,.:., , :. region
..--- ,:: .:
turbulent bed )ca = 0.2 ~ 0.4 L,~'~. r,'..:.'":.7" 4,~! .," .,'...'.."
(12)
fast fluidized bed fa = 0.06 ~ 0.2
,:..~ ,-:~.:. :: :. ,.- ...:
pneumatic transport fa = 0.01 ~ 0.06. I. "" "" ".'"'" ,':I

r~':, ;::"-;- "- ~-'"-~"~ ........

We visualize the upper lean region to consist of three
Fig. 6. Mechanism which yields the exponential decay of
phases:
solids with height.
upflowing clumps of denser material of mean
Figure 6 sketches the model. The differential equa-
density Pz rising at velocity u2,
tions representing this model are
downflowing clumps of mean density p3 and
solids sliding down the wall at u~, Gs = G~I + G~2 + Gs3 = UlPl + u2pz - u3P3
lean mixture with dispersed solids of mean den-
dpl dpl
sity pa rising at ux. d----t = ul ~ = K~(pz + P3)
This model also includes
dp2 = (K1 + K z ) p 2
- u 2 dz--~
interchange rates between clumps and lean mix-
ture at Kx, dp3
- u3 ~ z r = K2P2 - K i p 3 .
direction change from up to down at rate K2.
 Circulating fluidized-bed reactors 2475

transport saturation
'- ~--~'~x capacity

/:::F
.- ..I
, [\ exit value
.i I ~ exponential decay clownto f*
. . . .
z~ ] X f~ = f* +([d-f*)e "az~ ...(13)
"
:'...-'., upper lean n~
.- .., region, h
High u o , small a value
.i " " \ ~ ' ~ ~- '"~'~
~ Low u o, large a value
...%.-

" ~ constant fraction

,--.n- H [V of sohds
' rag,on,

"7 f* rex fd

Uo Volume fraction of solids, f

Fig. 7. The exponential decay model accounts for the distribution of solids in the vessel when the solids are
in throughflow.

Solving these equations Kunii and Levenspiel ~< 0.01 for Oeldart B solids
(1991, p. 184) show the following
fd decreases with Uo increases with dp
In a very tall (infinitely high) column the solid given by eq. (12)
fraction falls exponentially from fd to a lower
limiting value f*. The value f* represents the and for the lower dense region,
transport carryin9 capacity of the gas, meaning
that all the clumps of denser mixture have 'dis- fcore -~ f * (17)
solved' into the flowing gas.
In a shorter column the exiting solid fraction fwall = (1 -- gwall ) (1 -- 6). (18)

fex is greater than the limiting f*.

Lean region. Since fox ~ 1 the solid fraction in the
We show this model in Fig. 7. exit stream is
This distribution of solids is calculated from the
model, and does approximate what is observed So we Gs
f~x ~ ps(uo -- u,)" (19)
retain this model.

Equation (14), written for the exit location, gives

4.3. Material balance
We picture the CFB (in particular the FF contac-
fex = f * + (fd - f * ) e x p ( - a H t ) . (20)
tor) as shown in Figs 5(d) and 7, having a one zone
upper lean region with a solids fraction f which de- So the height of the lean region is
creases with height The lower dense region having
a constant solids fraction J] consists of two zones,
Ht = ! ln (19c~Z-~_
f'~ - f*
f , / .~ (21)
a lean core zone having solids f~.... and a dense wall
zone having solids fw,n.
From experiments reported in the literature [15 The height of the dense region is then
studies for eq. (15) and 38 studies for eqs (16) and (17)],
our best estimates today (see Kunii and Levenspiel, Ha = Ht -- HI. (22)
1991, 1995) for needed physical quantities and rela-
tionships are At any point in the lean region the fraction of solids
is
2-4 s-1 for Geldart A solids f = f * + (fd--f*)exp(--azt). (14) or (23)
auo = ~5 s -1 for Geldart AB solids (15) This gives the mean fraction of solids in the lean
/
L7 s -1 for Geldart B solids region to be

f * is independent of Uo J~=~ f d z , = f * +.fdaH,--f~x (24)

~< 0.02 for Geldart A solids (16)
2476 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel
and the mean solid fraction in the vessel as a whole is But for plug flow qph,g = 1, integration gives

f v , ~ _ f H ~ + f~Hd (25) In Cao _fp,,gk'"Hp,,g k'W, (29)

H~ CAn Uo uoAt

So the weight of catalyst in these regions is

5.2. Bubblin9 fluidized bed
For a bubbling fluidized bed with its three connec-
= Atp, H t f
ted zones [-see Fig. 8(b)], we assume bubble upflow
but no flow through clouds and emulsion, only inter-
Wd = A,p~H~f~ (26)
change Kbc and K~e. So, as shown by Kunii and
~=~+w~. Levenspiel (1991, p. 291), the integrated conversion
expression is
These equations relate u0, G~, and W. Thus, if you are
given a specific gas velocity and you want a specific
weight of solids in the reactor, these equations will tell CAo
In Ca~
you what solid feed rate to use.

r-
5. PERFORMANCEAND CONTACTEFFICIENCY OF CFB 1 1
REACTORS lfb k'" +
1 1
Consider a first-order solid-catalyzed reaction P q
6BFBKbc 1
f~k'" +
A ~ R, - r'j' = k'"CA or - r~4 = k'CA. (27) (1/fiaFRK~) + 1/f~k'"

In Fig. 8 let us sketch the contacting as viewed by our

proposed reactor models for the various contacting x -HBFB
- (30)
regimes, u0

For a dense bed of height HnFB and containing the

5.1. Bed at minimum fluidization
same a m o u n t of solids but with solids uniformly dis-
For a bed at m i n i m u m fluidization we assume plug
tributed throughout, and with plug flow of gas, we
flow [see Fig. 8(a)]. We then write for any level in the
have
reactor
dCa CAO (fb + f + f)k'"HBFB
-- U o ~ -z =folugqr, h, gk'"Ca. (28) In - - ~IBFB (31 )
C.4ex 12o

Fixed BFB FF

CAex=CAd CAex< CAd CAex<C.Ad CAex

T
Lean
!i :i:
f C ~df

--T-
, ,...,,.r

,:': ~.'....,
~t,I
muo %';
~ ./~ . '~--';::~t.
:,
. .-.....:.
;..~ .ow Dense i,t:.

nd ;*7
" r.~&-:
~~ t, :,~... "','
i:~ "."

CAO CAO
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 8. Proposed reactor models for the various contacting regimes.

 Circulating fluidized-bed reactors 2477
The contacting efficiency is then given by eq. (30) ally from qd at zt = 0 to q~ = 1 very high up in the bed.
divided by eq. (31), or W i t h f and rh replaced by eqs (23) and (37), integration
of eq. (36) gives

I q k'"
OBFBKbc q f +
1 1
1
(k'"/JBwKc~ + 1/f~
] --=
CAex UO
H~-

+ k '" (f~ - f * ) F_I -- e - aHt

(1-e bn~)

UO L a
q~v~, - A + +L
(32)

5.3. Fast fluidization and for the special case where r/d = 1 (very lean solids,
For fast fluidization we have distinctly different high gas velocity, pneumatic flow)
expressions for conversion in the upper lean and
lower dense regions; see Fig. 8(c). In CAd k ' " f * t l ~ + k " ( f d - - f * ) ( 1 -- e ~n,). (39)
For the dense region the three zones of a BFB C A ex U0 U0 a
collapse into two. Thus,
Finally, the overall conversion is given by eq. (38) or
fb ~ f ~ .... fi +fe ~fwall, Kc~ ~ m and (39) with eq. (33):
Kbc ~ Kcw.
CAex CAex CAd CAex
So the performance expression of the BFB reduces, for CAO CAd CAO and X A . . . . . 11 1 CAO" (40)
the dense region of F F reactors, to
For pneumatic conveying all the particles are evenly
I fore k"' + 1 I H d , FF dispersed in the gas. This makes contacting ideal or
inCa a/o: (1/3a.vvKcw) 1/fwa,,k'" Uo
close to ideal. So, if gas passes in plug flow up the
(33) reactor the contact efficiency

The various constants appearing in this expression r/d = rh = 1 (41)

are not well known today; however, we estimate them
and the regular plug flow expression, eq. (29), applies:
as follows:

fco~e ~ f * ~- 0.01
Cao (faHa + f H 3 k ' "
In - - (42)
CAe x bl0
6d. v r = 0.6 0.9
(34) The reliability of the above conversion predictions all
Kcw = 5-20 s- 1 depend on the reasonableness of the models and on
the values of the parameters chosen.
ewall ~ ~mf ~--- 0.5-0.6.

The contact efficiency compared to plug flow, by an f* 6 a b.

argument similar to the BFB, is
Finally, probably the most important value of mod-
els such as presented here is to be a guide for experi-
o~ q (k'"/3e, vvK~w) + 1/fwa~ menters, and to suggest areas where research is
(35) needed.
~d, FF = fcore fwall

For the lean region of the F F reactor of height 6. DESIGN PROBLEMS

Ht and with decreasing solid fraction with height, the TO illustrate the use of the material presented here,
rate of any level is consider a particular process requirement and let us
explore various design alternatives to meet this re-
dC,4
- Uo ~ z = qtfk'"CA. (36) quirement. For this let us suppose that we want to
find the fractional conversion of A to R. We are told
The t e r m f is given by eq. (23). The efficiency term that our catalyst is very active with first-order
for FF, TB, and above the BFB are not well known kinetics:
today. The only studies to date (Furusaki et al., 1976;
1 dNa
see also Kunii and Levenspiel, 1991, p. 283) show that A ~ R, - - - k'CA,
the contacting efficiency in the lean phase can be W dt
represented by an exponential expression k' = 0.01 ma/kg cats
rh = 1 - (1 -- rld)e -bz' (37) k'" = 10 m3/m 3 cat s.

where b = 6.62 m - ~, by experiment. This expression Figure 9 shows the four design alternatives that we
shows that the lean region efficiency rises exponenti- will consider. We refer to this figure as we proceed.
2478 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel

Example I Example 2

Pneumatic Transport
z,m (low solid flow) (high solid flow)

Example 4
5
Fast fluidized - Bubbling
- Turbulent fluidized
4

2 ~.?'.i
dense- .z~ .'! .~.";,"':;~: ::,'-v
I ;::.';! n ~" :.:; .... "

0 -.,.- N. . Kglm2"s

uo = 6 m/s 6 mls 1.5 m/s 0.375 m/s

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 9. Four design alternatives for reactors treating a given flow rate of reactant gas.

Data. We want to treat ~ = 4 0 m o l / s of pure A This high gas velocity a n d small particle size sug-
feed at 300 K a n d 1.3 a t m u n d e r which condition the gests t h a t solids m a y be rapidly carried out of the
properties of gas a n d solid (porous catalyst particles) reactor, so we m a y need to use solid circulation. So let
are us tentatively choose a solid circulation system with
a reactor of height H, = 6 m a n d with a solid circula-
h = 40 mol/s tion rate of G, = 100 kg/m 2 s. This design is s h o w n as
Fig. 9(a).
Po = 1.2 kg/m 3
Gas
p = 1.8 x 10 -5 k g / m s
D = 4 x 10-5 m2/s in the bed Solution:
(1) F r o m Fig. 2 we see that we have here a G e l d a r t
A solid.
(2) F r o m eqs (7) a n d (8)
shape is spherical
Porous p~ = 1000 kg/(m cat) 3
catlyst
d [Po(Ps - Pg)gl 1/3

solid:
Deft = 1 0 - 7 m3/m cat s, a. = e/ A
in the p o r o u s particle.
= 55 10-6(1'2(1 --L2)9'8 ] '/3
F r o m this d a t a the volumetric flow rate of feed gas is (1.8 10-5)2 j
L
hRT 40(8.314)300
Vo = uoA . . . . 0.7574 m3/s. = 1.82
p 1.3(101 325)

6.1. Example 1. Pneumatic transport reactor

U0 -- .
Because the catalyst is said to be very active, let us u~ It(ps -- Po)g
choose very fine particles, d e = 55 ~tm, a n d a vessel
diameter of dt = 0.4 m. The superficial gas velocity for
[ (1'2)2 11/3
this vessel is then
= 6 1.8 X 10-5(1000 -- 1.2) 9.8
Vo 0.7574
Uo - A - n(0.4) 2 = 6.0 m/s. = 12.08.
 Circulating fluidized-bed reactors 2479
(3) The terminal velocity, from eqs (10) and (8), (10) Estimate the contact efficiencies in the two
regimes:
I 18 0.591 ] - 1 For the dense region, from eq. (41), r/d = 1.
u* = (~p,)2 + (d,)l/~-2j = 0.1703
For the lean region, from eq. (41), q~ = 1.
(11) Since we have plug flow in both regions we can
u, [~(p, - p.)0] '/3 use eq. (42) instead of eq. (33) for the dense
Ut = t
[_ p. region and eq. (38) for the lean region. Inciden-
tally, you would get the same answer with
= 0.1703 - (1.2)2 these more complicated equations. Thus, we
have
= 0.084545 m/s. CAo
ln--
This says that at 8 cm/s solids are blown out of CAex
the bed. Note, we plan to use a velocity of 6 m/s.
I-(0.06)(2.0390) + (0.0318)(3.9610)] 10
(4) Figure 3 shows that we are in the Pneumatic
transport regime, so we guessed right when we
chose the vessel of Fig. 9(a).
= 0.4138.
(5) Evaluate the constants, from eqs (12), (15) and
(16): Therefore,
j~ = 0.06
f * = 0.01 CAex = 0.6611 or X a , total = 34%.
u o a = 3 s -1 or a = 0 . 5 m -1 CAO

(6) F r o m eq. (19)

6.2. Example 2. Pneumatic transport reactor
Gs 100 The design of Example 1 is unacceptable because
f~x-- conversion is too low. Let us see if we can raise it
ps(uo - u~) 1000(6 -- 0.084545)
by doubling the solid throughflow rate to
= 0.0169. Gs = 200 kg/m2s while keeping all else unchanged;
see Fig. 9(b).
(7) Locate the dense and lean regions, from eq. (21),
Solution: Following the procedure of Example 1
1 t/fa - - f * "~ we find
Ht = - In 1 7 - - - ~ l
a \fo~-f /
pneumatic transport with r / = 1,
1 l n ( 0.06--0.01 '] Ha 4.5 m, instead of 2.0 m,
=
=0.~ \0.~9--~1 ] 3.9610 m
Wtotal = 42.50 kg, instead of 31.20 kg.

Ha = 6 - 3.9610 = 2.0390 m. so
XA . . . . . . 11 = 42%.
(8) Find f in the lean region, from eq. (24),
This is better than that found in Example 1 but still
O.O6 0,0169 not good enough. So let us try still other alternatives.
f =/, +fd --f~x _ 0.01 +
aH~ 0.5(3.9610)
6.3. Example 3. Turbulent or fast fluidized reactor
= 0.0318.
Maybe the chosen gas velocity was too high in
(9) The weight of catalyst in the vessel, from Examples 1 and 2. Let us try a lower gas velocity,
eq. (26), Uo = 1.5 m/s, in a squatter vessel, dt = 0.8 m and
H, = 3 m, while keeping the throughflow rates of gas
Wa = Atp,Hafa and solids unchanged from Example 1; see Fig. 9(c).
Also take
7~ 2
= ~ (0.4) (1000)(2.0390)(0.06)
m3 of solids in the lower dense region
fa = 0.16
= 15.3737 kg m 3 of dense region

m 3 of solids
Wl = Atp~Hjf during pneumatic
f * = 0.01 m3 of vessel'
conveying
= ~ (0.4) z (1000)(3.9610)(0.0318)
4
m 3 of core
6 = 0.7
= 15.8286 kg m 3 of dense region

Therefore Wtotal = 31.2 kg. Kcw = 5 s- x.

2480 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel
Solution: Following the procedures of Example 1 we double the bed diameter and lower the gas velocity
find accordingly so as to keep the gas flow unchanged; see
Fig. 9(d).
we have a turbulent or fast fluidized bed with
Calculate the conversion for these conditions.
qd = 0.72,
H d = 1.5m,
Solution: We first find that we are right in the middle
Wtot.l = 165 kg,
of the BFB regime with negligible carryover of solids,
so Uo < u,. N o throughflow of solids is needed, so let us
XA . . . . . . 11 = 82%.
use a BFB with the following properties:

dt = 1.6 m, db = 0.16 m, spherical particles

6.4. Example 4. Bubblingfluidized reactor
It just occurred to us that we may have chosen Hmf = 0.8 m , ~ = 0.4, dp = 220 x 10 . 6 m
particles smaller than was needed in Examples 1-3.
era: = 0.6, fb = 0.003, UO = 0.375 m / s .
We should have checked for this with the Thiele
modulus, but did not. Let us do this now. What we In the fluidized bed D ---4 x 10 -5 m3/m cats.
find, see Levenspiel (1996b), is For this system we find, by the methods outlined in
Levenspiel (1996a),
dp /k'" 55x10 6 /-~10
M r = 6 ~ / D e ft -6 - / ~ = 0.092. Wt=643kg with q = 11%

This is a much smaller Thiele modulus than needed,
so we can safely use larger particles Let us try
dp = 220 x 10 - 6 m, For these the Thiele modulus is
220 x 10 6 /~10
M~ -- 6 X/~
This size of solid is still free from internal resistance to
diffusion. So let us adopt these solids and again
SO
Xa . . . . . . 11 = 61%.
6.5. Comments about these four examples
We have explored various design alternatives and
= 0.366. we have shown how to determine the performance
expected for each, as summarized in Fig. 10.
Some designs give very low conversions, others
high. Some suspend a large inventory of solids (643 kg

Example Contact Conversion

number W, kg efficiency XA

(9 1 31 ~l = 1.00 34/.
2 42 TI = 1.00 43%
3 165 TId = 0.72 82*/,
.,
4 643 r] = 0.11 61%

. . .',,'

(i"
Q
~. ,-
~.i f.:.,
. #"
::"

~:,:
:-
".... '!. . ,

2 ,
%':,
=, '

~ s.'.,-
?:.';:? = =

~:-t.
.'.... ttg..
~,. i
:3!..' i solid '' solid e"
(~ ...~g solid
i as
gas gas
\ /
v

Pneumatic Turbulent Bubbling

v
I

Solids throughflow No solids throughflow

Fig. 10. A wide range of conversions result from the four design alternatives. Fast fluidization turns out to
be best.
 Circulating fluidized-bed reactors
in Example 4), others a small inventory (31 kg in
Example 1). Consequently, the pressure drop and
pumping requirement can differ greatly for these de-
signs.
Although the BFB has a very low contacting effi-
ciency (11%), the amount of solid used there is so
much greater than in the very much leaner solid
throughflow systems (see Examples 1-3); hence, the
intermediate conversion in the bubbling fluidized bed.
In these examples the F F turns out best, however
the conclusions found here hold only for the condi-
tions examined in the above examples. In other
situations the advantage may be with a different con-
tacting regime. So, in all cases it would be wise to
examine a wide range of possible operating conditions
and particle sizes,
Finally, we should point out that we have only
presented what may be called '$10 solutions' here.
Certainly, one can build on this approach.
NOTATION
decay constant for solid fraction in
the lean region of a CFB; see
Fig. 6, m -
At cross-sectional area of a CFB reac-
tor, m 2
b decay constant for gas/solid con-
tact inefficiency in the lean region
of a CFB; see eq. (23), m -
BFB bubbling fluidized bed
Ca concentration of reactant A,
mol/m 3
CFB circulating fluidized bed
dp, d.... dsph measures of particle diameter; see
eqs (1)-(6), m
d* dimensionless measure of particle
diameter; see eq. (7)
Deft diffusion coefficient of gas in the
porous catalyst, m 3 gas/m solid s
fi,(i=b,c,e, volume of solids in section i of
d, l, etc.) a slice of bed/volume of that slice
of bed, m 3 solid/m 3 reactor
f, solid fraction in gas stream in
pneumatic conveying conditions
g acceleration due to gravity
(= 9.8 m/s 2)
Gs mass velocity of solids through the
CFB, kg/m 2 of bed s
Ha, Ht, Htotal height of regions and of the
CFB, m
first-order reaction rate constant
k'
based on unit mass of catalyst
solid, m 3 gas/kg cat s
k'" first-order reaction rate constant
based on unit volume of catalyst
solid, m 3 gas/m 3 cat s
Kbc, Kce, Kbe gas exchange coefficients between
bubble, cloud, and emulsion,
m 3 gas moving from one zone to
the other/m 3 of bubbles s
2481
Kcw gas interchange coefficient be-
tween core and wall region m 3 gas
moving from one zone to the
other/m 3 of core s
K1, K2 interchange coefficients; see above
eq. (13), s -1
Mr Thiele modulus, defined in
Example 4, dimensionless
h molar feed rate, mol/s
r~ reaction rate based on mass of
catalyst, mol/kg s
r~' reaction rate based on volume of
catalyst, mol/m 3 cat.s
Uo superficial gas velocity in the reac-
tor m3/m 2 vessel s
ut terminal velocity of a particle fall-
ing through the gas, m/s
u* dimensionless gas velocity; see
eq. (8)
V0 volumetric feed rate, ma/s
W weight of catalyst, kg
Xa fraction of reactant A converted,
dimensionless
Z height in the lean region of a
CFB, m
Greek letters
wake volume/bubble volume, dimensionless
6 volume fraction of lean region, bubble or core,
in a section of reactor, dimensionless
ewan void fraction in the wall zone, dimensionless
p viscosity of gas, kg/m s
q efficiency of reactor when compared to plug
flow, kg/kg
p density, kg/m 3
~bs sphericity of solid particles; see eq. (2), dimen-
sionless
Subscripts
b bubble
c cloud
corein the core region of a CFB
d dense region of a F F contactor
f fluidized condition
g gas phase
l lean region of a CFB
mf at minimum fluidizing conditions
s solid
wall sliding down the wall of a CFB
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Geldart, D. (1973) Types of gas fluidization. Powder
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Geldart, D. and Abrahamsen, A. R. (1978) Homo-
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2482 D. Kunii and O. Levenspiel
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