Fluidization

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Schematic drawing of a fluidized bed reactor.
Fluidization (or fluidisation) is a process similar to liquefaction whereby a granular material is
converted from a static solid-like state to a dynamic fluid-like state. This process occurs when a
fluid (liquid or gas) is passed up through the granular material.
When a gas flow is introduced through the bottom of a bed of solid particles, it will move
upwards through the bed via the empty spaces between the particles. At low gas velocities,
aerodynamic drag on each particle is also low, and thus the bed remains in a fixed state.
Increasing the velocity, the aerodynamic drag forces will begin to counteract the gravitational
forces, causing the bed to expand in volume as the particles move away from each other. Further
increasing the velocity, it will reach a critical value at which the upward drag forces will exactly
equal the downward gravitational forces, causing the particles to become suspended within the
fluid. At this critical value, the bed is said to be fluidized and will exhibit fluidic behavior. By
further increasing gas velocity, the bulk density of the bed will continue to decrease, and its
fluidization becomes more violent, until the particles no longer form a bed and are “conveyed”
upwards by the gas flow.
When fluidized, a bed of solid particles will behave as a fluid, like a liquid or gas. Like water in
a bucket: the bed will conform to the volume of the chamber, its surface remaining perpendicular
to gravity; objects with a lower density than the bed density will float on its surface, bobbing up
and down if pushed downwards, while objects with a higher density sink to the bottom of the
bed. The fluidic behavior allows the particles to be transported like a fluid, channeled through
pipes, not requiring mechanical transport (e.g. conveyer belt).
A simplified every-day-life example of a gas-solid fluidized bed would be a hot-air popcorn
popper. The popcorn kernels, all being fairly uniform in size and shape, are suspended in the hot-
air rising from the bottom chamber. Because of the intense mixing of the particles, akin to that of
a boiling liquid, this allows for a uniform temperature of the kernels throughout the chamber,
minimizing the amount of burnt popcorn. After popping, the now larger popcorn particles
encounter increased aerodynamic drag which pushes them out of the chamber and into a bowl.
The process is also key in the formation of a sand volcano and fluid escape structures in
sediments and sedimentary rocks.
[edit] Applications
In 1920s, the Winkler process was developed to gasify coal in a fluidized bed, using oxygen. It
was not commercially successful.
The first large scale commercial implementation, in the early 1940s, was the fluid catalytic
cracking (FCC) process, which converted heavier petroleum cuts into gasoline. Carbon-rich
"coke" deposits on the catalyst particles and deactivates the catalyst in less than 1 second. The
fluidized catalyst particles are shuttled between the fluidized bed reactor and a fluidized bed
burner where the coke deposits are burned off, generating heat for the endothermic cracking
reaction.
By the 1950s fluidized bed technology was being applied to mineral and metallurgical processes
such as drying, calcining, and sulfide roasting.
In the 1960s, several fluidized bed processes dramatically reduced the cost of some important
monomers. Examples are the Sohio process for acrylonitrile and the oxychlorination process for
vinyl chloride.
In the late 1970s, a fluidized bed process for the synthesis of polyethylene dramatically reduced
the cost of this important polymer, making its use economical in many new applications. The
polymerization reaction generates heat and the intense mixing associated with fluidization
prevents hot spots where the polyethylene particles would melt. A similar process is used for the
synthesis of polypropylene.
Currently, most of the processes that are being developed for the industrial production of carbon
nanotubes use a fluidized bed [1].
A new potential application of fluidization technology is chemical looping combustion, which
has not yet been commercialized. One solution to reducing the potential effect of carbon dioxide
generated by fuel combustion (e.g. in power stations) on global warming is carbon dioxide
sequestration. Regular combustion with air produces a gas that is mostly nitrogen (as it is air's
main component at about 80% by volume), which prevents economical sequestration. Chemical
looping uses a metal oxide as a solid oxygen carrier. These metal oxide particles replace air
(specifically oxygen in the air) in a combustion reaction with a solid, liquid or gaseous fuel in a
fluidized bed, producing solid metal particles from the reduction of the metal oxides and a
mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapor, the major products of any combustion reaction. The
water vapor is condensed, leaving pure carbon dioxide which can be sequestered. The solid metal
particles are circulated to another fluidized bed where they react with air (and again, specifically
oxygen in the air), producing heat and oxidizing the metal particles to metal oxide particles that
are recirculated to the fluidized bed combustor.

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Common problems experienced with pneumatic conveyor systems include:
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HYDRODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF LIQUID-SOLID

FLUIDIZATION OF BINARY MIXTURES IN TAPERED BEDS
J S N Murthy, S Nandana, Phani Kiran S V G R, V Ramesh,
V V Basava Rao, T Sankarshana
Department of Chemical Engineering, University College of Technology,
Osmania University, Hyderabad - 500 007, A.P., INDIA
ABSTRACT
The problems associated with fluidization in cylindrical beds like entrainment of
particles, limitation of operating velocity could be overcome by adopting tapered
beds. There have been no systematic studies reported on fluidization behavior of
binary mixtures wherein the effect of size ratio is considered on the hydrodynamic
characteristics of liquid-solid fluidization in tapered beds. In the present work, an
attempt has been made to study the fluidization behavior and hydrodynamic
characteristics of liquid-solid fluidization of binary mixtures of size ratios ranging
from 1.2 to 5.13 using sand of different sizes in tapered beds of apex angles 50, 100
and 150. Water has been used as the fluidizing medium. Three types of fluidization
behavior have been observed which may be classified into (1) mono component
behavior, (2) partially segregated behavior and (3) completely segregated behavior.
The fluidization process is discussed in detail. Correlations have been presented for
hydrodynamic characteristics.
Keywords: fluidization, tapered bed, critical fluidization velocity, peak pressure drop,
INTRODUCTION
Fluidization operations in cylindrical columns are extensively used in process
industries. But, in a number of these operations, the particles are generally not of
uniform size or there may be reduction in size due to chemical reactions resulting in
entrainment, limitation of operating velocity etc. These disadvantages are overcome
by the use of tapered beds. The tapered liquid-solid fluidized beds are found to be
suitable for biochemical reactions, biological treatment of waste water etc.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Koloini and Farkas (1) studied the pressure drop of fixed bed, minimum fluidization
velocity and bed expansion in tapered beds of mono component particles. Scott, et
al (2) have developed a reactor system based on a tapered fluidized bed for
aqueous bioprocess. Pitt, et al (3) measured the expanded bed height and hydraulic
pressure drop at several apex angles for mono component particles. Peng and Fan
(4) were the first to explore various flow regimes in tapered beds at various flow
rates of fluidizing liquid using different tapering angles of bed and have also
developed equations for hydrodynamic characteristics .There have been many
investigations on fluidization behavior of binary mixtures in cylindrical columns
(Pruden and Epstein (5) , Kennedy and Bretton (6) and Bruno Formisani, et al (7)).
In the present work, an attempt has been made to experimentally study the
hydrodynamics of liquid-solid fluidization of binary mixtures of solids in tapered
beds
covering a wide range of particle size ratio and composition. The phenomenon of
fluidization has been reported in detail. The variation of the hydrodynamic
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parameters with composition and particle size ratio has been clearly studied and
correlations have also been proposed and validated through experimental data.
EXPERIMENTAL
Experiments have been performed in tapered vessels of square cross section (5cm
x 5cm) size at the entrance and 1 m in height. The studies have been made using
water and sand. The vessel has two walls made of glass for visual observation and
the other two made of GI sheet. The distributor is made of brass plate of 3 mm
thickness with 41 holes of 1.5 mm diameter. A 120 stainless steel wire mesh is
placed over the distributor plate for uniform flow of water and also to act as support
for bed material. The schematic diagram of the experimental setup is shown in
Figure 1.
The vessel is charged with a weighed amount of sand consisting of desired particle
sizes in required ratio. The static bed height of the charged material is noted. Water
is passed through the distributor at the required flow rate and the pressure drop
across the bed is measured. At every flow-rate, the fluidization behavior of the
system and the pressure drop across the bed are noted until the bed attains
complete fluidized state. The flow rate is then decreased gradually to zero and the
pressure drop is noted at each flow rate. The scope of experimental data is shown in
Table below.
Scope of experimental data
Density (Kg/ m3) : 2600
Particle sizes(μm) : 215, 275, 390, 550, 655, 780, 926.5, 1103.5
Weight of material(kg) : 3
Size ratios(dimensionless) : 1.19, 1.68, 2, 2.3, 2.83, 3.37, 3.63, 4.3, 5.13
Apex angles of vessels(0) : 5,10,15
Figure 1.Schematic diagram of experimental set up.
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FLUIDIZATION BEHAVIOR
Three types of fluidization behavior are observed with change in particle size ratio
as mentioned below.
They are (i) mono component behavior,(ii)partially segregated behavior
(iii)completely segregated behavior.
The system exhibits mono component behavior for particle size ratios up to 2. The
systems with particle size ratio above 2 and up to 3.3 show a partially segregated
behavior while the systems with particle size ratio above 3.3 show complete
segregation.
(i) Mono component behavior:
A typical plot of pressure drop across the bed against superficial velocity of the fluid
for binary mixtures exhibiting mono component behavior (size ratio 1.68) is shown
in
Figure 2. Fluidization first starts at the bottom near the distributor with the
formation
of a small cavity that gradually rises up with increase in the flow rate of water. At
critical fluidization velocity, the bed is just lifted creating a narrow space for a few
particles to fluidize in the cavity formed near the distributor. This height of fluidized
region increases with flow rate of water. With further increase in flow rate, the bed
attains complete fluidized state and the particles of both the sizes are distributed
uniformly throughout the bed.
Figure 2. Characteristic plot of ΔP against superficial velocity at the entrance
(ii) Partially segregated behavior
The plot for a typical partially segregated systems (size ratio 2.83) is shown in
Figure 3. At low flow rates of water, no segregation is observed for these systems.
At a particular flow rate, bed gets lifted resulting in the formation of a cavity near
the
distributor. Most of the smaller size particles segregate from the bed and start
fluidizing in the cavity. As the flow rate is increased further, these particles escape
through the pores of bed and fluidize at the top. The bigger size particles which
were
static until the segregation of the smaller size particles now get displaced and start
falling down into the cavity. With increase in flow rate of water, the bigger size
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particles also begin to fluidize near the distributor, thus resulting in two distinct
regions of fluidization, one at the top of the bed and the other near the distributor
with the existence of a packed bed between them. This packed bed is a mixture of
particles consisting of a small fraction of smaller size particles, clearly showing that
segregation is not complete for these systems. With further increase in flow rate,
the
extent of fluidization of the particles in the packed bed increases from the bottom
till
all the particles in the packed bed attain complete fluidization state. The two
fluidizing regions begin to mix with each other. The height of mixing zone increases
with the flow rate. As the flow rate is further increased, the whole bed gets mixed
up
with uniform distribution of particles of both sizes. During defluidization, most of the
smaller size particles move up through the pores of the bed but some of them are
entrapped between the bigger size particles.So, the segregation is not complete.
With a decrease in flow rate of water, the bed near the distributor reaches static
condition while the bed consisting of smaller size particles continues to fluidize on
top until when it reaches a static state too with continuing decrease in flow rate.
Figure 3 Characteristic plot of ΔP against superficial velocity
(iii) Completely segregated behavior
The hydrodynamic behavior for one of these systems (size ratio 4.3) is shown in
Figure 4. In this case, when the feed is initially introduced into the tapered vessel,
the smaller size particles move up through the pores of the bigger size particles and
segregate completely forming two static bed regions. As the flow rate of liquid is
further increased, fluidization of fine particles starts at the top of the bed while the
coarse particles at the bottom are in static condition. It is observed that at the point
of fluidization of fine particles, there is sudden decrease in the slope of the plot of
pressure drop versus superficial velocity. The fine particles begin to fluidize much
before the critical fluidization velocity. At the critical fluidization velocity, the bed is
lifted and the coarse particles at the bottom begin to fluidize in the cavity near the
distributor with the existence of a packed bed region between the two fluidizing
regions. With subsequent increase in flow rate, mixing starts, first at the interface of
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the two regions and then gradually the height of mixing increases. The two
fluidizing
regions begin to mix with each other with the smaller size particles starting to go
down through the fluidized bed. The height of mixing zone increases with the flow
rate. As the flow rate is further increased, the whole bed gets mixed up with uniform
distribution of particles of both sizes.
As the flow rate of water is decreased, the fine particles segregate from the coarse
particles and fluidize independently at the top. As the flow rate is further decreased,
a point is reached when mixing stops completely and a packed bed region is formed
between the two fluidizing regions. As the flow rate is further decreased, the coarse
particles become static while the fine particles continue to fluidize on top. With
further decrease in flow rate, even the bed of fine particles becomes static.
Figure 4 Characteristic plot of ΔP against superficial velocity
Behavior in cylindrical vessels
The fluidization behavior in cylindrical columns is vastly different from that in
tapered
vessels, the main feature being the absence of a peak pressure drop and a critical
fluidization velocity. For segregating systems, the plot of pressure drop across the
bed and superficial velocity at the entrance undergoes a change in slope at the
point
where the fluidization velocities of the two particle sizes is encountered. The
absence of compressive force both while fluidization and defluidization is evident
from the fact that there is no hysteresis in cylindrical columns. Also important to
note
is the absence of any formation of cavity near the distributor. For mono component
systems, fluidization first starts near the distributor and gradually the entire bed
gets
fluidized. For partially segregating systems, the fine particles present near the
distributor first get fluidized, while moving up for segregation and then as the flow
rate of water is increased, the coarse particles displace the fines near the distributor
and then start fluidizing, meanwhile the fine particles at the top of the bed attain
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completely fluidized state. The two distinct regions continue to fluidize without any
lateral mixing. For segregating systems, the fluidization first starts at the interface
of
coarse and fine particles, when the fine particles begin to fluidize. With increase in
the flow rate, coarse particles at the bottom of the bed also begin to fluidize. Mixing
is another aspect that is not seen in cylindrical beds. Entrainment is one problem
that cannot be avoided while fluidizing a mixture of different particles sizes
resulting
in restriction of the operating velocity.
RESULTS
The hydrodynamic behavior of fluidization in tapered beds is described by the plot
of
pressure drop across the bed against superficial velocity of the fluid at the entrance
as shown in Figure 2. The hydrodynamic characteristics associated with the
phenomenon are (i) critical fluidization velocity (ii) critical or peak pressure drop (iii)
minimum velocity for full fluidization (iv) pressure drop at full fluidization (v)
maximum velocity for full defluidization and (vi) hysteresis. The significance of each
of the characteristics is explained by Peng and Fan (4).
CORRELATIONS
Correlations are proposed as a preliminary attempt for the prediction of the first
three hydrodynamic characteristics for all particle size ratios in terms of
corresponding single component values on the lines of equation suggested by
Cheung et al(8) for fluidization of binary mixtures in cylindrical beds. They require
further investigation.
Critical fluidization velocity:

Critical pressure drop:

Minimum velocity for full fluidization:

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The correlations have been tested with experimental data and found to be in
agreement within ±10%
DISCUSSION
Characteristic Plots of Pressure Drop against Superficial Velocity
The plot in Figure 2 for particle size ratios less than 2 indicates that the particles are
completely mixed and hence the fluidization behavior of mixture is like that of mono
components. For particle size ratios between 2 and 3.3, the plot shown in Figure 3 is
more or less similar to that obtained for a mono component while increasing the
flow
rate of the fluidizing medium. While fluidizing, the segregation is not noticeable and
formation of packed bed region does not take place. Only a small amount of flotsam
particles tend to segregate at higher flow rates, whereas, while defluidization, the
plot traces a separate path in the packed bed region. This behavior is attributed to
the separation of particles during defluidization and gradual settling of heavier or
larger particles, followed by that of lighter or smaller particles taking place, till the
flow rate is reduced to zero. In the third case, wherein the particle size ratio is
greater than 3.3, complete segregation is reported as is evident from the plot in
Figure 4, where there is a large gap between the fluidization and defluidization
curves. Also, clearly noticeable is the large change in slope of the curve, where the
inflection point marks the flow rate at which the flotsam particles just begin to
fluidize.
This point occurs much before the critical fluidization velocity of the mixture, and for
some compositions of particular particle size ratios, a clear peak is observed at the
inflection point. The same phenomenon is observed to occur while defluidization
too.
Hysteresis is observed in mixtures of all size ratios.
Variation of Hydrodynamic Characteristics
Fluidization velocities
For all systems of mixtures for all particle size ratios, the critical fluidization velocity
and minimum velocity for full fluidization increase with the fraction of jetsam, as
higher velocities are required for fluidizing increased quantities of larger particles.
These are also found to increase with the fraction of jetsam due to larger proportion
of bigger size particles. It may be mentioned that the difference between their
magnitudes is a function of the particle size ratio and weight fraction of jetsam.
Pressure Drop
Peak Pressure drop: For systems of mixtures with particle size ratios up to 2, the
pressure drop across the bed is found to attain a maximum value for the pure
jetsam
feed. This is expected, as the highest amount of pressure drop would occur only
when the bed comprises of large sized particles. For partially segregated systems,
similar behavior was observed though further investigation is required before
making
any predictions. However, for completely segregated systems ranging from particle
size ratios 3.3 onwards to 5.13, the behavior is quite complex and depends to a
large extent on the extent of segregation.
Pressure drop at minimum velocity for full fluidization: This is found to remain
approximately constant in a vessel of given apex angle, for the binary mixture
systems of equal weight, as per the concept that in fluidized state, the force acting
on the particles is equal to the net weight of the particles. However, a slight
variation
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is possible due to different expanded bed heights during fluidization, because of
change in particle sizes and composition.
CONCLUSIONS
The experimental study on fluidization of binary mixtures in a tapered vessel of
apex
angle 50, 100, 150 has shown that the hydrodynamic characteristics are dependent
on size ratio of the particles. The systems of mixtures having a particle size ratio
less than 2 behave like a mono component. The mixtures with particle size ratio
between 2 and 3.3 are observed to exhibit a partial segregation behavior. The third
type of behavior exhibited by systems of particle size ratio 3.3 and above is termed
as completely segregated behavior, in which the smaller size particles escape
through the pores of the larger sized particles and fluidize independently on top.
Also, the plot of overall pressure drop across the bed v/s superficial velocity shows a
distinct change in slope, a phenomenon that is unique to systems of this type.
Correlations have developed that allow the prediction of three hydrodynamic
parameters. The range of particle size ratios over which each set of these
correlations can be applied has been clearly brought out and has been justified
based on the behavior of the three types of systems.
NOTATION
Uc, mix : critical fluidization velocity of binary mixture
Uc1 : critical fluidization velocity of flotsam
Uc2 : critical fluidization velocity of jetsam
Pc, mix : peak pressure drop of binary mixture
Pc1 : peak pressure drop of flotsam
Pc2 : peak pressure drop of jetsam
Utf, mix : minimum velocity for full fluidization of binary mixture
Utf1 : minimum velocity for full fluidization of flotsam
Utf2 : minimum velocity for full fluidization of jetsam
x2 : weight fraction of jetsam
SR : size ratio
α : apex angle of the tapered vessel
Udf, mix : maximum velocity for de-fluidization
Ptf, mix : pressure drop at total fluidization