Fluidization

What Is Fluidization?
An operation through which fine solids are
transformed from a static solid-like state to
a dynamic fluid like state through contact
with either a gas or a liquid.
This process occurs when a fluid (liquid or
gas) is passed up through the granular
material.

Fundamentals:
When a fluid is passed downwards through a
bed of fine particles at a low flow rate:
the fluid merely percolates through the void
spaces between the stationary particles.

This is fixed bed.

The pressure drop across the bed is directly
proportional to flow rate.
When a fluid is passed upwards through a bed
of fine particles at a low flow rate:
pressure drop is same as for downwards.

 With increase in velocity:

A point is reached when the upward drag force exerted by the
fluid on the particles is equal to the apparent weight of
particles in the bed
At this point the particles are lifted by the fluid, the
separation of the particles increases and the bed becomes
fluidized.
The force balance across the fluidized bed dictates that the fluid
pressure loss across the bed of particles is equal to the apparent
weight of the particles per unit area of the bed

Low Velocity

Fluid does not impart enough drag to overcome

gravity and particles do not move.
Fixed Bed.

High Velocity

At high enough velocities fluid drag plus buoyancy

overcomes the gravity force and the bed expands.
Fluidized Bed.
Superficial velocity: gas flow rate divided by total
column surface area.

Response to Superficial Velocities

Plot of fluid pressure loss across the bed
vs superficial fluid velocity through the
bed:
OA is the packed bed region
p proportional to V0.
Bed height remains the same.
Solid particles do not move
relative to one another

At point A actual
fluidization starts

BC is the fluidized bed region

p across the bed remains
constant
Bed height increases with
increasing flow

Types of fluidization
Fluidization can be broadly classified into
particulate fluidization or bubbling fluidization.
Particulate fluidization occurs in liquids.
As the velocity of the liquid is increased past the
minimum fluidization velocity, the bed expands
uniformly, and uniform conditions prevail in the
liquid solid mixture.
In contrast, bubbling fluidization occurs in gasfluidized beds.
Here, when the bed is fluidized, large pockets of gas,
free of particles, are seen to rise through the bed.

Advantages of Fluidization
1. Smooth liquid like flow of particles allows
contionus automatically controlled operations.
2. Rapid mixing of solids leads to isothermal
conditions throughout the reactor.
3. Suiatable for high exothermic reactions.
4. H.T and M.T rates between gas & particles are high
5. H.T. Rates between bed and immersed object is
high-requires less H.T.area.

Disadvantages of Fluidization
1. For catalytic reactions: movement of porous
catalyst particles continously capture and
release the gas reactant
2. So back mixing : reduces the yield and
performance
3. For non catalytic reactions at high temp
4. Erosion of pipes & vessels from abrasion of
particles

Minimum Fluidization Velocity

Superficial fluid velocity at which the packed bed
becomes a fluidized bed is known as the minimum
fluidization velocity, Umf
Sometimes referred to as the velocity at incipient
fluidization
Umf increases with particle size and particle density
and is affected by fluid properties

 At the point of incipient fluidization drag force exerted by the

fluid on the particles is equal to the net weight of particles in the
bed.
For the whole particle bed:
Drag force = product of (pressure drop& cross sectional area)
Net weight = product of (bed volume, density, fraction of bed
occupied by particles , acceleration due to gravity)
PA p f 1 AHg

P p f 1 Hg

Kozney-Carman equation works well for fine particles.

But for larger particles, minimum fluidization velocity is high &
Kozney-Carman equation is inadequate & predicts far too low
pressure drop.
Ergun equation is more accurate.

 Umf increases with particle size and particle density and is

affected by fluid properties
To derive expression for Umf, equate expression for pressure
loss in a fluidized bed with pressure loss across a packed bed
Applying the Ergun equation,
P 1501 u 1.751 f u

2 2 3
H
d
d 3
2

Writing Erguns equation for minimum fluidization conditions

& for spherical particles 1
P

H mf

1501 mf u mf
2

d
2

3
mf

2
1.751 mf f u mf
3
d mf

 Substituting pressure drop from equation 1

f g

1501 mf umf

Multiply b.s by

d
p
f
f

Ga

Ga

3
mf

d
p
f
f

Re mf

d f u mf

3
mf

f d3

3
mf

3
d mf

1501 mf d f umf

1501 mf Re mf

d
2

2
1.75 f umf

2
1.75 2f d 2u mf
3
2 mf

1.75 Re 2mf
3
mf

Galileo number also known as Archimedes

number
And Remf is the Reynolds number
at incipient fluidization

 In order to obtain a value of Umf, we need to know

the voidage of the bed at incipient fluidization,
e = emf
A typical value of emf is 0.4

Ga 1406 Re mf 27.3 Re 2mf

It can be written in the form
Re mf Re 2mf Ga 0

This can be rearranged to give

Ga




2
2

Re mf

0.5

Void Fraction at Min. Fluidization

mf

depends on the shape of the particles. For spherical

particles it is usually 0.4 0.45.

Minimum Fluidization
What if emf (and maybe Fs) is unknown?
Wen and Yu found for many systems

3
s mf

14

Thus a reasonable estimate of minimum velocity

can be obtained from

Remf 33.7 0.0408Ga

2

0.5

33.7

 Bed Length at Minimum Fluidization:

Once we obtain the minimum void fraction

Lb ,mf

M Bed

S 1 mf p

Minimum fluidization velocity as a function

of terminal falling velocity
Richardson(1971) summaries the method for
predicting Minimum fluidization velocity as a function of
terminal falling velocity of a particle.

terminal falling velocity ut in terms of Galileo number.

For Stokes law region:

gDP2 P
ut
18

Multiply b.s by

fd

f ut d gd 3 f P f

18 2

In terms of Galileo Number

Ga
Re t
Ga 18 Re t
18
Stokes law is valid only for
Re<0.2 which becomes Ga<3.6

 For Newtons law region:

ut 1.75

gDP P f

Squaring &multiplying b.s.by

u d
2
t

2
f
2

1.75 g f d p f
2

2f d 2

Ga 0.33 Re t2

Re t2 1.752 Ga

For Galileo number greater than 10^5

Now if voidage at minimum fluidization velocity

is known,
mf
Then for given value of Galileo number , the ratio of
ut
Re t
Can be calculated from Ergun equation.

u mf

Re mf

 For transition region:

Ga 18 Re t 1 0.15 Re t0.687

Which is valid in the range 3.6<Ga<10^5

Fluidized bed: Operation

Porosity increases
Bed height increases
Fluidization can be sustained until terminal velocity is reached
If the bed has a variety of particles (usually same material, but
different sizes)
calculate the terminal velocity for the smallest particle
Range of operability = R
Minimum fluidization velocity = incipient velocity (min range)
Maximum fluidization velocity = terminal velocity (max range)
Other parameters may limit the actual range further
e.g. Column may not withstand the pressure, may not be tall
enough etc
R = Vt/VOMTheoretically R can range from 8.4 to 74

The Geldart Classification of Particles

Group C:cohesive, or very fine powders
Normal fluidization is difficult.Rise as a plug of solids.
Examples: Face powder, flour, and starch.

Group A:Aeratable,Small particle size or density less

than 1.4 g/cc.
Smooth fluidization at low gas velocity, small bubbles at
high velocity.
Major example is the FCC catalyst.

 Group B:sand like particles (40 m<dp<500m)

Or density1.4< <4 g/cc.
Fluidize with vigorous bubbling & bubbles grow large.
P

Majority of gas-solid reactions occur in this regime.

Group D: Spoutable, large and/or dense particles

Deep bed difficult to fluidize: spouting or shallow beds.
Examples include drying grains, peas, roasting coffee beans,
gasifying coals and roasting of metal ores.
For any solids of known density & particle size: graph
shows the type of fluidization to be observed.

Industrial Applications of Fluidized Bed

Coal Gasification

Coal gasification is the process of producing syngasa

mixture of
carbon monoxide(CO),
hydrogen (H2),
Carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water vapour (H2O)from coal and water.
but can include other gaseous constituents; the composition of
which can vary depending upon the conditions in the gasifier
and the type of feedstock.
3C (i.e., coal) + O2 + H2O H2 + 3CO
It can be converted into transportation fuels such as
gasoline and diesel through the Fischer-Tropsch process.

 Temp:9800C

 Gasification reactors are classified by type of reaction

bed (fixed, entrained, or fluidized), the operating
pressure (pressurized or atmospheric).
The gasifying medium, mixture of steam and air or
oxygen is supplied in two stages.
The first stage supply is adequate to maintain the
fluidised bed at the desired temperature.
While the second stage, supplied above FBD, serves to
convert entrained unreacted char particles and
hydrocarbons into useful products.

 The process was developed in 1926 by Rheinbraun AG

(now RWE) in Germany using lignite coal.
Currently, the HTW gasifier can operate about 800 to
900C. The temperature is controlled to ensure that it
does not exceed the ash softening point.
Operating pressure can be as high as: 25 to 30 bar.
In December 2010 ThyssenKrupp Uhde acquired the
HTWtechnology from RWE and have a number of
projects under development, including biomass-tomethanol projects in Sweden and India.

Fluid Catalytic Cracking

 It is one of the most important conversion processes used

in petroleum refineries.
It is widely used to convert the high-boiling, high-molecular
weight hydrocarbon fractions of petroleum crude oils to more
valuable gasoline, olefinicgases, and other products.
The feedstock to an FCC is heavy gas oil or vacuum gas oil
(HVGO).
The FCC process vaporizes and breaks the long-chain
molecules of the high-boiling hydrocarbon liquids into much
shorter molecules by contacting the feedstock, at high temperature
and moderate pressure, with a fluidized powdered catalyst.