Fluidized bed separator

Dry dense medium (pneumatic fluidized-bed) separation has been used, but has not received wide attention by the industry. An area of promise for future development is the use of magnetically stabilized dense medium beds by using ferro or magnetic fluids (2,10). Laboratory and pilot-scale units such as Magstream are available. In this unit, material is fed into a rotating column of water-based magnetic fluid. Particles experience centtifugal forces and... 

High Productivity Also called HP. An improved method of operating gas-phase plants for making polyethylene. It involves removing gas and liquid from the fluidized bed, separating them, and returning the liquid to the bed via a patented nozzle system. Developed by BP in 1994 and operated in its Grangemouth refinery since 1995. See also Supercondensed Mode. Chem.Br, 1995,31(4), 278. 

Levy, E., Herrera, C., Coates, M. Afonso, M. 1999. Beneficiation of fly ash using a fluidized bed separator. Proceedings 13th International Symposium on Use and Management of Coal Combustion Products, American Coal Ash Association, Paper No. 17, January 2003, St. Petersburg, FL. 

Figure 7-27 Typical flow pattern for fluidized bed separation of stereoisomers (parallel operation).

On the other hand, by means of fines elutriation, solids in the fluidized bed can be classified into fine and coarse products. Particles that are elutriated by the fluidized gas stream are known as fine products, whereas particles retained in the bed are known as coarse products. This process is called fluidized bed separation or classification or dedusting. For processes that require a certain degree of dedusting (removal of undesirable fine particles) or classification, operating gas velocity and location of gas exit should be chosen carefully in order to achieve the appropriate product cut size. Cut size refers to the critical size that separates the fine (elutriated) and coarse (remain in bed) particles. 

Recent advances in Eischer-Tropsch technology at Sasol include the demonstration of the slurry-bed Eischer-Tropsch process and the new generation Sasol Advanced Synthol (SAS) Reactor, which is a classical fluidized-bed reactor design. The slurry-bed reactor is considered a superior alternative to the Arge tubular fixed-bed reactor. Commercial implementation of a slurry-bed design requires development of efficient catalyst separation techniques. Sasol has developed proprietary technology that provides satisfactory separation of wax and soHd catalyst, and a commercial-scale reactor is being commissioned in the first half of 1993. 

Fluidized-bed appHcations in the 1990s may be separated into catalytic reactions, noncatalytic reactions, and physical processes. Examples of fluidized-bed appHcations include the foUowing ... 

The fluidized-bed system (Fig. 3) uses finely sized coal particles and the bed exhibits Hquid-like characteristics when a gas flows upward through the bed. Gas flowing through the coal produces turbulent lifting and separation of particles and the result is an expanded bed having greater coal surface area to promote the chemical reaction. These systems, however, have only a limited abiUty to handle caking coals (see Fluidization). 

The CO2 Acceptor process, also developed under AGA/DOE sponsorship, by the ConsoHdation Coal Co., uses steam to gasify lignitic coal. Heat is supphed by the exothermic reaction between CO2 and calciaed dolomite [17069-72-6]. The dolomite is calciaed ia a separate fluidized bed. This process operates ia a 40 t/d pilot plant, but there are no plans for commercialization as of this writing. 

Fresh butane mixed with recycled gas encounters freshly oxidized catalyst at the bottom of the transport-bed reactor and is oxidized to maleic anhydride and CO during its passage up the reactor. Catalyst densities (80 160 kg/m ) in the transport-bed reactor are substantially lower than the catalyst density in a typical fluidized-bed reactor (480 640 kg/m ) (109). The gas flow pattern in the riser is nearly plug flow which avoids the negative effect of backmixing on reaction selectivity. Reduced catalyst is separated from the reaction products by cyclones and is further stripped of products and reactants in a separate stripping vessel. The reduced catalyst is reoxidized in a separate fluidized-bed oxidizer where the exothermic heat of reaction is removed by steam cods. The rate of reoxidation of the VPO catalyst is slower than the rate of oxidation of butane, and consequently residence times are longer in the oxidizer than in the transport-bed reactor. 

Heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysts can be used in either a supported or an unsupported form. The most common supports are based on alurnina, carbon, and siUca. Supports are usually used with the more expensive metals and serve several purposes. Most importandy, they increase the efficiency of the catalyst based on the weight of metal used and they aid in the recovery of the catalyst, both of which help to keep costs low. When supported catalysts are employed, they can be used as a fixed bed or as a slurry (Uquid phase) or a fluidized bed (vapor phase). In a fixed-bed process, the amine or amine solution flows over the immobile catalyst. This eliminates the need for an elaborate catalyst recovery system and minimizes catalyst loss. When a slurry or fluidized bed is used, the catalyst must be separated from the amine by gravity (settling), filtration, or other means. 

Chemical recovery ia sodium-based sulfite pulpiag is more complicated, and a large number of processes have been proposed. The most common process iavolves liquor iaciaeration under reduciag conditions to give a smelt, which is dissolved to produce a kraft-type green liquor. Sulfide is stripped from the liquor as H2S after the pH is lowered by CO2. The H2S is oxidized to sulfur ia a separate stream by reaction with SO2, and the sulfur is subsequendy burned to reform SO2. Alternatively, ia a pyrolysis process such as SCA-Bidemd, the H2S gas is burned direcdy to SO2. A rather novel approach is the Sonoco process, ia which alumina is added to the spent liquors which are then burned ia a kiln to form sodium aluminate. In anther method, used particulady ia neutral sulfite semichemical processes, fluidized-bed combustion is employed to give a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium sulfate, which can be sold to kraft mills as makeup chemical. 

Opposed Jet Mills. These mills are, in some ways, similar to the fluidized-bed machine however, in this case two opposed nozzles accelerate particles, causing them to collide at a central point (Fig. 16). A turbine classifier is again used to separate the product that has achieved the desired fineness from that which must be internally recycled for further grinding. 

Na2B0402 10H2O, and cmde oil residue (41) in a rotary kiln heated to 1038°C. Borax is fed at the rate of 1360 kg/h and sprayed with 635 kg/h of 17% residue cmde oil. The heated mixture then reacts with CI2 at 760°C in a separate reactor to yield BCl. On a smaller scale, BCl can be prepared by the reaction of CI2 and a mixture of boron oxide [1303-86-2] 2 3 coke, and lampblack in a fluidized bed (42). Other methods for the preparation... 

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