Fluidized-bed systems

In a fluidized bed reaetor, the solid material in the form of fine partieles is eontained in a vertieal eylindrieal vessel. The fluid stream 

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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 first coimneicial fluidized-bed systems used WinMei units in which lignite and its chat are gasified at atmospheric pressure with ait or oxygen... 

The use of the fluidization technique requires in almost all cases the employment of a fluidized-bed system rather than an isolated piece of equipment. Figure 17-7 illustrates the arrangement of components of a system. 

The major parts of a fluidized-bed system can be hsted as follows ... 

Control of oxides of nitrogen can be accomplished by catalysts or ab-sorbants, but most control systems have concentrated on changing the combustion process to reduce the formation of NOj. Improved burners, change in burner location, staged combustion, and low-temperature combustion utilizing fluidized-bed systems are all currently in use. These combustion improvement systems do not generate waste products, so no disposal problems exist. 

Fluidized-bed adsorbers have several disadvantages. The continuous handling and transport of solids is expensive from an equipment standpoint fluidized-bed systems must be large to be economical. Solids handling also presents a potential for mechanical problems. Careful control is required to keep the adsorbent fluidized, while minimizing adsorbent loss with the gas-phase attrition of the adsorbent can be high, requiring substantial makeup. 

Figure 15. Flow sheet for SASOL fluidized bed system (45)...

Calcining. In the calcining process, the lime mud removed from the white liquor is burned to regenerate lime for use in the lime mixing step. The vast majority of mills use lime kilns for this process, although a few mills now use newer fluidized bed systems in which the reactants are suspended by upward-blowing air. 

The effects of temperature and pressure on fluidized-bed systems cannot be considered independently of particle size. Whether temperature and pressure have an effect (and indeed, even the direction of that effect) on a system, depends strongly on particle size. In addition, the type of interaction between gas and solids, i.e., whether the interaction is due to momentum or drag, determines if gas viscosity has an effect upon the system. As will be shown, gas viscosity is not important in systems in which momentum is important, but is important in systems dominated by drag. 

One of the basic parameters to be determined when designing bubbling fluidized-bed systems is the minimum fluidization velocity, Ump The effect of temperature and pressure on IJhas been investigated by many researchers (Botterill and Desai, 1972 Botterill and Teoman, 1980 ... 

There can also be substantial particle attrition in cyclones in fluidized-bed systems because particles are accelerated at the inlet of the cyclone and impacted against the cyclone wall. Although there is little information on particle attrition in cyclones in the literature, it has been reported (Sishtla) that increasing system pressure decreases the attrition rate in cyclones operating with coal char. The mechanism by which this occurred was not determined. 

Attrition in fluidized bed systems leads primarily to a loss of bed material since the cyclones, which are mostly used for the collection of entrained material, are not able to keep the attrition-produced debris inside the fluidized bed system. The material loss through the cyclone is, therefore, usually taken as the attrition rate. This means that among the attrition modes discussed in Sec. 2, namely fragmentation and abrasion, it is abrasion which is the attrition mode of interest for fluidized bed systems. 

Attrition in the Overall Fluidized Bed System, Continuous Processes... 

As has been demonstrated above, there are several parts of the fluidized bed system with distinctly different attrition mechanisms. They all... 

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