Fluidized beds characteristics

The fluidized bed characteristics of high solids heat capacity, large interfacial heat transfer area, and good solids mixing allow the assumptions of thermal equilibrium between the solids and the gas, uniform bed temperature and negligible heat capacitance of the gas. An additional assumption required to use equation (9) is that the reactions do not change the gas volume. 

Yoshida K, Sakane J, Shimizu F. A new probe for measuring fluidized bed characteristics at high temperatures. Ind Eng Chem Fundam 21 83-85, 1982. 

Catalyst in Suspension Three-Phase Fluidized Bed Characteristics with the Catalyst... 

Another important class of dryer is the fluidized-bed dryers. Some designs combine spray and fluidized-bed dryers. Choice between dryers is usually based on practicalities such as the materials handling characteristics, product decomposition, product physical form (e.g., if a porous granular material is required), etc. Also, dryer efficiency can be used to compare the performance of different dryer designs. This is usually defined as follows -. 

Sasol produces synthetic fuels and chemicals from coal-derived synthesis gas. Two significant variations of this technology have been commercialized, and new process variations are continually under development. Sasol One used both the fixed-bed (Arge) process, operated at about 240°C, as weU as a circulating fluidized-bed (Synthol) system operating at 340°C. Each ET reactor type has a characteristic product distribution that includes coproducts isolated for use in the chemical industry. Paraffin wax is one of the principal coproducts of the low temperature Arge process. Alcohols, ketones, and lower paraffins are among the valuable coproducts obtained from the Synthol process. 

Heat Transfer. One of the reasons fluidized beds have wide appHcation is the excellent heat-transfer characteristics. Particles entering a fluidized bed rapidly reach the bed temperature, and particles within the bed are isothermal in almost all commercial situations. Gas entering the bed reaches the bed temperature quickly. In addition, heat transfer to surfaces for heating and cooling is excellent. 

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). 

Distributors in industrial units typically have large numbers of injection points of quite diverse design characteristics, some of which are depicted in Eigure 16 for fluidized-bed appHcations. Flow variations through these parallel paths can lead to poor flow distributions within a reactor, thus reducing product yields and selectivity. In some circumstances, undesirable side products can foul portions of the distributor and further upset flow patterns. Where this is important, or where the possibiHties and consequences are insufficiently understood and independent means caimot be employed to assure adequate distribution, the pilot plant must be sized to accommodate such a distributor. Spacing should be comparable to those distributors that are anticipated to be... 

Almost all PVC powder coatings are appHed by the fluidized-bed coating process. Although some electrostatic spray-grade formulations are available, they are very erratic in their appHcation characteristics. The resistivity of plasticized PVC powders is low compared to other powder coating materials and the appHed powder quickly loses its electrostatic charge. For the same reason, PVC powders show poor appHcation characteristics in an electrostatic fluidized bed and are seldom used in this process. 

The main stages of coal combustion have different characteristic times in fluidized beds than in pulverized coal combustion. Approximate times are a few seconds for coal devolatilization, a few minutes for char burnout, several minutes for the calcination of limestone, and a few hours for the reaction of the calcined limestone with SO2. Hence, the carbon content of the bed is very low (up to 1% by weight) and the bed is 90% CaO in various stages of reaction to CaSO. About 10% of the bed s weight is made up of coal ash (91). This distribution of 90/10 limestone/coal ash is not a fixed ratio and is dependent on the ash content of the coal and its sulfur content. 

Fluidized Beds When gas or liquid flows upward through a vertically unconstrained bed of particles, there is a minimum fluid velocity at which the particles will begin to move. Above this minimum velocity, the bed is said to be fluidized. Fluidized beds are widely used, in part because of their excellent mixing and heat and mass transfer characteristics. See Sec. 17 of this Handbook for detailed information. 

All the foregoing pertains to sohds of approximately the same physical characteristics. There is evidence that sohds of widely different characleristics wih classify one from the other at certain gas flow rates [Geldart, Baeyens, Pope, and van de Wijer, Powder Technol., 30(2), 195 (1981)]. Two fluidized beds, one on top of the other, may be formed, or a lower static bed with a fluidized bed above may result. The latter frequently occurs when agglomeration takes place because of either fusion in the bed or poor dispersion of sticl feed solids. 

Thermally efficient calcination of lime dolomite and clay can be carried out in a multicompartmeut fluidized bed (Fig. 17-27). Fuels are burned in a fluidized bed of the product to produce the required heat. Bunker C oil, natural gas, and coal are used in commercial units. Temperature control is accurate enough to permit production of hme of very high availability with close control of slaking characteristics. Also, half calcination or dolomite is an accepted practice. The requirement of large crystal size for the hmestoue limits apphcatiou. SmaU-sized crystals in the hmestoue result in low yields due to high dust losses. 

Stable expanded-bed operations promise the ability to handle whole broths efficiently, all the while maintaining plug-flow characteristics. Magnetically stabihzed fluidized beds have been shown to work effectively for bioproduct separations, but are not yet used commercially. A commerci y available process uses well-designed beads of appropriate densities and sizes to enable bed fluidization and stable operation without appreciable recirculation. 

There are three basic modes of burning solid fuels, each identified with a furnace design specific for that mode in suspension, in a bed at rest on a grate (fuel-bed firing), or in a fluidized bed. Although many variations of these generic modes and furnace designs have been devised, the fundamental characteristics of equipment and procedure remain intact. They will be described briefly. 

Fluidized bed catalytic reactors seem to have so many advantageous features that they were considered for many processes. One of the advantages is their excellent heat transfer characteristics, due to the large catalyst surface to volume ratio, so very little temperature difference is needed for heat transfer. This would make temperature control problem-free. The second is the uniformity of reaction conditions in the bed. 

Characteristic of fluidized bed reactors is the large wind box to equalize pressure. This is a primary requirement to get even flow through the bed. The expanding shell at the upper part is there to retain as much solid as possible in the reactor. 

In fluidized-bed adsorbers, the combination of high gas rate and small adsorbent particle size results in suspension of the adsorbent, giving it many of the characteristics of a fluid. Fluidized bed adsorbers, therefore, lend themselves to truly continuous, countercurrent, multistage operation. Adsorbent inventory is minimized. 

The effectiveness of a fluidized bed as a ehemical reactor depends to a large extent on the amount of convective and diffusive transfer between bubble gas and emulsion phase, since reaction usually occurs only when gas and solids are in contact. Often gas in the bubble cloud complex passes through the reactor in plug flow with little back mixing, while the solids are assumed to be well mixed. Actual reactor models depend greatly on kinetics and fluidization characteristics and become too complex to treat here. 

The bubble size at formation varied with particle characteristics. It was further observed that the bubble size decreased with increasing fluidization intensity (i.e., with increasing liquid velocity). The rate of coalescence likewise decreased with increasing fluidization intensity the net rate of coalescence had a positive value at distances from 1 to 2 ft above the orifice, whereas at larger distances from the orifice the rate approached zero. The bubble rise-velocity increased steadily with bubble size in a manner similar to that observed for viscous fluids, but different to that observed for water. An attempt was made to explain the dependence of the rate of coalescence on fluidization intensity in terms of a relatively high viscosity of the liquid fluidized bed. 

The isotropic form has little graphitic characteristic and essentially no optical activity. It is composed of very fine grains without observable orientation and for this reason, it is known as isotropic carbon rather than isotropic graphite. It is often obtained in fluidized-bed deposition, possibly due to continuous surface regeneration by the mechanical rubbing action of the bed. An isotropic structure, observed by transmission electron microscopy, is shown in Fig. 7.4.111]... 

To provide the pr equisite knowledge for designing the three-phase fluidized-bed reactors with new modes, the hydrodynamics such as phase holdup, mixing and bubble properties and heat and mass transfer characteristics in the reactors have to be determined. Thus, in this study, the hydrodynamics and heat and mass transfer characteristics in the inverse and circulating three-phase fluidized-bed reactors for wastewater treatment in the present and previous studies have been summarized. Correlations for the hydrod3aiamics as well as mass and heat transfer coefficients are proposed. The areas wherein future research should be undertaken to improve... 

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