Solid circulation flow

Standpipes are used in the gas-solid circulating flow systems in which a cyclone-standpipe-valve configuration for the separation and reintroduction of particles, as shown in Fig. 8.18, is constantly encountered. The satisfactory operation of the cyclone-standpipe system depends on a small leakage flow of gas up the standpipe. A simple method to estimate... 

Example 8.3 In an operation of gas-solid circulating flow in a cyclone-standpipe-valve system, the particles are 100 p.m glass beads with a density of 2,500 kg/m3. The particle volume fraction in the standpipe is 0.55. The gas is air with a viscosity of 1.8 x 10-5 kg/m s and a density of 1.2 kg/m3. The particle mass flow is 70 kg/m2 s. The height of solids in the standpipe is 1.4 m. The total pressure head over the standpipe and valve is 4,500 Pa. Estimate the leakage flow of air in the standpipe. If the particle volume fraction at minimum fluidization is 0.5 and the area ratio of valve opening to pipe cross section is 0.6, what is the orifice coefficient of this valve ... 

The inventory of the system includes the total amount of material that is in the fuel and air reactors (expressed in kg of solid or in kg /MW j) in the loop seals and in the piping units that connect the different components. The solid circulation is selected to ensure the complete fuel conversion. In terms of mass balance of the system, it is possible to identify two important parameters (i) the solid circulation flow rate and (ii) the solid conversion. 

Assuming 1 MW,, of the fuel entering the system and full conversion of the gas, the solid circulation flow rate is calculated as follows ... 

Through circulation. The gas penetrates and flows through interstices among the solids, circulating more or less freely around the individual particles (Fig. 12-32). This may occur when solids are in static, moving, fluidized, or dilute conditions. 

Figure 11.10(b) can be modeled as a piston flow reactor with recycle. The fluid mechanics of spouting have been examined in detail so that model variables such as pressure drop, gas recycle rate, and solids circulation rate can be estimated. Spouted-bed reactors use relatively large particles. Particles of 1 mm (1000 pm) are typical, compared with 40-100 pm for most fluidizable catalysts. 

Column reactors for gas-liquid-solid reactions are essentially the same as those for gas-liquid reactions. The solid catalyst can be fixed or moving within the reaction zone. A reactor with both the gas and the liquid flowing upward and the solid circulating inside the reaction zone is called a slurry column reactor (Fig. 5.4-10). The catalyst is suspended by the momentum of the flowing gas. If the motion of the liquid is the driving force for solid movement, the reactor is called an ebullated- or fluidized-bed column reactor (Fig. 5.4-10). When a catalyst is deactivating relatively fast, part of it can be periodically withdrawn and a fresh portion introduced. 

A steady jet without bubbling can be maintained in a sand bed between the jet nozzle and the draft tube inlet with high jet velocities of the order of 60 m/s and without downcomer aeration. Once the downcomer is aerated, the solids circulation rate increases dramatically and the steady jet becomes a bubbling jet. Apparently, the inward-flowing solids have enough momentum to shear the gas jet periodically into bubbles. 

Effect of Downcomer Aeration. When only the central gas flows (No. 7 and No. 8 flows) were employed without downcomer aeration, the solids circulation rate depended primarily on the entrainment rate of the jets. The linear relationship for both bed materials (hollow epoxy and polyethylene) in Fig. 8 shows that the volumetric concentration of the solids inside the draft tube after acceleration (or the gas voidage) is approximately constant, independent of particle density. This can be readily realized by expressing the volumetric solid loading in the draft tube as follows ... 

Aeration of the downcomer can also be provided with a conical distributor plate (No. 3 flow) with greatly increased solids circulation rate as shown in Fig. 8. At lower downcomer aeration, the solids circulation rate is essentially similar to that without downcomer aeration at a distributor plate location ofL = 21.7 cm. At higher downcomer aeration, however, a substantial increase in solids circulation rate is realized with the same total gas flow rate. Apparently, a minimum aeration in the downcomer is required in order to increase substantially the solids circulation rate. For polyethylene beads, this critical aeration rate is at a downcomer superficial... 

Figure 8. Effect of design and operating conditions on solid circulation rate (No. 7 and No. 8 flows or No. 3 and No. 7 flows).

The same kind of phenomenon was not observed when distributor plate was located closer to the draft tube inlet atL = 14.1 cm and when only No. 7 and No. 8 or No. 7 and No. 3 flows were used. When all three flow injection locations were used, substantial improvement in solids circulation rate is possible even at L = 14.1 cm as shown in Fig. 9. The critical downcomer aeration velocities (superficial velocities based on downcomer area) for the data shown in Fig. 9 were determined through tracer gas injection experiments to be 0.29 m/s at L = 21.7 cm and 0.22 m/s at L = 14.1 cm. 

Design for Desired Solids Circulation Rate It is assumed that the total gas flow into the bed is known. When the operating fluidizing velocity is selected for the fluidized bed above the draft tube, the diameter of the vessel is determined. The final design decisions include selection of the draft tube diameter, the distributor plate design, the separation between the draft... 

Figure 11. Projections of solid circulation rate at constant total flow and changing bed geometry—results of example calculation.

Solids Circulation Pattern. Yang et al. (1986) have shown that, based on the traversing force probe responses, three separate axial solids flow patterns can be identified. In the central core of the bed, the solid flow direction is all upward, induced primarily by the action of the jets and the rising bubbles. In the outer regions, close to the vessel walls, the solid flow is all downward. A transition zone, in which the solids move alternately upward and downward, depending on the approach and departure of the large bubbles, was detected in between these two regions. 

In correlating the data, the solid exchange rate between the two regions, Wzl was assumed to be constant. The tracer concentration data were analyzed statistically and the solids circulation rates are reported in Table 2. The positive fluxes indicate that the net solids flow is from bubble... 

The entrance and exit geometries have significant effects on the gas and solid flow behavior in the riser. The efficiency of the gas-solid separator can affect the particle size distribution and solids circulation rate in the system. In a CFB system, particle separation is typically achieved by cyclones (see Chapter 7). The downcomer provides hold volume... 

The key to smooth operation of a CFB system is the effective control of the solids recirculation rate to the riser. The solids flow control device serves two major functions, namely, sealing riser gas flow to the downcomer and controlling solids circulation rate. Both mechanical valves or feeders (see Figs. 10.1(a) and (d)) and nonmechanical valves (see Figs. 10.1(b) and (c)) are used to perform these functions. Typical mechanical valves are rotary, screw, butterfly, and sliding valves. Nonmechanical valves include L-valves, J-valves (see Chapter 8), V-valves, seal pots, and their variations. Blowers and compressors are commonly used as the gas suppliers. Operating characteristics of these gas suppliers which are directly associated with the dynamics and instability of the riser operation must be considered (see 10.3.3.2). 

The flow behavior in the riser varies with gas velocity, solids circulation rate, and system geometry. On the basis of the flow behavior, the fast fluidization regime can be distinguished from neighboring regimes. 

The transport velocity can also be evaluated from the variations of the local pressure drop per unit length (Ap/Az) with respect to the gas velocity and the solids circulation rate, Jp. An example of such a relationship is shown in Fig. 10.4. It is seen in the figure that, along the curve AB, the solids circulation rates are lower than the saturation carrying capacity of the flow. Particles with low particle terminal velocities are carried over from the riser, while others remain at the bottom of the riser. With increasing solids circulation rate, more particles accumulate at the bottom. At point B in the curve, the solids fed into the riser are balanced by the saturated carrying capacity. A slight increase in the solids circulation rate yields a sharp increase in the pressure drop (see curve BC in Fig. 10.4). This behavior reflects the collapse of the solid particles into a dense-phase fluidized bed. When the gas... 

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