Solids circulation rate

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. 

Bubble size in the circulating beds increases with Ug, but decreases with Ul or solid circulation rate (Gs) bubble rising velocity increases with Ug or Ul but decreases with Gs the ffequeney of bubbles increases with Ug, Ul or Gs. The axial or radial dispersion coefficient of liquid phase (Dz or Dr) has been determined by using steady or unsteady state dispersion model. The values of Dz and D, increase with increasing Ug or Gs, but decrease (slightly) with increasing Ul- The values of Dz and Dr can be predicted by Eqs.(9) and (10) with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 and 0.95, respectively[10]. 

Fig. 4. Effect of solid circulation rate on CO2 removal in a fast fluidized-bed reactor...

The reactivities of pure NaHCOa solid. Sorb NHR, NHR5, and NX30 sorbents were examined in a fast fluidized bed reactor. The CO2 removal of the pure NaHCOa solid increased from 3 % to 25 % when the variables were altered. Removal increased as gas velocity was decreased, as the carbonation temperature was decreased, or as the solid circulation rate was increased. The CO2 removal of Sorb NHR and NHR5 was initially maintained at 100 % for a short period of time but quickly dropped to a 10 to 20 % removal. However, the Sorb NX30 sorbent showed fast kinetics in the fast fluidized reactor, capturing all of the 10 % of the CO2 in the flue gas within 3 seconds in the fast fluidized reactor. 

Draft Tube Pressure Drop. The pressure drop across the draft tube, AP2 3, is usually similar to that across the downcomer, APj 4, in magnitude. Thus, for a practical design basis, the total pressure drop across the draft tube and across the downcomer can be assumed to be equal. In most operating conditions, the pressure drop at the bottom section of the draft tube has a steep pressure gradient due primarily to acceleration of the solid particles from essentially zero vertical velocity. The acceleration term is especially significant when the solid circulation rate is high or when the draft tube is short. 

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. 

Solids Circulation Rate. The solids circulation rate was obtained from the particle velocity measurements at the downcomer side by following visually the tracer particles at the wall with a stop watch. The data reported here by Yang and Keaims (1983) are for polyethylene beads (907 kg/m in density and 2800 pm in average particle size) and hollow epoxy spheres (210 kg/cm3 in density and 2800 pm in average particle size). The experiments were carried out in a semicircular transparent Plexiglas apparatus, 28.6 cm in diameter and 610 cm in height. 

The effect of downcomer aeration, of distance between the distributor plate and the draft tube inlet, and of the distributor plate design configuration on solid circulation rate is discussed below. For ease of presentation for materials of different densities, the solid particle velocity in the downcomer rather than the solid circulation rate is used. 

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. 

Effect of Distributor Plate Design. Both conical distributor plates of included angles of 60° and 90° were used. They do not seem to affect the solids circulation rate as shown in Fig. 10. Proper location of the distributor plate and the gas nozzle, however, substantially increased the solids circulation rate. 

Figure 10. Comparison of solids circulation rate at different distributor plate design configurations.

Effect of Distance Between Distributor Plate and Draft Tube Inlet. As expected, the closer the distance between the distributor plate and the draft tube inlet the lower the solids circulation rate as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This is not only because of the physical constriction created by locating the distributor plate too close to the draft tube inlet but also because of the different gas bypassing characteristics observed at different distributor plate locations as discussed earlier. When the distance between the distributor plate and the draft tube inlet becomes large, it can create start-up problems discussed in Yang et al. (1978). 

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.

Assume a solid circulation rate per unit draft tube area, Wsn and calculate the particle velocity in the downcomer, Upd, from the following equation... 

The solids circulation pattern and solids circulation rate are important hydrodynamic characteristics of an operating jetting fluidized bed. They dictate directly the solids mixing and the heat and mass transfer between different regions of the bed. 

The solids circulation patterns were investigated with a force probe developed in-house. Typical force probe responses are presented in Figs. 43 and 44 for a probe located at 0.13 m from the jet nozzle and with different penetrations into the bed for an air tube velocity of 45.7 m/s. Sincetheforce probe is directional, the upward solids movement will produce a positive response from the probe and vice versa, the magnitude of the response being an indication of the magnitude of solids circulation rate. The number of major peaks per unit time is closely related to the actual bubble frequency in the bed. 

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... 

Alappat, B. J., and Rane, V. C., Studies on the Effects of Various Design and Operational Parameters on Solid Circulation Rate in a Recirculating Fluidized Bed, Can. J. Chem. Eng., 73 248 (1995)... 

The best per pass yield to C2 + C3 products (aldehydes plus acids with two and three C atoms) with the said catalyst was obtained at a propene conversion of 61.3% (selectivity to acrolein 83.7%), at the reaction temperature of 355 °C, with the following feed composition C3H6/H20/N2 11.6 10.0 78.4 (mol.%), with a gas contact time of 2.4 s. A decrease in solids circulation rate, while keeping gas residence time constant, led to a considerable decrease in propene conversion, while selectivity to C2 + C3 oxygenated products was not much affected by circulation rate. With a less concentrated feed, the amount of solid to be circulated for a defined olefin conversion is lower, but productivity also becomes lower. Other catalysts based on Bi/Mo/O or on V/Mo/W/Cu/O [72c] afforded conversions >70% and selectivity >90% industrial... 

Keywords Ti02/silica gel Solid circulation rate and holdup Circulation fluidized bed (CFB) photoreactor... 

In the present study, the effects of the initial TCE concentration, wavelength of the UV light, H2O concentration, O2 concentration, the ratio of TiCVsilica gel, superficial gas velocity (C/g), solid circulation rate (Gs) on photodegradation of TCE have been determined in a CFB photoreactor system. 

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