Tomographic diagnosis of gas maldistribution in gas–solid fluidized beds

• Published in: Powder technology 2008-07, Vol.185 (3), p.239-250
• Main Authors: Patel, Ashutosh K., Waje, Sunil S., Thorat, Bhaskar N., Mujumdar, Arun S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algebraic reconstruction technique; Applied sciences; Chemical engineering; Distributor design; Exact sciences and technology; Fluidization; Fluidized bed dryer; Gamma-ray tomography; Hydrodynamics of contact apparatus; Miscellaneous; Mixing; Solid hold-up; Solid-solid systems
• ISSN: 0032-5910; 1873-328X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2007.10.019

Phase distribution is one of the key hydrodynamic parameters useful for the design and performance assessment of fluidized bed dryers (FBDs). It has direct influence on the drying rate, thermal efficiency, residence time distribution and degree of mixing. The quality of fluidization strongly depends on the uniformity of distribution of the fluidizing gas and the physical properties of the material to be fluidized. In the present work, gamma ray tomography (GRT) study was carried out in the form of chordal solid hold-up, which was found to be greatly influenced by the gas distributor design. The performance of a gas distributor due to the prevalent practice of operating at lower values of distributor-to-bed pressure drop ratio was characterized in a 0.15 m diameter fluidized bed dryer over a broad range of superficial gas velocity. The effects of various parameters such as solids loading, particle size and particle density were analyzed with the help of the reconstructed solid hold-up profiles. The fluidization was studied in terms of maldistribution factor ( χ), a value of 5% or less can be obtained by properly designing distributor for a given bed loading, particularly for batch fluidized bed dryers. An industrial size fluidized bed dryer of 1 m diameter was also examined tomographically to obtain quantitative information on the solid hold-up distribution within the bed. The role of gamma ray tomography in understanding the fluidization characteristics in a fluidized bed dryer was studied. The main aim was to characterize the maldistribution factor over the broader range of operating parameters such as superficial gas velocity, solid loading and material properties such as particle size and particle density. Drift flux constant, C 0 or maldistribution factor, χ was successfully used to represent the fluidization quality in a fluidized bed system. [Display omitted]