(544ao) Experimental Investigation of Bed Size Effects on the Hydrodynamics of Gas-Solid Fluidized Bed Reactor Via Advance Non-Invasive Measurement Techniques (CT and RPT)

Experimental Investigation of Bed Size Effects on the Hydrodynamics of gas-solid Fluidized bed Reactor via Advance Non-Invasive Measurement Techniques (CT and RPT)

Abdelsalam Efhaima^1,2,*, Muthanna H Al- Dahhan¹

¹ Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Higher Collages of Technology, Abu Dhabi Men’s Campus

²Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T), Rolla, USA.

*Corresponding author: aefhaima@hct.ac.ae Tel: +971503490375

ABSTRACT

In this work, advanced non-invasive computed tomography (CT) and radioactive particle tracking (RPT) techniques have been utilized, with the goal to highlight and investigate hydrodynamics differences between two-dimensional bubbling fluidized beds of diameter 14 cm and 44 cm. Compressed air at room temperature was used as the gas phase, and the solid was glass beads with the size particles of 210 µm (Geldart-B) and density of 2.5 gcm^-3. Cross-sectional distribution and radial gas holdup profiles, Axial Particle velocity, axial, and radial eddy diffusivities have been measured in two beds at the superficial gas velocity of 1.5 2 and 3 . Experimental results showed that the hydrodynamics observed in large-scale gas-solid fluidized bed reactors are different from those observed in smaller scale beds. The bed scales had a significant effect on these hydrodynamic parameters where the magnitude of solids velocity is much higher in larger bed and the solid mixing and diffusion of particles are increased by increasing the column diameter.

Keywords: Fluidized bed Hydrodynamics; Computed Tomography; Radioactive Particle Tracking; Scale Effects.