Hydrodynamics of Three Phase Fluidized B

Experiment was conducted to analyze the hydrodynamics of a gas-liquid-solid fluidized bed containing low-density particles. Solid-Liquid-Gas fluidized beds are widely used in the environmental, pharmaceutical, petroleum, food and biotechnology plants. The three-phase fluidization is strongly dependent on effective contact between the phases (solid-liquid-gas). The study focused on the hydrodynamic characteristics of low density particles (solid wood) using air as the gas phase and water as the liquid phase. The fluidized bed consisted of three sections: the gas-liquid distributor section, the gas-liquid disengagement section, and the test section. The hydrodynamic characteristics determined included the bed expansion ratios, bed pressure drop, and minimum fluidization velocity. Results indicated that the minimum fluidization velocity and bed pressure drop increased with particle size but decreased with gas velocity. Bed expansion ratio decreased with particle diameter and initial static bed height but increased with liquid values. Equations were developed from factorial design analysis for predicting the values for bed expansion ratio, and the predicted values were found to agree with the experimental results.