Group 1: CAINILA, Jean Criste

Date: 08/20/10
ALMIRANEZ, Kristan
CA!R", A#$rin
K%AN, E&ene&er
E'peri(ent C)
*#ui$i+ation
I, A-stra.t
An experiment to characterize the fluidization behavior of sand in water was
done. The process started by preparing 500 mesh sand particles and determining
its porosity. In the experiment, water was allowed to flow in an upward direction.
low rate was increased by !00cm
"
#min and pressure head loss and velocities were
recorded for every interval. $%uilibrium head loss was computed using the data
gathered. $%uation proposed by &ichard and 'a(i was used to get the empiric
exponent x. The terminal velocity needed for the calculation of x is computed using
the )to(e*s +aw. ,sing the empiric exponent x, the length of the expanded bed was
computed.
II, "-/e.ti&e
The main ob-ective of this experiment is to characterize the fluidization behavior
of sand in water.
III, Re0eren.es
.!/ 0c1abe 2., et. Al., Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 3
th
ed., 4ew
5or(6 0c7raw89ill, Inc., :005
.:/ ;erry, &obert 9 and 7reen, <., Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 3
th
ed.,
0c7raw89ill, Inc.
."/ www.wi(ipedia.com
I1, E2uip(ent
;re8sieve sand =d
s
> 0.5 mm and approximately 0.5? (g@
$lectronic balance
508m+ bea(er =:pcs@
Thermometer =0.! deg 1 calibration@
;ermeability and luidization apparatus
1, !3eor4
luidization, as a unit operation, is the measure of the ability of a granular media
to flow =fluidize@. It is the condition where there is suspension of particles in a fluid
media. In li%uid fluidization of granular media, the li%uid initially passes up through
the porous bed of grains, such that the upward force exerted by the li%uid is less
than the downward weight of the grains. The bed is said to be fluidized when the
grains are supported by the li%uid drag that ta(es place when the upward force
e%uals the weight of the granular media in the li%uid. ;art of the <arcy*s +aw and
Aonezy81arman $%*n applies =head loss B flow rate@ for this condition.
,pward force C pressure difference x area
C

gh
e
A
<ownward force C weight of particles in li%uid
C A+
e
=!8

e
@=

s8

@g
$%uilibrium

gh
e
A C A+
e
=!8

e
@=

s8

@g
h
e
C +=!8

@
( )

S
888888888 e%n. !
where6 h
e
C e%uilibrium head loss
+
e
C expanded length of the fluidized bed

e
C porosity of the fluidized bed

e
C density of the grains
A C plan area of the fluidized bed
&elationship between hindered setting velocity =D
h
@and concentration of
grains =c volume#volume@ is given by the e%uation proposed by &ichard and 'a(i,
and others6
D
h
C D
t
=!8c@
n
where6 D
t
C terminal settling velocity of a
single grain
At e%uilibrium in the fluidized bed6 D
h
C D
a
, and =!8c@C

e
, thus,

e
C
n
t
a
V
V
/ 1

,
_

)ince =!8

@ C +
e
=!8

e
@, and !#n C x
( )
x
t
a
e
V
V
L
L

,
_

1
1
88888888888 e%n. :
1I, "peratin5 pro.e$ure
The operation and procedure conducted for the experiment is divided into three
parts6 preliminary operation, experimental procedure and shutdown.
or the preliminary operation, start8up and preparation of the media in the
column were performed. In the start8up, the manometers and valves were chec(ed
for functionality. A steady state condition of the apparatus was obtained by allowing
a constant flow of the water from the water source to the head tan( overflow and
column. The air and water in the column were allowed to escape by opening valve
="@. The upward flow rate in the column was observed and air at the top of the
column was released through the air8release screw =E@ in the capping piece. The
flow was reversed to be able to chec( the downward flow in the column by closing
valve =:@ and opening valve =!@ and drain valve =?@. Air in the column and tubes was
released by further flushing in and up or down flow direction and releasing air in the
column by opening air8release screw =E@.
The manometer was then chec(ed for accurate measurements. Inlet valve =!@
was closed and manometer valves =5, F, 3, and G@ were opened. Air bubbles trapped
in the tubes of the manometers were chec(ed and removed by applying pressure
by opening and closing valve =!@ allowing air to escape through the air8release plug
at the top of the water manometer. 0anometer were read zero at about mid scale
while valves =!, :@ were open and valves =", ?@ closed.
or the preparation of the media and filling column, the media was pre8sieved to
a uniform size fraction. The media was weighed in dry state to determine mass and
to provide a permeable bed about "00mm deep in the column or about 0.5?(g of
sand. Dalves =!,:,",?,5,F,3,G @ were closed and air8release screw =E@ and open valve
=?@ were opened. The ;erspex column was removed from the apparatus by opening
the top8capping piece and the two screws at the side. The media was poured in the
column and wetted thoroughly with water. The water was then drained and the
column was inserted bac( to the apparatus.
or the experimental procedure, the valves were set for up flow through the
column with manometer valves closed and valve =5,F,3,G@ open. The ;erspex
column is tapped gently with a pencil to lightly consolidate the media. The drain
tube from valve ="@ is inserted into a bea(er and a thermometer is placed in it to
determine the temperature of the water leaving. The level of the media surface =+@
is read and the water and mercury manometers are set to a HzeroI reading. Dalves
=:@ and ="@ re opened to admit water through the column in a down flow direction.
About seven settings of flow rate =J@ are read with manometer levels noted for each
flow rate. )ince there are only low pressure drops, the manometer reading is ta(en
from the water manometer. After seven readings of increasing flow, another set of
readings are ta(en with decreasing flow rate bac( to zero.
or the shutdown operation, water in the ;erspex column and water manometer
is drained. 2or(ing section is cleaned by removing any sand that accumulated in
the sieve and at the wor( place. The water supply to the constant head tan( is
disconnected.
1I, Data an$ Resu#ts
In this experiment, flow rates, pressure and temperature readings, and
lengths are necessary for the understanding of the concept of fluidization. This was
gathered during experimentation and was tabulated and presented in table F.!.
Table F.! low rate, velocity, manometer, expanded length, mm water, and
temperature reading
*#o6
rate, 7
8../(in9
1e#o.it4,
1a
8((/s9
Mano(e
ter
8((:59
Mano(e
ter
8((:59
E'pan$
e$
Len5t3,
Le 8((9
3ei53t o0
6ater, ((
!,
;C
0 0.0000 ?: ?: GG GG :G
!00 !.?FEF ?? 53 !0? !:G :3
:00 :.E"E! 55 ?F !!0 !E0 :3
"00 ?.?0G3 53 ?G !"5 ""0 :3
?00 5.G3G" 5E 5! !50 500 :G
500 3."?3E ?0 "! !F0 500 :G
F00 G.G!3? ?" "" !E0 500 "0
300 !0.:G30 ?5 "F ::0 500 "!
350 !!.0:!G ?3 "G :"0 500 ":
The velocity of the li%uid is necessary for future calculation. It was calculated
by dividing the volumetric flow rate by the area of the column for it is constant. It is
shown in e%uation Fa.
$%uation Fa6 for %C!00cc#min
( )
s
mm
s cm
mm
mm
cm
A
q
u 4696 . 1
60
min 1
1
10
38
4
min
100 3
2
3

,
_

<ensity of the solid media was determined using the concept of volume
displacement using a graduated cylinder filled with water. 1omputation is presented
in e%uation Fb.
$%uation Fb6
3
2220 22 . 2
0 . 4 9 . 4
2
m
kg
mL
g
mL mL
g
V V
m
i f
p
p

;orosity is also a ma-or player in this experiment for it affects everything. It
was computed using again the volume displacement method. It is presented in
$%uation Fc.
$%uation Fc6
40 . 0
5 . 5
9 . 4 1 . 7

+solid void
V

1II, !reat(ent o0 Resu#ts

The head loss was computed -ust by getting the difference of the manometer
reading and for easy understanding for the treatment of this results, a simpler table
was generated excluding other factors li(e temperature. It is presented in table 3.!.
Table 3.! low rate, Delocity, 0anometer, 9ead loss, and Temperature readings.
*#o6 rate,
7 8../(in9
1e#o.it4,
1a
8((/s9
Mano(et
er
8((:59
Mano(eter
8((:59
:ea$ Loss,
3 8((:59
0 0.0000 ?: ?: 0
!00 !.?FEF ?? 53 !"
:00 :.E"E! 55 ?F E
"00 ?.?0G3 53 ?G E
?00 5.G3G" 5E 5! G
500 3."?3E ?0 "! E
F00 G.G!3? ?" "" !0
300 !0.:G30 ?5 "F E
350 !!.0:!G ?3 "G E
,sing the data in table F.!, the expanded length of the bed and height of water
was plotted against the li%uid velocity. It is shown in figure 3.! and 3.: respectively.
igure 3.!
;lot of the length of media in the column versus the li%uid approach velocity
igure 3.:
;lot of the mm of 2ater versus the +i%uid Approach Delocity
Co(putation 0or t3e e2ui#i-riu( :ea$ Loss:
Kase from table 3.!, figure 3." and combining with (nowledge of the experiment,
the e%uilibrium head loss is the constant pressure difference given by the answer at
about E mm9g. ,sing the formula, the calculation is presented in e%uation 3a.
igure 3."
;lot of 9ead +oss versus the +i%uid Approach Delocity
$%uation 3a6
( )
( )
( )
( )
mmHg mm mm h
mm mm h
mm L h
P P P h
e
e
S
e
e
65 . 9 55 65 . 64
55
998
998 2220
4 . 0 1 88
55 1
1 2

$%uation proposed by &ichard and 'a(i, e%uation 3b, will be used to get the
empiric exponent x.
$%uation 3b6
( )
x
t
a
e
V
V
L
L

,
_

1
1
+inearized form of $%uation 3b6
( )

,
_

1
]
1

t
a
e
e
V
V
x
L
L L
ln
1
ln

The terminal velocity is needed for the calculation of x. It is computed using the
)to(e*s +aw, e%uation 3c.
$%uation 3c6
( )
( )
s
mm
gr
V
f P
t
4975 . 166
001 . 18
00025 . 81 . 9 998 2200
18
2
2

Tabulating y,
( )
1
]
1

e
e
L
L L 1
ln
vs. x,

,
_

t
a
V
V
ln
6
Table 3.: the tabulated data for linearization.
8Le<L81<
=99/Le 1a/1t
#n8Le<L81<
=99/Le
#n81a/1
t9
0.F0GGGGGG
E !.5 80.?EF!!E?3F
0.?05?F
5
0.F?G : 80.?""GF?5G"
0.FE"!?
3
0.F3 :.5 80.?00?335F3
0.E!F:E
!
0.3::!05:F
" " 80.":55G?"53
!.0EGF!
:
0.3F ".5 80.:3??"FG?F
!.:5:3F
"
0.330?"?3G
" ".35 80.:F0G00:3!
!.":!35
F
;lotting
( )
1
]
1

e
e
L
L L 1
ln
vs.

,
_

t
a
V
V
ln
6
igure 3."
;lot of the linearized form of $%uation 3b
rom the linearization of $%uation 3b, the resulting e%uation of the line is
yC".??"3x8!.G:?F, where the slope =empiric exponent@, m =x@, is e%ual to ".??"3.
,sing $%uation 3b and the computed empiric exponent x, the expansion length
of the bed, +e is6
( )
mm
mm
L
e
80 . 52
4975 . 166
9391 . 2
1
4 . 1 88

,
_

1III, Ana#4sis/Interpretation o0 Resu#ts

As shown in figure 3.!, the length of the expansion of the bed is directly
proportional to the velocity of the li%uid. This is logical because as the velocity of
the li%uid increases, the force at which the water force the sand upward also
increases, thereby promoting dispersion which resulted to an increasing length of
the expansion of the bed.
In figure 3.:, it is shown that the length of water in the column increases as
the velocity of the li%uid increases but at a certain point, it became constant. This is
also logical because as time passes, the column is being filled with water thereby
increasing its length. The constant reading only means that the column is full of
water. The important aspect of this graph is the steepness of the line. As one can
see, as the velocity of the water increases, the steeper is the line. This indicates
that the higher the velocity, the higher is the rate at which the length of the water
in the column increases.
If one will analyze e%uation :, one can see that x is related to the length of
the expanded bed =+e@, initial length =+@, porosity =L@, hindered velocity =Da@, and
terminal settling velocity, =Dt@. urthermore, porosity is related to the diameter and
in most cases, the larger the diameter, the larger is the porosity =void volume
increases@ and the terminal settling velocity, as shown in )to(e*s +aw, is related to
the diameter of the radius of the grain, the density of the solid media, and the
density and the viscosity of the fluid medium. Therefore, the empiric exponent x
indicates the relationship of the initial length, grain diameter, the behavior of the
bed expansion, the density and viscosity of the fluid medium, in this case, the flow
regime, and the density of the sample to each other.
Kased from the experiment, the expansion length of the bed is obviously
affected by the initial length of the bed because as it increases, hindering also
increases thereby decreasing the rate of expansion. 7rain diameter also affects this
because it relates to porosity and as the diameter of the grain increases, the
porosity increases and if this is the case, the fluid will -ust pass the bed instead of
dispersing it which result to a decrease in the rate of length expansion of the bed.
+astly, it relates to the empiric exponent x even though the effect is little compared
to the first two stated above.
>, Ans6ers to 2uestion
!. 7ive practical applications of the principle of fluidization. In what areas in
chemical engineering can we apply fluidization advantageouslyM
Nne practical application of fluidization is for transferring of coals. 1oals where
grinded and then fluidized for it to be transferred to another place. This can be done
to reduce transport expenses. Another important application of fluidization is in the
catalysis of gas reactions, wherein the excellent opportunity of heat transfer and
mass transfer between the catalytic surface and the gas stream gives performance
une%ualed by any other system. luidization can be applied in several unit operation
processes involving transport processes especially mass transfer.
:. 2ould there be a difference in the overall experimental results if the column were
configured horizontallyM $xplain your answer.
5es. There will be a difference in the overall experimental result when the
column is configured horizontally. This is because the effect of the gravitational
force to the flow is different in the horizontal configuration. If it is vertically placed,
gravitational force is directly opposite to the flow. 2hen horizontally configured, the
gravitational force is perpendicular to the flow. Also, the initial height of the bed
changes when the configuration changes.
>I, *in$in5s, Con.#usion an$ Re.o((en$ation
,sing the data gathered in this experiment, the e%uilibrium head loss was
computed and is e%ual to E.F5 mm9g. The slope =empiric exponent@, m =x@, was
found out to be ".??"3. The expansion length of the bed was also computed and is
e%ual to 5:.G0 mm. Kased from this experiment, the group can conclude that the
sand media used could be fluidized.
or the next group that will perform this experiment, the group recommends
that alternative samples should be used to determine their fluidization capability