Background:

Fluidized beds are used for mass and heat transfer operations and catalytic reactions in the
chemical engineering industry. fluidized bed is a cylindrical column that contains solid particles
through which fluid flows. This fluid can be either gas or liquid. In the case of fluidized bed, the
velocity of the fluid is high enough to suspend the particles within the column and causing the
solid height to increase. One advantage of fluidized beds is that it providing a large surface area
for the fluid to contact.[1]

Fluidized bed nowadays are used in cracking hydrocarbons, coal gasification, carbonization,
calcination, drying operations, adsorption/desorption and solidification operations. [2]
Fluidized bed reactor have many advantages such us: its easy to control and automate, it resists
rapid temperature changes, circulate solids between fluidized beds for heat exchangers and gives
a high rate of heat and mass transfers for smaller surfaces. On other hand, its difficult to predict
the fine particles in bubbling bed and the particle comminution is common. Also the rapid
mixing of solids causes non-uniform residence times for continuous flow reactors.
fluidized bed process as shown in figure 1

[4].

Figure 1: fixed and fludized bed

[3]

This is a

Theory:

The fluid drag caused by the fluid when it pass upward through a bed of particles is the key
principle behind fixed and fluidized bed. The fixed bed regime accrue when the force exerted by
the fluid to the solid is less than the apparent weight of the particles. On the other hand if the
force exerted by the fluid on the particles is equal to the weight of the solid, the particle will be
suspended. This point is called the onset of fluidization. . Increasing the fluid velocity will
increase the drag force and hence the height of the bed.[5]
The fluidization will cause a pressure drop across the column. It can be calculated by
Carman-Kozney equation at low flow rates of the fluid where the drag force is less than the
apparent weight and the bed is fixed: [5]
(

Where, is the void fraction, Dp is the particle diameter is the viscosity and v is the velocity.
However, if the fluid flow rates increased, the drag force will equal the weight of the bed and the
forces will be balanced. Drag will be calculated from:
(

)(

This experiment will be conducted to investigate the characteristics of fixed and fluidized bed
associated with water and air flowing upward through a cylindrical bed with granular material
(Coarse/fine). Moreover the pressure drop through the bed will be determined using CarmanKozeny equation and compared with experimental pressure drop

[1]http://www.che.ufl.edu/unit-ops-lab/experiments/FB/FB-manual.pdf

2. Fluid Bed Technology in Materials Processing, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data,

United States of America, CRC Press LLC., 1999

3. Howard (Ed.), "Fluidized Beds - Combustion and Applications", Applied Science Publishers,
London, 1983.

4. Alex Wozniak, S. C. (2012, Agust 5). ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT.

Retrieved

from

FLUIDIZED

BED

REACTORS:

http://encyclopedia.che.engin.umich.edu/Pages/Reactors/FBR/FBR.html
5. Fluidized bed. (2014, November 21). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluidized_bed