Bed of solid particles held in suspension by the upward flow of a fluid

3 types: G/S, L/S, G/L/S (Ebullated bed)

Particles are in random motion
Achieved when upward fluid velo is greater than a minimum verlo called min fl vel Vm.
Above Vm, bed is set in motion and expands
Belo Vm, relative position of particles is fixed.

fluid bed sends a powerful stream of air up through your particulate material, suspending and
circulating the particles like a boiling fluid. This churning action, or "fluidization," produces an even
distribution of air among the particles, making the fluid bed perfect for heating, cooling, or drying
processes. The fluidized particles can also be easily and evenly coated or otherwise treated using a
variety of techniques. And since the fluid action is achieved using nothing more than air, your material is
handled as gently as possible.

The performance of fluidized-bed reactors is not approximated
by either the mixed-flow or plug-flow idealized
models. The solid phase tends to be in mixed-flow, but
the bubbles lead to the gas phase behaving more like plugflow.
Overall, the performance of a fluidized-bed reactor
often lies somewhere between the mixed-flow and plugflow
models. In addition to the advantage of high heat transfer
rates, fluidized beds are also useful in situations where
catalyst particles need frequent regeneration. Under these
circumstances, particles can be removed continuously from
the reactor bed, regenerated and recycled back to the bed.
In exothermic reactions, the recycling of catalyst can be
used to remove heat from the reactor, or in endothermic
reactions, it can be used to add heat.
One disadvantage of fluidized beds, as discussed previously,
is that attrition of the catalyst can cause the
generation of catalyst fines, which are then carried over
from the bed and lost from the system. This carryover
of catalyst fines sometimes necessitates cooling the reactor
effluent through direct contact heat transfer by mixing
with a cold fluid, since the fines tend to foul conventional
heat exchangers.

Adv:
Possibility of continuous solid withdrawl and reintroduction (for deactivating catalyst)
Elimination of any intraparticulate diffusion due to very small particle size
No internal temp, conc gradients
No radial gradients
Diminution of axial grad
Low risk of thermal hotspots and low thermal instability, So, ideal for exothermic rn.
High HT coeff at surfaces immersed in bed

Disad:
For same cat wt, bed expansion causes volume of reactor to increase
Not a plug flow, but backmix => increase in reactor volume and decrease in selectivity
Complex hydrodynamics, So, difficult scaling up,
Carryover of solid particle, so large freeboard required and a fines recycle stream is also req.
Erosion of internal parts

Two fluidization conditions:
1.) Particulate Fl: bed has mean particle dens thats constant from one point to another.
Homogeneous bed on macroscopic scale., no solid free zones, no bubbles, seen in fl by liquid, or
fl by a gas carried out with very fine particles.
2.) Aggregative Fl: Bubbles, free of solids appear.-> common for G/S and ebullated fl bed.

Feasibility of operation is checked by Geldart Charts (Particle-gas density (apparent density of grains))vs
particle mean equiv dia). According to Geldart, particle size distribustion doesnt cause problem in good
fluidization as long as distribution follows normal distribution or Gaussian distrib. But this chart doesnt
take in to account humidity, temperature. So we find out, to which category ABCorD, does the particle
belong to check feasibility.
then we move to find out 3 hydrodynamic values:
1.) Minimum superficial velo of fluidiazation Vm
2.) Superficial velo causing carryover of atleast a part of solid
3.) Bed expansion as a fn of Velo of fluid

Optimal use of reaction volume demands ops with minimum expansion, which guarantees good mobility
of solid and good mixing. (achieved with moderate expansion of bed 10-25%)
But operational flexibility of the installation may require values different from the above design stage
velo of fluid.

Cyclones are used to prevent carryover of particles, classically. In FCC, rn zone is shifted to the solid
transfer line instead of in the fluidized bed. So, cracking reactor is now a tube in which cat and reactants
flow concurrently. (Coal gasification and combustion uses this too)

1. Minimum Superficial verlo of fl Vm:
Pressure drop first increases linearly across the bed as fluid velo in inc. This pressure drop is
given by Ergun eqn.
A pt comes, when particles start to move relative to each other, and pressure drop is now indep
of fluid velo. Now, as velo of fluid inc, bed expands correspondingly,
So, min superfic fl velo is estimated from the equilib b/w friction force and grav force.
At the end, we get the value of Vm by eqn 11.2
1a, value of dp taken from cumulative weight distribution curve, based on weight fraction.

2. Terminal Velo of particle fall and carryover velo:
Terminal velo is found by -> apparent wt of particle=Drag force, and drag force depends on fluid
visco, particle size, fluid dens, terminal velo of particle fall. So, CD vs Re used. We can get Drag
force from CD using rel on pg 422. At low Re: Cd=24/Re (Re<1), we approach Stokes law: 11.23
At high Re: Cd=0.43 and terminal velo here is given by Newtons Law regime: 11.24.
Between Re [1, 1000]- Cd-11.25. Eqn valid for nearly spherical particles. To carry out fluidization
ops, the fluidization must be conducted in such a way that : MinFlVelo<superficial fluidization
velo<terminal velo.

In ops, the superficial fluidization velocity is kept 5 to 10 times higher than min fl velo, so, risks
of carry over are ltd. and cyclone installation can eliminate it completely. In design, the value of
ops fl velo must be obtained at least equal to terminal velo corres to the largest particles which
are to be entrained.

3. Expansion in fluidized bed.

p
= fraction of bed occupied by solid, when bed of particles is at rest (SOLID VOL/BED VOL)
As fl velo inc, bed ht doesnt change until a certain value of gas is achieved, wherein the bed gets
loser. The total pressure drop of the bed then stabilizes at a value corresponding to the
apparent wt of the catalyst column. Further increase in velo of fluid results in increase in bed
height and decrease in
p.

Vsl= fluidization velo of liquid: if increased, fluidiztion remains uniform and
p
increases steadily
with Vsl (by empirical equation: Vsl/ut=(1-
p
)
n
. n depends on Re=utpldp/ul, on shape of particle
and on dp/D ratio (D reactor diameter)

Vsg= gas fluidization velocity, in increased above min velo, two things may happen.
a. Fluidization may remain uniform and Richardson and Zaki eqn apply. Particulate fluidization
in observed. But this condi is rare.
b. Bubbles appear and bed becomes heterogeneous-> aggregative fluidization.

p
and expansion of bed cant be estimated as no such correlations are available.
Aggregative fluidization must be made uniform by eliminating slugging and channeling.
Slugging: bubbles cling to reactor walls, cause formation of slugs with solid projections, and can
be corrected by increasing bed diameter/bed height ratio, or by placing internal components
like heat exchanger in bed. Channeling (creation of preferential path in bed) can be prevented
by use of distributor.



EXAMPLE: FCC
Large molar mass hydrocarbon molecules are made to crack into smaller hydrocarbon molecules in
the presence of a solid catalyst. The liquid hydrocarbon feed is atomized as it enters the catalytic cracking
reactor and is mixed with the catalyst particles being carried by a flow of steam or light hydrocarbon gas.
The mixture is carried up the riser and the reaction is essentially complete at the top of the riser.
However, the reaction is accompanied by the deposition of carbon (coke) on the surface of the catalyst.
The catalyst is separated from the gaseous products at the top of the reactor. The gaseous products
leave the reactor and go on for separation. The catalyst flows to a regenerator in which air is contacted
with the catalyst in a fluidized bed. The air oxidizes the carbon that has been deposited on the surface of
the catalyst, forming carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The regenerated catalyst then flows back to
the reactor. The catalytic cracking reaction is endothermic and the catalyst regeneration is exothermic.
The hot catalyst leaving the regenerator provides the heat of reaction to the endothermic cracking
reactions. The catalyst, in this case, provides a dual function of both catalyzing the reaction and
exchanging heat between the reactor and regenerator.

limestone (principally, calcium carbonate) can be heated to produce calcium oxide in a fluidized-bed
reactor according to the reaction CaCO3 heat CaO + CO2
Air and fuel fluidize the solid particles, which are fed to the bed and burnt to produce the high
temperatures necessary for the reaction.

highest capital costs associated with moving and fluidized beds

The pressure drop through fluidized-bed reactors is usually between 0.02 and 0.1 bar