ChE 304

Chemical engineering laboratory - III

Experiment No. 7 Group No. 03 (A2)
Name of the experiment:


I nvestigation of liquid-solid and gas-solid fluidized bed
And
I nvestigation of 2-D and 3-D gas-solid fluidized beds


Submitted by:

Md. Hasib Al Mahbub

Student Id: 0902045

Level: 3; Term: 2

Section: A2







Date of performance: 25/02/2014

Date of submission: 11/03/2014
Partners Student Id. 0902041

0902042

0902043

0902044








Department of Chemical Engineering.

Bangladesh University of engineering and technology, Dhaka.
Summary
The main objective of this experiment was to verify the Richardson-Zaki equation for liquid-
solid fluidization beds and to study the flow pattern and calculate the pressure drop
characteristics of gas-solid fluidization beds. Water-sand system was used for liquid-solid
fluidization & air-resin system was used for gas-solid fluidization. For liquid-solid system, bed
height and superficial velocities were determined. Logarithmic plot of superficial velocity vs.
voidage were plotted for both increasing and decreasing velocities. From the plot values of
terminal settling velocity, minimum fluidization velocity and Richardson-Zaki index were
determined for both increasing and decreasing velocities. From superficial velocity vs. voidage
graph for increasing velocities experimentally found values of terminal settling velocity,
minimum fluidization velocity and Richardson-Zaki index were 0.2642 m/s, 0.0255 m/s, 3.757
respectively and from superficial velocity vs. voidage graph for decreasing velocities
experimentally found values of terminal settling velocity, minimum fluidization velocity and
Richardson-Zaki index were 0.5243 m/s, 0.02305 cm/s, 5.5866 respectively. For gas-solid
fluidized bed, pressure drops for corresponding superficial velocities of air were recorded and
the graphical relation between pressure drop and superficial air velocity were showed in plot.
The flow regimes for different flow rates in gas-solid fluidization bed were shown in neat
sketches.

Introduction
Fluidization concerns the suspension or transport of solids by liquids and/or gases. The most
common engineering application is in the form of fluidized beds, which are containers of solid
particles through which is passed the fluidizing medium, usually a gas. Fluidized beds are used
in petroleum distillation, coal combustion, polymer production, and heat and mass-transfer
processes, such as food drying.
When a fluid is pumped upward through a bed of fine solid particles at a very low flow rate,
the fluid percolates through the void spaces (pores) without disturbing the bed. This is a fixed
bed process. If the upward flow rate is very large the bed mobilizes pneumatically and may be
swept out of the process vessel. At an intermediate flow rate the bed expands and is in what we
call an expanded state. In the fixed bed the particles are in direct contact with each other,
supporting each others weight. In the expanded bed the particles have a mean free distance
between particles and the particles are supported by the drag force of the fluid. The expanded
bed has some of the properties of a fluid and is also called a fluidized bed. The velocity of the
fluid through the bed opposite to the direction of gravity determines whether the bed is fixed,
expanded, or is swept out
Experimental Setup





Figure 1: Schematic Diagram of Solid-Liquid Fluidization Bed






















Figure 2: Experimental setup for gas-solid fluidization




















Manometer
Flow
meter
Control
Valve
Particles bed

Flow Regimes
























Fixed bed (Observation no. 01)
Bubbling (Observation No. 02) Slugging (Observation No. 03)
Channeling (Observation No. 04)
Spouting (Observation No. 05)
Figure 03: Different flow regimes in solid-gas fluidization (2D).
Observed data

Fixed bed height = 3.95 inch
Room temperature = 24C
Column diameter of liquid-solid tube = 2 inch
Empty bucket weight = 0.3 kg

Table 1: Observed Data for liquid-solid fluidization
No.
Of
Obs.
Increasing Flow Rate Decreasing Flow Rate
Weight of
Water +
Bucket
(Kg)
Time

(s)
Height of
the bed
(inch)
Weight of
Water +
Bucket
(Kg)
Time

(s)
Height of
the bed
(inch)
1 0.6 30 3.95 5.5 30 9.90
2 1.85 30 4.40 5.2 30 9.40
3 2.4 30 4.90 4.95 30 8.90
4 2.8 30 5.40 4.7 30 8.40
5 3.2 30 5.90 4.5 30 7.90
6 3.65 30 6.40 4.25 30 7.40
7 4.0 30 6.90 3.8 30 6.90
8 4.35 30 7.40 3.7 30 6.40
9 4.65 30 7.90 3.2 30 5.90
10 4.9 30 8.40 2.9 30 5.40
11 5.1 30 8.90 2.3 30 4.90
12 5.3 30 9.40 1.7 30 4.40
13 5.55 30 9.90 0.35 30 4.0
14 5.75 30 10.4 5.5 30 9.90






Table 2: Observed Data for gas-solid fluidization (3D)
No.
Of
Obs.
Flow rate
Of air
(L/min)
Height of the manometric fluid(CCl4)
Left
(inch)
Right
(inch)
1 80 21.2 19.6
2 140 21.3 19.5
3 220 21.4 19.4
4 300 21.5 19.4
5 350 21.6 19.3
6 400 21.7 19.2
7 450 21.7 19.2
8 500 21.9 18.9


















Calculated data

Table 3: Calculated data for liquid-solid fluidization.
Obs.
No.
Height
of
Bed, m
Weight
of water,
kg
Mass
flow
rate,
kg/s
Volumetric
flow rate,
m
3
/s
Superficial
Velocity,
Us m/s
Voidage,


Increasing Flow Rate
01 0.10033 0.3 0.01 1.00271E-05 0.004939465 0.42
02 0.11176 1.55 0.052 5.18068E-05 0.025520568 0.48
03 0.12446 2.1 0.07 7.01898E-05 0.034576253 0.53
04 0.13716 2.5 0.083 8.35593E-05 0.041162206 0.58
05 0.14986 2.9 0.097 9.69288E-05 0.047748159 0.61
06 0.16256 3.35 0.112 0.000111969 0.055157356 0.64
07 0.17526 3.7 0.123 0.000123668 0.060920064 0.67
08 0.18796 4.05 0.135 0.000135366 0.066682773 0.69
09 0.20066 4.35 0.145 0.000145393 0.071622238 0.71
10 0.21336 4.6 0.153 0.000153749 0.075738459 0.73
11 0.22606 4.8 0.16 0.000160434 0.079031435 0.74
12 0.23876 5 0.167 0.000167119 0.082324411 0.76
13 0.25146 5.25 0.175 0.000175474 0.086440632 0.77
14 0.26416 5.45 0.182 0.000182159 0.089733608 0.78
Decreasing Flow Rate
01 0.25146 5.2 0.173 0.000173803 0.085617388 0.77
02 0.23876 4.9 0.163 0.000163776 0.080677923 0.76
03 0.22606 4.65 0.155 0.00015542 0.076561703 0.74
04 0.21336 4.4 0.147 0.000147064 0.072445482 0.73
05 0.20066 4.2 0.140 0.00014038 0.069152506 0.71
06 0.18796 3.95 0.132 0.000132024 0.065036285 0.69



Obs.
No.
Height
of
Bed, m
Weight
of water,
kg
Mass
flow
rate,
kg/s
Volumetric
flow rate,
m
3
/s
Superficial
Velocity,
Us m/s
Voidage,


07 0.17526 3.5 0.117 0.000116983 0.057627088 0.67
08 0.16256 3.4 0.113 0.000113641 0.0559806 0.64
09 0.14986 2.9 0.097 9.69288E-05 0.047748159 0.61
10 0.13716 2.6 0.087 8.69016E-05 0.042808694 0.58
11 0.12446 2 0.067 6.68474E-05 0.032929765 0.53
12 0.11176 1.4 0.047 4.67932E-05 0.023050835 0.48
13 0.1016 0.05 0.0017 1.67119E-06 0.000823244 0.43


Table 4: Calculated data for Gas Solid Fluidized bed (3D).
Observation
No.
Air flow rate
(lit/min)
Air flow rate,
Q
(m
3
/sec)
Air velocity
v, (m/s)
Pressure
drop, m
(in CCl4 )
1 80 0.0133 0.741 0.0406
2 140 0.0233 1.296 0.0457
3 220 0.0367 2.037 0.0508
4 300 0.05 2.778 0.0533
5 350 0.0583 3.241 0.0584
6 400 0.0667 3.704 0.0635
7 450 0.075 4.167 0.0635
8 500 0.083 4.630 0.0762








Sample calculation
For Liquid Solid Fluidization beds:
For observation 5 (increasing velocity)

So, Superficial velocity,
( )
sec
9 0.04774815
00202683 . 0 296 . 997
sec
097 . 0
2
3
m
m
m
kg
kg
A
m
U =

|
.
|

\
|
|
.
|

\
|
= =

H
K
1
AH
M
1
AH

M
AH
V
V V
Voidage, know, We
T
P T
= =

=


m K
K
0581914 . 0
10033 . 0
1 42 . 0
=
=

For, bed height, H= 0.14986 m;
voidage, 0.61
14986 . 0
0581914 . 0
1 = = c


Weight of water + bucket = 3.2 kg
Weight of water, w = (3.2-0.3) kg = 2.9 kg
Water collection time , t = 30 sec
Diameter of the column , D = 2 inch = 0.0508 m
The mass flow rate of water, m = w/t = 2.9/30 = 0.097 kg/s
Cross sectional area of the
column ,
A = ( / 4) x D
2
= ( / 4) x(0.0508)
2
m
2

= 0.00202683 m
2

Fixed bed height, H = 3.95 inch = 0.10033 m
Fixed bed voidage,
c
= 0.42
Theoretical Calculation
Fix bed voidage,
c
= 0.42

Diameter of the particle, DP = 0.75mm = 0.7510
-3
m
Density of the particle,
P
= 2.5 kg/m
3

Density of water at 24
0
C = 997.296 kg/m
3

Viscosity of water at
24
0
C
= 0.89010
-3



( )
( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )
sec / 00655 . 0
10 890 . 0 42 . 0 1
00075 . 0 81 . 9 296 . 997 2500 42 . 0 0055 . 0
1
0055 . 0 ,
3
2 3
2
3
m
gD
U Now
P P
mf
mf
mf
=


=

c
c


( )
( ) ( )
( )
10 . 5220
10 890 . 0 3
296 . 997 2500 81 . 9 296 . 997 00075 . 0 2
3
2 '
' '
'
,
2
3
3
2
3
2
2 2 2
2
2
2
=


=

= =

S P
g d d U
U
R
R
U
R
Again


Now for spherical particle from the plot Re' . vs ' Re'
U
' R
2
2

we get, 105 Re' ~ .

kg/m.s
Now,

sec / 1249 . 0
00075 . 0 296 . 997
10 890 . 0 105 Re'
Re'
3
m
d
U
dU
t
t
=

= =
=

From Richardson -Zaki equation

( )
398 . 3
42 . 0 log
1249 . 0
00655 . 0
log
log
log
log log
=
|
.
|

\
|
= =
=
=
=
n
U
U
n
U
U
n
U
U
U U
t
mf
t
mf
n
t
mf
n
t mf
c
c
c
c




By graphical method

1. For Increasing velocity :
Umf = 0.0255 m / s
Ut = 0.264 m / s
n = 3.757
2. For decreasing velocity :
Umf = 0.02305 m / s
Ut = 0.5243 m/ s
n = 5.5866





For GasSolid Fluidization beds
Observation 5
Column diameter = 6 inch = 0.1524 m
Cross sectional area =
( )
2
1524 . 0
4

t

= 0.018 cm
2

Air flow rate, V = 350 liter/min = 0.0583m
3
/sec
Air velocity, v =
2
3
018 . 0
sec 0583 . 0
m
m
A
V
= = 3.241m/s

Pressure drop = (21.6-19.3) in CCl4 = 0.0584mCCl4






Graphical representation:

Figure 4: Superficial velocity vs. voidage graph (for increasing velocity).




y = 0.2642x
3.757
0.01
0.1
0.3
S
u
p
e
r
f
i
c
i
a
l

v
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

U
f

(
m
/
s
)
Voidage,
Ut=0.2642m/s
=0.779
= 0.42
Umf = 0.0255



Figure 5: Superficial velocity vs. voidage graph (decreasing velocity).






y = 0.5243x
5.5866
0.01
0.1
0.3
S
u
p
e
r
f
i
c
i
a
l

v
e
l
o
c
i
t
y

U
f

(
m
/
s
)
Voidage,
Ut = 0.02305m/s
= 0.769 = 0.49

Figure 6: Log-log plot of pressure drop vs. air velocity in solid-gas fluidization.


0.03
0.5 5
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

D
r
o
p

i
n

m
a
n
o
m
e
t
e
r

(
m

C
C
l
4
Air velocity (m/s)
Results and Discussions

The experimental values deviate somewhat from the theoretical values. In calculation, it is
assumed that the particles are ideally spherical but it is not true for practical purposes especially
when resin particles are used. When flow of water is increased to a higher value, it has become
increasingly difficult to measure the height of the fluidized bed. This situation led to improper
scaling of the height, which have induced a significant error in the accompanying calculations.
Another reason is that as the velocity approaches the minimum fluidization velocity, some bed
expansion normally occurs before the pressure drop reaches the buoyant weight per unit area
of bed. Therefore, the container walls exert some frictional forces on the bed. For liquid-solid
fluidization the superficial velocity vs. voidage plot in logarithmic scale for both the increasing
and decreasing height shows straight line with a slope which was the Richardson-Zaki index.
In the second part of the experiment (the gas-solid system) the pressure drop behavior was
observed with the change of flow rate of gas. Here the gas was air. And the observation shows
that at less velocity the bed height was increased and the some bubble type voidage was seen.
But as the velocity was increased the continuous big voidage was observed and at the same
time tremendous movement of solid particle was seen. We have plotted pressure drop against
velocity of air on log-log graph.


Experimental Values
Theoretical Values
Increasing Decreasing
Minimum fluidized bed
velocity, Umf (m/sec)
0.0255 0.02305 0.00843
Terminal settling velocity,
Ut (m/sec)
0.2642 0.5243 0.1249
n (R Z index) 3.757 5.5866 3.398