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DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF FLUIDIZED-BED REACTOR

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 www.ijecs.in
International Journal Of Engineering And Computer Science ISSN:2319-7242
Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF FLUIDIZED-BED REACTOR

Suleiman Y., Ibrahim H*., Anyakora N.V., Mohammed F., Abubakar A., Aderemi B. O., Okonkwo P. C.
Chemical Engineering Department Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Abstract

A fluidized-bed reactor was designed and constructed for practical demonstration of the fluidization of solid particles at

different fluid flow rates. The bed of this reactor was sand particles of average size 1800 μm ,weighed 0.6 N and the fluidizing

fluidwas air. Alternatively, the fluidizing fluid can be substituted for any given gas by connecting the desired gas cylinder to the

blower. The height of the bed was 25 mm on a mesh of 1230 μm. An air blower was designed to supply air from the room to

fluidize the bed.The shaftand discharge powers of the blower were18.8kW and its efficiency was 70%. The minimum and

maximum operating pressures were 0.1133 and 24.5262 mH2O and their corresponding velocities were 0.64 and 245.86 m/s

respectively.This project was found suitable for undergraduates of Chemical Engineering and related studies for improved

knowledge and practical skill required for effective and optimal performance in meeting industrial needs towards improved

service delivery.

Keywords: fluidized bed, reactor, demonstration, blower, power.

1.0 Introduction In fluidized bed reactor the solids or catalytic particles are

supported by an up flow of fluidizing fluid. This reactor

Fluidized bed reactors have been significantly utilized in
provides easy loading and removing of catalysts (Internet
chemical processes, in which parameters such as diffusion
(a)). This is advantageous when the solids bed must be
or heat transfer are the major design parameters.
removed and replaced frequently. A high conversion with a
Compared to packed bed, a fluidized bed has notable large throughput is possible with this type of reactor. Such

advantages such as better control of temperature, no hot reactors inherently possess excellent heat transfer and

spot in the bed, uniform catalyst distribution and longer life mixing characteristics. The desirability of using fluidized-

of the catalyst. Fluidized beds achieve good mixing of the bed is dependent on achieving good and close to perfect

suspended particles and the suspending fluid.

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1595
mixing between the solids and the suspension fluid (Idris et 2.0 Literature Background

al, 2007). Mass of Solid in the Bed

There is a drag force exerted on the solid particles by the

flowing fluid, and at low fluid velocities the pressure drop

Fluidization occurs when small solid particles are suspended
resulting from this drag follows the Ergun equation, (Brown
in an upward-flowing stream of fluid. The fluid velocity is
and Fogler, 2008), just as for any other type of packed bed.
sufficient to suspend the particles, but not large enough to
When the fluid velocity is increased to a certain value
carry them out of the vessel (Brown and Fogler, 2008). The
however, the total drag on the particles will equal the weight
solid particles swirl around the bed rapidly, creating
of the bed, and the particles will begin to lift and barely
excellent mixing among them. The material fluidized is
fluidize. This is expressed in equation 1;
always a solid and the fluidizingmedium is either a liquid or

a gas. The characteristics and behavior of a fluidized bed are

strongly dependent on both the solid and fluid properties. Ws   s As h1   

Where, Ws =Mass of solids in the bed,

Because air flows upward through the filter (distributor), the
Ρs = Density of solid,
sand in the filter becomes suspended or fluidized in the air
As = Cross-sectional area of solid,
column, forming a fluidized bed of sand. If the flow of air is
h = Height of the bed settled before the particles
controlled properly, the sand does not flow out of the filter,
start to lift, and
but remains suspended (Doki, 2011). This happens because
ϵ = Void fraction of bed.
the flow of air is just fast enough to keep the sand in
The void fraction of bed is expressed as;
suspension. The weight of the sand prevents it from
mass of particles
escaping the column. Fluidizedbed filters are self cleaning,   1
 s  total bed volume
and require little or no maintenance.
2

The macroscopic observables in fluidized beds are the fluid

This fluidized bed unit was designed for the study of the
pressure drop (∆P) needed to cause the fluid to flow through
characteristics of flow through beds of solid particles using
the bed of solids, the fluid velocity (u), and the density of
air as fluid. Low flow rates allow characteristics of a solid
solids (ρs). The Ergun equation (Idris et al, 2007) is
bed to be investigated. Increasing flow rates allow the onset
represented as in equation 2;
of fluidization and the characteristics of a fluidized bed to be

investigated.

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1596
 P (1   ) 2 u (1   ) u f For relative small particles and small Reynolds number the
 150  1.75
h  3 d p2 3 dp minimum fluidized velocity (umf) is expressed as in equation

3 6;

Where, ∆P = pressure drop

umf 
8  p   f d  1 2
p

h = Height of the bed, 150 1   mf / 3

mf

μ = fluid viscosity,
6
ρf = Fluid density,
Equation 7 gives the minimum fluidized velocity (umf) for
ϵ = Void fraction of bed,
relative large particles, large Reynolds number;
u = fluid velocity, and
 g   p   f   mf
1/2
3
d !p 
dp = Particle diameter. umf  
 1.75 f 
The equation for turbulent flow is different from streamline

situation. The particles in the bed will remain in a parked

7
bed as the gravitational forces holding the solid particles
Terminal Velocity, ut
down are greater than the force exerted by the fluid flowing
The solid particles are entrained when the upward velocity
up through the bed particles. At the point where the two
of fluid is sufficiently high and thus they are carried up with
forces become equal, the solid particles begin to move up.
the fluid. At this point elutriation occurs. This velocity is
The force balance describes this condition known as
called elutriation velocity. Elutriation is the selective
incipient fluidization (Idris et al, 2007 & Brown and Fogler,
removal of solid particles by entrainment on the basis of size
2008) is given in equation 4;
(Missen et al, 1999). The minimum elutriation velocity for

particles of a given size is the velocity at incipient

P
 (  s   f )(1   ) g entrainment, and is assumed to be equal to the terminal
h
velocity, ut. The terminal velocity for spherical particles at

4 small Re is expressed (Missen et al, 1999) in equation 8 as;

The minimum fluidized velocity, umf in terms of parameters

g   p   f  d p2
ut 
for the fluid, solid and bed is expressed (Missen et al, 1999) 18 f
as in equation 5;

1501   em  f g  p   f  mf
3
d !p Proper fluidization occurs at a velocity called actual
2
u mf  u mf  0
1.75 f d !p 1.75 f fluidized velocity vf (Hartog et al, 2008 and Missen et al,
5

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1597
1999) the relationship between the minimum fluidized entrained in a gas and carried out of the bed. The point at

velocity umf and terminal velocity ut is given in equation 9. which the drag on an individual particle is about to exceed

umf uf ut 9 the gravitational force exerted on it is called the maximum

fluidization velocity.

If the gas velocity is increased to a sufficiently high value,

however, the drag on an individual particle will surpass the

gravitational force on the particle, and the particle will be

Air out
Air out

DBE

DBE

vf≤vmf vmf≤vf≤vt
Air in Air in

Figure 2.1: Conceptual Fluidized Reactor Containing Uniform Particles with Degree of Bed Expansion (DBE) as Related to flow

velocity vf.

The fluidized velocity (uf) expressed by Kozeny-Carmen

equation is as in equation 10 3.1.1 The Reactor

uf 
 p   f  gd p2  3 The reactor was a glass tube of 1m long and 40 mm
150 1  diameter obtained from the store of theDepartment of

Chemical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University(A.B.U),

Zaria, Nigeria, under the authority of the Head of

10
Department. Sand particles were collected in front of
3.0 Materials and Method
Chemical Engineering Department. The sand particles were
3.1 Materials of Construction

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1598
sieved to the desired particle size (in accordance with BS

1377 (1990)) in the Department of Building; Faculty of Terminal velocity was calculated from equation (8)

Environmental Design of A.B.U., Zaria. The lower part of 9.81  2612.9  1.25  (1.8 103 )2
ut   245.86m / s
the reactor was fitted with a mesh of 1.23mm (1230μm) at 18 18.75 106

the base and also at the top to prevent (the undesired escape
The cross-sectional area of the bed was thus,
of the solid particles from the reactor). The bed of the

reactor was filled with sand particles of weight 0.6N and

d2
average size of 1800μm to a height of 25mm. Also, theU- A   16 104 / 4  1.257 103 m2
4
tube differential manometer made up of plastic (transparent)
Hence, the flow rate at various velocities wascalculated as;
tube was filled with water for the experiment.
  A u .

The flow rate at minimum velocity is;

3.2 Design of the Bed
  1.257 103  0.64  8.04 104 m3 / s
The density of the sand was determined (in accordance with
The flow rate at fluidized velocity is;
BS 1377 (1990)), and it was found to be 2.6129g/cm3.

Choosing the height of the bed to be 25 mm for a tube of 40   1.257 103  0.79  9.93 104 m3 / s

mm diameter, the bed void from equation (2) was; The flow rate at terminal velocity is;

60   1.257 103  245.86  0.309m3 / s

  1  0.269
2.6129    42  2.5 / 4
The minimum and maximum power requirements of the bed
The pressure drop ΔP was calculated from equation (4)
were calculated from equations 11 and 12 respectively
P  0.025  9.81 2612.9  1.251  0.269  468.031N / m 2
below.

Qmin  Pmin  min

Or 4.77cm H2O

Minimum fluidized velocity was calculated from equation

11
(7)
Qmax  Pmax  max
 9.81 2612.9  1.25  0.269 1.8 10 
3 3 1/2

umf     0.64m / s
 1.75 1.25 
Using equation (3) the pressure drop at minimum fluidized,
Fluidized velocity wascalculated from equation (10)
fluidized velocity and terminal velocity were calculated and

uf 
 2612.9  1.25  9.81 (1.8 10 )  0.269
3 2 3

 0.79m /tabulated
s in table 1 below;
150 18.75 106  1  0.269 

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1599
Table 1: Summary of the Design Results

Velocity (m/s) ΔP (mH2O) ΔP N/m2 ɸ (m3/s) Power (W)

0.64 0.1133 1111.505 0.000804 8.94

0.79 0.1399 1372.014 0.000993 13.62

245.86 4.3526 42691.66 0.309 13191.72

From the table 1 above, the power required for maximum fluidization was 13.2kW. It is therefore the discharge power of the

blower.

3.3 Blower Design

The blower head was calculated from the discharge P 13191.72

H    3347.58m
 g 1.3  9.81 0.309
power as;
This is equivalent to 4.35m (H2O)
Pd   g H

Figure 2: Velocity vector diagram of impeller wheel of the blower

According Adekunle et al (2008), the volume flow rate can Where, ϕ is volume flow rate, r1 is radius of suction eye, b1

be expressed as; is the blade width and νn1is speed of the suction eye along

  2 rb
1 1 n1
the radius. Hence,

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1600
 The increase in head becomes

 0.309 U 2  Vt 2
 n1    20.49m / s H
2    r1  b1 2    0.06  0.04 g

Hg 3347.58  9.81
 Vt 2    244.81m / s
U2 138.63
But νn1 =U1tanβ1
Vt 2  U 2  Vn 2Cot 2
Hence,

 n1 20.49
U1    36.96m / s
tan 1 tan 29 Vt 2 244.81
 cot  2    1.8574
U 2  Vn 2 138.63  6.83
36.96  60
N  5882.37rpm
0.06  2   2  280
2  N
U 2  r2   0.225  138.62m / s The blower discharge power was;
60
Taking the efficiency of this blower to be 70%, according to

Robert (2002) the new-generation blowers typically

 0.309
Vn 2    6.83m / s deliverwell in excess of 70 percent efficiency, the input or
2    r2  b2 2    0.225  0.032
shaft power is thus;

The impeller discharge velocity, V2, Pd 13191.72

PS    18845.31W
 0.7

Therefore, the power of the electric motor requires for this

duty is 18.85kW.
V2  U 22  Vn22  138.632  6.832  138.80m / s

Assuming that the fluid enters the impeller with purely

radial absolute velocity, (Cheng-Kang and Mu-En, 2009) νt1

= 0.

Table 2: Blower specifications

Name Value Unit

Number of blade 5

Blade diameter 450 mm

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1601
 Blade width, w 40 mm

In let velocity, U1 36.96 m/s

Discharge velocity, U2 138.63 m/s

Blower head 3 347.58 m

Rotational speed 5882.37 rpm

Discharge Power, Pd 13 191.72 W

Shaft power, Ps 18 845.31 W

Efficiency, η 70 %

The workings drawings of blower and its impeller assemble the blower/ electric motor couple and impeller blades

are depicted in the figure 3 and figure 4 respectively. Also arrangement are shown in figure 5 and figure 6 respectively.

Figure 3: Isometric view of the blower Figure 4: Close impeller assembles

Figure 5: Blower/ electric motor couple Figure 6: Impeller

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1602
3.4 Plant Layout board and the metal frame. The whole setup was 1.2 x 1.4 x

The major component of this reactor were 1 m glass tube, a 0. 6 m. The front and back views of the plant are shown in

blower, an electric motor of 1.5kW, a manometer, control plates 1 and 2 below.

Plate 1: Front view of the fluidized bed reactor

Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1603
 Plate 2: Back view of the fluidized bed reactor.

3.5 Conclusion design specification for the objected purpose of this project).

A fluidized reactor for practical demonstration was This project was found suitable for undergraduates of

successfully designed and fabricated and also tested. The Chemical Engineering and related studiesfor improved

pressure drops relative to flow of air was studied and found knowledge and practical skill required for effective and

satisfactorily. This project was found suitable for optimal performance in meeting industrial needs towards

undergraduates of Chemical Engineering studies. The improved service delivery.

minimum and maximum fluidized velocities were 0.64 and

. The minimum and maximum fluidized velocities were 0.64
245.86 m/s and the corresponding pressure drops were 0.11
and 245.86 m/s and the corresponding pressure drops were
and 43.53mH2O respectively. The blower rotational speed
0.11 and 43.53mH2O respectively. The blower rotational
was 5882 rpm and its efficiency was found to 70%. The
speed was 5882 rpm and its efficiency was found to be 70%.
blower head was 3347.58 m indicating that it can blow gas
The blower head was 3347.58 m indicating that (its delivery
to this height.
can be optimised at this height)
A fluidized bed reactor for practical demonstration was

successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The pressure

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Suleiman Y., IJECS Volume 2 Issue 5 May, 2013 Page No. 1595-1605 Page 1604
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