Fluidization behavior and reduction kinetics of pre-oxidized magnetite-based iron ore in a hydrogen-induced fluidized bed

The influence of different pre-oxidation temperatures and pre-oxidation degrees on the reduction and fluidization behaviors of magnetite-based iron ore was investigated in a hydrogen-induced fluidized bed.The raw magnetite-based iron ore was pre-oxidized at 800 and1000℃ for a certain time to reach a partly oxidation and deeply oxidation state.The structure and morphology of the reduced particles were analyzed via optical microscope and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The reaction kinetic mechanism was determined based on the double-logarithm analysis.The results indicate that the materials with higher oxidation temperature and wider particle size range show better fluidization behaviors.The lower oxidation temperature is more beneficial for the reduction rate,especially in the later reduction stage.The pre-oxidation degree shows no obvious influence on the fluidization and reduction behaviors.Based on the kinetic analysis,the reduction progress can be divided into three stages.The reduction mechanism was discussed combing the surface morphology and phase structure.

The Influence of Feeding Method on Fluidization Behavior of Fixed Fluidized Bed

An experimental installation of cold model simulation was set up to study the bed pressure drop in different regions of fixed fluidized bed reactor during top feeding and bottom feeding, respectively, at various gas velocities with the fluidization image of solid particles monitored at the same time. By comparing the changes in bed density and operating gas velocity in different regions of fixed fluidized bed reactor, the influence of top feeding and bottom feeding patterns on fluidization behavior could be investigated. The results showed that the bed density in top feeding reactor responded more stably to the change in gas velocity along with the advantage of working in a wider range of operating gas velocities. Based on this study, it is concluded that existing bottom feeding reactor configurations cannot meet the fluidization requirements; and optimization of bottom feeding reactor will be needed.

Fluidization behavior and reducibility of iron ore fines during hydrogen-induced fluidized bed reduction

A laboratory fluidized bed reactor was used to investigate the fluidization behavior and reducibility of various iron ore fines.Hydrogen was chosen as a reducing agent across a temperature range of 873-1073 K.The magnetite ore used exhibited strong sticking behavior after the initiation of metallic iron formation.All other tested ores fluidized sufficiently well when subjected to the same high reduction temperatures.Parallel kinetic analysis was conducted using a previously developed model to include three rate-limiting step types.The trend of apparent activation energy was correlated with the degree of reduction.Additionally,the influence of varying the specific gas rate was investigated.The results show the variation in reducibility as a result of different interactions,which influence the rate-limiting mechanisms of nucleation and the undertaken chemical reactions,which vary as a function of temperature and degree of conversion.The apparent activation energies,determined from the reduction of wtistite to metallic iron,were in the range of 15-60 kJ/mol,depending on the iron ore used and the degree of conversion.The change in apparent activation energy deriving from the increased specific gas rate can be explained by an increasing nucleation effect,especially at lower reduction temperatures.

Numerical simulation and experimental verification of bubble size distribution in an air dense medium fluidized bed

Bubble size distribution is the basic apparent performance and obvious characteristics in the air dense medium fluidized bed (ADMFB). The approaches of numerical simulation and experimental verification were combined to conduct the further research on the bubble generation and movement behavior. The results show that ADMFB could display favorable expanded characteristics after steady fluidization. With different particle size distributions of magnetite powder as medium solids, we selected an appropriate prediction model for the mean bubble diameter in ADMFB. The comparison results indicate that the mean bubble diameters along the bed heights are 35 mm < D b < 66 mm and 40 mm < D b < 69 mm with the magnetite powder of 0.3 mm+0.15mm and 0.15mm+0.074mm, respectively. The prediction model provides good agreements with the experimental and simulation data. Based on the optimal operating gas velocity distribution, the mixture of magnetite powder and <1mm fine coal as medium solids were utilized to carry out the separation experiment on 6-50mm raw coal. The results show that an optimal separation density d P of 1.73g/cm 3 with a probable error E of 0.07g/cm 3 and a recovery efficiency of 99.97% is achieved, which indicates good separation performance by applying ADMFB.

Bubbling behavior of cohesive particles in a two-dimensional fluidized bed with immersed tubes

Fluidization hydrodynamics are greatly influenced by inter-particle cohesive forces. This paper studies the fluidization of large cohesive particles in a two-dimensional fluidized bed with immersed tubes using “polymer coating” to introduce cohesive force, to gain better understanding of bubbling behavior when particles become cohesive and its effect on chemical processes. The results show that the cohesive force promotes bubble splitting in the tube bank region, thereby causing an increase in the number and a decline in the aspect ratio of the bubbles. As the cohesive force increases within a low level, the bubble number increases and the bubble diameter decreases, while the aspect ratio exhibits different trends at different fluidization gas velocities. The difference in the evolution of bubble size under various cohesive forces mainly takes place in the region without tubes. When the cohesive force is large enough to generate stable agglomerates on the side walls of the bed, the bubble number and the bed expansion sharply decrease. The tubes serve as a framework that promotes the agglomeration, thus accelerating defluidization. Finally, the bubble profile around tubes was studied and found to greatly depend both on the cohesive forces and the location of tubes.

Solids behavior in dilute zone of a CFB riser under turbulent conditions

The behavior of the solid phase in the upper zone of a circulating fluidized bed riser was studied using a phase Doppler anemometer. Glass particles of mean diameter 107μm and superficial gas velocities UE covering the turbulent and the beginning of the fast fluidization regime were investigated. Three static bed heights were tested. Ascending and descending particles were found co-existing under all oper ating conditions tested, and at all measurement locations. Superficial gas velocity proved/happened to have a larger effect on descending particles at the wall and on ascending particles in the central region. Transversal particle velocities in both directions （toward the center and toward the wall） behaved rela- tively equivalently, with only slight difference observed at the wall. However, observation of the number of particles moving in either transversal direction showed a change in bed structure when increasing Ug. Furthermore, a balance was constantly observed between the core zone and the annulus zone where the mutual mass transfer between these two zones occurred continuously. Transition from a slow to a fast particle motion was accompanied by a transition to high levels of velocity fluctuations, and was found corresponding to the appearance of significant solid particle flow rate.

Validation of an improved two-fluid model with particle rotation for gas-solid fluidized bed

Gas-solid fluidized beds are widely applied in chemical and process engineering.It is of significance to establish a reasonable and effective mathematical model to explore the hydrodynamics of gas-particle system for industrial applications.As a less computationally demanding alternative to the discrete descriptions,two-fluid model considering kinetic theory of granular flow is often adopted to describe the fluidized behaviors of particles,but it cannot characterize the rotation of particles and its influence on the fluidized behaviors.In this study,to address the rotation effect of the fluidized particles,a two-fluid model combining the classical fluid and micropolar fluid is established,namely CMTFM.In the CMTFM,classical fluid is used to describe the motion of gas phase,while micropolar fluid is adopted to describe the motion of particle phase,and the rotation of particles and its influence on the hydrodynamics of the gas-particle system are characterized by the degree of freedom of microrotation and the improved drag force based on micropolar viscosities.In the calculation of the gas-solid bubbling fluidized bed,we investigated the influence of the microstructure parameters,particle-particle collision restitution coefficient and inlet velocity,and the results are compared to those from TFM model and experiments.Through the analysis,it manifests that pressure drop and expansion height of the fluidized bed under the consideration of the microrotation effect are closer to the experiments,which demonstrates the feasibility and advantage of the classical-micropolar two-fluid model.

Hydrodynamic modeling strategy for dense to dilute gas-solid fluidized beds

When investigating the hydrodynamic behavior of gas–solid flow systems, there are several options for the drag function, viscosity model, and other parameters. The low accuracy obtained with a random trial and error modeling strategy has led researchers to develop new drag models that are fine-tuned for their specific studies. However, besides the drag functions, an appropriate viscosity model together with radial distribution function have a great impact on the hydrodynamic modeling of fluidized beds. In this study, a detailed validation and verification task is conducted using three different experimental datasets to derive a modeling strategy for predicting hydrodynamic behavior in dense to dilute flow regimes of various fluidized beds. For this purpose, the steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved in a finite volume scheme using the twoPhaseEulerFoam solver in the OpenFOAM 2.1.1 software. A comparative study of different drag and viscosity models enables an optimal modeling strategy to be determined for the accurate prediction of the bed pressure drop, bed expansion ratio, time-averaged solid hold-up, and bed height in various dense and dilute flow regimes. Our results show that the modeling strategy prescribed in this study is widely applicable for identifying the hydrodynamic characteristics of various gas–solid fluidized beds with different operating conditions.