Hydrodynamic analysis of carbon nanotube clusters in distributor-less conical fluidized beds with step-by-step scaling

As a high-performance material with great application potential,the application of carbon nanotubes has been limited by their production volume.A distributor-less conical fluidized bed is the main equipment used in the industrial production of carbon nanotubes.To improve the production volume and product quality of carbon nanotubes,the study of fluidized-bed-diameter scaling is important.Three different diameters of distributor-less conical fluidized beds were established,and then the particle behavior and bubble characteristics of carbon nanotube clusters at these bed diameters were investigated.Time-series and wavelet analysis methods were used to analyze the pressure-fluctuation signals inside the fluidized beds.Results showed that the distributor-less design caused the airflow to break through the middle of the bed,which did not change with the change in bed diameter.The powder-bridging phenomenon of carbon nanotube clusters in a 100-mm-diameter fluidized bed was related to the special microstructure of carbon nanotube clusters.The frequency of pressure fluctuations in the bed decreased nonlinearly with increasing bed diameter.This study can guide the design and scale-up of distributor-less conical fluidized beds,especially for the scale-up of carbon nanotube production equipment,which can contribute to the improvement of carbon nanotubes’capacity and quality in industrial production.

Experimental study on secondary air mixing along the bed height in a circulating fluidized bed with a multitracer-gas method

A multitracer-gas method was proposed to study the secondary air(SA)mixing along the bed height in a circulating fluidized bed(CFB)using carbon monoxide(CO),oxygen(O_(2)),and carbon dioxide(CO_(2))as tracer gases.Experiments were carried out on a cold CFB test rig with a cross-section of 0.42 m×0.73 m and a height of 5.50 m.The effects of superficial velocity,SA ratio,bed inventory,and particle diameter on the SA mixing were investigated.The results indicate that there are some differences in the measurement results obtained using different tracer gases,wherein the deviation between CO and CO_(2) ranges from 42%to 66%and that between O_(2) and CO_(2) ranges from 45%to 71%in the lower part of the fluidized bed.However,these differences became less pronounced as the bed height increased.Besides,the high solid concentration and fine particle diameter in the CFB may weaken the difference.The measurement results of different tracer gases show the same trends under the variation of operating parameters.Increasing superficial velocity and SA ratio and decreasing particle diameter result in better mixing of the SA.The effect of bed inventory on SA mixing is not monotonic.

Particle residence time distribution and axial dispersion coefficient in a pressurized circulating fluidized bed by using multiphase particle-in-cell simulation

The particle residence time distribution(RTD)and axial dispersion coefficient are key parameters for the design and operation of a pressurized circulating fluidized bed(PCFB).In this study,the effects of pressure(0.1-0.6 MPa),fluidizing gas velocity(2-7 m·s^(-1)),and solid circulation rate(10-90 kg·m^(-2)·s^(-1))on particle RTD and axial dispersion coefficient in a PCFB are numerically investigated based on the multiphase particle-in-cell(MP-PIC)method.The details of the gas-solid flow behaviors of PCFB are revealed.Based on the gas-solid flow pattern,the particles tend to move more orderly under elevated pressures.With an increase in either fluidizing gas velocity or solid circulation rate,the mean residence time of particles decreases while the axial dispersion coefficient increases.With an increase in pressure,the core-annulus flow is strengthened,which leads to a wider shape of the particle RTD curve and a larger mean particle residence time.The back-mixing of particles increases with increasing pressure,resulting in an increase in the axial dispersion coefficient.

Simulation of gas-solid flow characteristics of the circulating fluidized bed boiler under pure-oxygen combustion conditions

Under the pressure of carbon neutrality,many carbon capture,utilization and storage technologies have witnessed rapid development in the recent years,including oxy-fuel combustion(OFC)technology.However,the conventional OFC technology usually depends on the flue gas recirculation system,which faces significant investment,high energy consumption,and potential low-temperature corrosion problem.Considering these deficiencies,the direct utilization of pure oxygen to achieve particle fluidization and fuel combustion may reduce the overall energy consumption and CO_(2)-capture costs.In this paper,the fundamental structure of a self-designed 130 t·h^(-1) pure-oxygen combustion circulating fluidized bed(CFB)boiler was provided,and the computational particle fluid dynamics method was used to analyze the gas-solid flow characteristics of this new-concept boiler under different working conditions.The results indicate that through the careful selection of design or operational parameters,such as average bed-material size and fluidization velocity,the pure-oxygen combustion CFB system can maintain the ideal fluidization state,namely significant internal and external particle circulation.Besides,the contraction section of the boiler leads to the particle backflow in the lower furnace,resulting in the particle suspension concentration near the wall region being higher than that in the center region.Conversely,the upper furnace still retains the classic core-annulus flow structure.In addition to increasing solid circulation rate by reducing the average bed-material size,altering primary gas ratio and bed inventory can also exert varying degrees of influence on the gas-solid flow characteristics of the pure-oxygen combustion CFB boiler.

Desulfurization characteristics of slaked lime and regulation optimization of circulating fluidized bed flue gas desulfurization process--A combined experimental and numerical simulation study

Circulating fluidized bed flue gas desulfurization(CFB-FGD) process has been widely applied in recent years. However, high cost caused by the use of high-quality slaked lime and difficult operation due to the complex flow field are two issues which have received great attention. Accordingly, a laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactor was constructed to investigate the effects of physical properties and external conditions on desulfurization performance of slaked lime, and the conclusions were tried out in an industrial-scale CFB-FGD tower. After that, a numerical model of the tower was established based on computational particle fluid dynamics(CPFD) and two-film theory. After comparison and validation with actual operation data, the effects of operating parameters on gas-solid distribution and desulfurization characteristics were investigated. The results of experiments and industrial trials showed that the use of slaked lime with a calcium hydroxide content of approximately 80% and particle size greater than 40 μm could significantly reduce the cost of desulfurizer. Simulation results showed that the flow field in the desulfurization tower was skewed under the influence of circulating ash. We obtained optimal operating conditions of 7.5 kg·s^(-1)for the atomized water flow, 70 kg·s^(-1)for circulating ash flow, and 0.56 kg·s^(-1)for slaked lime flow, with desulfurization efficiency reaching 98.19% and the exit flue gas meeting the ultraclean emission and safety requirements. All parameters selected in the simulation were based on engineering examples and had certain application reference significance.

Mathematical Modelling and Design of Helical Coil Heat Exchanger for Production of Hot Air for Fluidized Bed Dryer

In global industrialization, efforts have been made to increase the rate of heat transfer in heat exchanger, minimizing the size of heat exchanger to reduce cost as well as increasing the effectiveness. Helical coil heat exchanger (HCHE) has been proven to be effective in improving heat transfer due to its large surface area. In this study, HCHE was designed to provide hot air needed for fluidized bed drying processes. The HCHE design model was fabricated and evaluated to study the efficiency of the hot air output for a laboratory fluidized bed dryer. The mathematical model for estimation of the final (output) temperature of air, Taf, passing through the HCHE was developed and validated experimentally. The drying of bitter kola particulates was carried out with a drying temperature of 50C 3C and a bed height-to-bed diameter ratio (H/D) of 1.5. The time taken to dry bitter kola particulates to 0.4% moisture content was 1 hour 45 minutes. Hence, HCHE is recommended for use in the production of hot for laboratory-scale fluidized bed dryers.

Heat and Mass Transfer for a Nanofluid Flow in Fluidized Bed Dryer in Presence of Induced Magnetic Field

This research entails the study of heat and mass transfer of nanofluid flow in a fluidized bed dryer used in tea drying processes in presence of induced magnetic field. A mathematical model describing the fluid flow in a Fluidized bed dryer was developed using the nonlinear partial differential equations. Due to their non-linearity, the equations were solved numerically by use of the finite difference method. The effects of physical flow parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration and magnetic induction profiles were studied and results were presented graphically. From the mathematical analysis, it was deduced that addition of silver nanoparticles into the fluid flow enhanced velocity and temperature profiles. This led to improved heat transfer in the fluidized bed dryer, hence amplifying the tea drying process. Furthermore, it was noted that induced magnetic field tends to decrease the fluid velocity, which results in uniform distribution of heat leading to efficient heat transfer between the tea particles and the fluid, thus improving the drying process. The research findings provide information to industries on ways to optimize thermal performance of fluidized bed dryers.

Recovery of alumina from circulating fluidized bed combustion Al-rich fly ash using mild hydrochemical process

To utilize CFBC Al-rich fly ash, a mild hydrochemical extraction process was investigated for recovery of alumina. An alumina extraction efficiency of 92.31%was attained using a 45%NaOH solution, an original caustic ratio （molar ratio of Na2O to Al2O3 in the sodium aluminate solution） of 25, a molar ratio of CaO to SiO2 in the fly ash of 1.1, a liquid volume to solid mass ratio of 9, a reaction temperature of 280 ℃, and a residence time of 1 h when treating fly ash with an alumina to silica mass ratio （A/S） of 0.78 and an alumina content of 32.43%. Additionally, the alumina leaching mechanism was explored via structural and chemical analysis, which revealed that after alkaline digestion, the main solid phase containing silica was NaCaHSiO4 with a theoretical A/S of zero.

Fluidized-bed chlorination thermodynamics and kinetics of Kenya natural rutile ore

Natural rutile and gaseous chlorine with carbon as reductant were used to prepare titanium tetrachloride. Thermodynamics and kinetics of chlorination of Kenya natural rutile particles in a batch-type fluidized bed were studied at 1173-1273 K. Thermodynamic analysis of this system revealed that the equation of producing CO was dominant at high temperatures. Based on the gas-solid multi-phase reaction theory and a two-phase model for the fluidized bed, the mathematical description for the chlorination reaction of rutile was proposed. The reaction parameters and the average concentration of gaseous chlorine in the emulsion phase were estimated. The average concentration of emulsion phase in the range of fluidized bed was calculated as 0.3 mol/m^3. The results showed that the chlorination of natural rutile proceeded principally in the emulsion phase, and the reaction rate was mainly controlled by the surface reaction.

Combustion and pollutant emission characteristics of coal in a pressurized fluidized bed under O_2/ CO_2 atmosphere

The pressurized combustion experiments of bituminous coal and lignite under air and O2/CO2 atmospheres were conducted to study the influences of pressure and atmosphere on combustion and the CO, NO, SO2 release process. Two indices, the maximum concentration and the total emission, were applied to quantitatively evaluate the influence of several different operating parameters such as pressure, atmosphere and temperature on the formation of NO and SO2 during coal combustion in the fluidized bed. The experimental results show that the releasing profiles of CO, NO and SO2 during coal combustion under a pressurized oxy- fuel atmosphere are similar to those under a pressurized air atmosphere, and the curves of measured gas components are all unimodal. Under the oxy-fuel condition, pressure increasing from 0.1 to 0.7 MPa can cause the inhibition of NO and SO2 emission. The elevation of temperature can lead to an increase in the maximum concentration and the total production of NO and SO2, and the increase under atmospheric pressure is higher than that under high pressure.

Preparation of TiCl_4 with multistage series combined fluidized bed

In order to solve the agglomeration problem in TiCl4 preparation,a new test in a multistage series combined fluidized bed was studied on a pilot scale.The pilot plant can make full use of titanium slag with a high content of MgO and CaO as the feedstock.Several experimental parameters such as chlorine flow and reaction temperature were discussed and the morphology and components of reaction product were analyzed.According to the results,the conversion rate of TiO2 is up to 90%.It is found that the combined fluidized bed has good anti-agglomeration ability because the accumulation of MgCl2 and CaCl2 on the surface of unreacted slag was carried out of the reactor.

SO_2 emission characteristics from co-firing of petroleum coke and coal in circulating fluidized bed

Combustion and sulfur retention experiments of mixed fuel of petroleum cokeand coal were conducted on a pilot-scale circulating fluidized bed (CFB) combustor with the thermalinput of 0. 6 MW. The effects of several parameters, such as the primary air percentage, excess aircoefficient, bed temperature, Ca/S molar ratio and mass ratio of petroleum coke to coal on SO_2emission were verified. Experimental results show that when the ratio of petroleum coke to coal inthe mixed fuel increases, the SO_2emission increases. The maximum SO_2 emission appears when purecoke burns. The SO_2 concentration in flue gas reduces with the increase in the primary airpercentage, excess air coefficient and Ca/S molar ratio for all kinds of fuel mixtures. Therangebetween 830 t and 850 t is the optimal temperature for sulfur retention during co-firing ofpetroleum coke and coal with the mass ratio R of 1 and 3 in CFB.

Numerical Simulation of Pressurized Spouted Fluidized Bed for Coal Semi-Gasification

Numerical simulation study is conducted for a pressurized spouted fluidized bed coal carbonizer, in which hydrodynamics of pressurized spouted fluidized bed, chemical reactions and energy balance are taken into account. The effect of operating conditions such as bed pressure, air and steam mass flow ratio, temperature on product compositions in the bed is investigated. According to the calculated results, bed pressure and bed temperature have the key effects on coal semi gasification.

Numerical simulation on the fluidized bed gasification and CaO dechlorination of refuse derived fuel

A three-dimensional numerical model verified by previous experimental data is developed to simulate the fluidized bed gasification of refuse derived fuel （RDF）. The CaO dechlorination model obtained by the thermal gravity analysis （TGA） is coupled to investigate the process of CaO dechlorination. An Eulerian-Eulerian method is adopted to simulate the gas-solid flow and self-developed chemical reaction modules are used to simulate chemical reactions. Flow patterns, gasification results and dechlorination efficiency are obtained by numerical simulation. Meanwhile, simulations are performed to evaluate the effects of Ca/Cl molar ratio and temperature on dechlorination efficiency. The simulation results show that the presence of bubbles in the gasifier lowers the CaO dechlorination efficiency. Increasing the Ca/Cl molar ratio can enhance the dechlorination efficiency. However, with the temperature increasing, the dechlorination efficiency increases initially and then decreases. The optimal Ca/Cl molar ratio is in the range of 3. 0 to 3. 5 and the optimal temperature is 923K.

Fluidization characteristics of magnetic particles and determination of stable fluidization zone in magnetically fluidized bed

To determine and calculate the stable fluidization zone in a magnetically fluidized bed, the fluidization characteristics of magnetic particles are investigated. Four kinds of magnetic particles with different average diameters, ranging from 231 to 512 μm, are fluidized in the presence of magnetic fields with specified values of the intensity in the range of zero to 7330 A/m, and the particle fluidization curves are plotted. For marking the stable fluidization zone in the curves, the minimum bubbling velocities of particles are measured by the pressure-drop fluctuation. Based on the fluidization curves, the influences of the average particle diameter and magnetic field intensity on the zone are analyzed and discussed. A correlation to determine the stable fluidization zone is derived from the experimental data, using three dimensionless numbers, i. e., the ratio of magnetic potential to gravity potential, the Reynolds number and the Archimedes number. Compared with available data reported, it is shown that the correlation is more simplified to predict relative parameters for the bed operating in the state of stable fluidization under reasonable conditions.

I MWth Test Facilities for Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion

This paper presents the technical parameters and features of 1 MWth test facilities for circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) at Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI) of State Power Corporation (SP), introduces the test items that can be proceeded and trial combustion projects completed. The development status of CFBC technologies abroad and the level of China in this field are also introduced in the paper.

Study on fluidized-bed pyrolysis of waste paper

A lab-scale fluidized bed is setup and pyrolysis experiments are carried out. When temperature ranges from 400 to 700 ℃, the yields of solid residue, bio-oil and syngas range from 36% to 18%, 19% to 30% and 9% to 42%, respectively, and the mass balance of pyrolysis ranges from 80% to 95%. At 400 to 700 ℃, the characteristics of bio-oil are similar and the heat value is about 10 MJ/kg. When the temperature is over 600℃, the yield of syngas increases approximately twice as much as that at 500 ℃. The yields of CO2 and CO increase from 70 to 230 L/kg and 50 to 106 L/kg, respectively, while the yield of syngas only increases about 5% when the temperature increases from 600 to 700 ℃. The results indicate that the pyrolysis mechanism of waste paper is similar from 400 to 700 ℃, while the yield of syngas can be affected by secondary pyrolysis of bio-oil.

Experimental Studies on a Circulating Fluidized Bed for Flue Gas Desulfurization

The tests of flue gas desulfurization were carried out on a circulating fluidized bed reactor in which the flue gas had different velocities at different sections. The SO 2 removal efficiency could be as high as 80% when Ca/S molar ratio was 1 1 and a small amount of water was sprayed into the reactor by a two phase (gas liquid) system nozzle.

Applicability of Markov chain-based stochastic model for bubbling fluidized beds

A Markov chain-based stochastic model （MCM） is developed to simulate the movement of particles in a 2D bubbling fluidized bed （BFB）. The state spaces are determined by the discretized physical cells of the bed, and the transition probability matrix is directly calculated by the results of a discrete element method （DEM） simulation. The Markov property of the BFB is discussed by the comparison results calculated from both static and dynamic transition probability matrices. The static matrix is calculated based on the Markov chain while the dynamic matrix is calculated based on the memory property of the particle movement. Results show that the difference in the trends of particle movement between the static and dynamic matrix calculation is very small. Besides, the particle mixing curves of the MCM and DEM have the same trend and similar numerical values, and the details show the time averaged characteristic of the MCM and also expose its shortcoming in describing the instantaneous particle dynamics in the BFB.

SIMULATION OF FLUIDIZED BED WITH TOP LIQUID SPRAYING

Simulation of the drying process in a top spraying fluidized bed is conducted.A wetting coefficient describing the wetted part of the particle surface is introduced.Using experimental data and the data regression method,the modified function of the wetting coefficient is calculated.And this function is introduced to the mathematical model,which describes the heat and mass transfer process in a liquid sprayed gas fluidized bed.Through modeling,the gas humidity and temperature profiles as well as the particle temperature profile can be obtained.Compared with the experimental results,the wetting coefficient and the mathematical model are verified.