Dense Pellicular Agarose-Glass Beads for Expanded Bed Application: Flow Hydrodynamics and Solid Phase Classifications

Two dense pellicular agarose-glass matrices of different sizes and densities, i.e., AG-S and AG-L, have been characterized for their bed expansion behavior, flow hydrodynamics and particle classifications in an expanded bed system. A 26 mm ID column with side ports was used for sampling the liquid-solid suspension during expanded bed operations. Measurements of the collected solid phase at different column positions yielded the particle size and density distribution data. It was found that the composite matrices showed particle size as well as density classifications along the column axis, i.e., both the size and density of each matrix decreased with increasing the axial bed height. Their axial classifications were expressed by a correlation related to both the particle size and density as a function of the dimensionless axial bed height. The correlation was found to fairly describe the solid phase classifications in the expanded bed system. Moreover, it can also be applied to other two commercial solid matrices designed for expanded bed applications.

Experiment and simulation on the pyrite removal from the recirculating load of pulverizer with a dilute phase gas-solid fluidized bed

In order to reduce the energy consumption and subsequent air pollution of coal-fired power station, based on the analysis to size and density distribution of particles from the recirculating load of the classifier of pulverizer, the separation experiment on sampling material from power plant with a dilute phase fluidized bed to remove pyrite and other minerals and numerical simulation on the separation process were done. The results show that the minimum fluidization velocity is 1.62 cm/s. Pyrite and other minerals in the material are separated. Ash of the upper and bottom layer material account for 33.34% and 73.42% respectively and sulfur content occupy 1.12% and 8.96% respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and spectroscopy tests show that sulfur in the bottom material exist in the form of pyrite. Numerical simulation on the flow field form of the dilute phase separation bed with gas-solid two phase and particle motion verifies the experimental results.

Peracetic Acid Synthesis by Acetaldehyde Liquid Phase Oxidation in Trickle Bed Reactor

In this paper,shorter residence time（a few minutes）with high yield in the trickle bed process for per- acetic acid synthesis by acetaldehyde liquid phase oxidation can be realized on the selected packing material SA-5118.For acetaldehyde in acetone with ferric ion as catalyst,the optimized process conditions were presented. The main factors influencing the yield,selectivity and conversion are residence time,temperature and acetaldehyde concentration,respectively.The temperature range checked is from 30 to 65℃.High yield of 81.53%with high se- lectivity of 91.84%can be obtained at higher temperature of 55℃when the residence time is 5.5min and the acet- aldehyde concentration is 9.85%（by mass）.And there is a critical acetaldehyde concentration point（Cccp）between 18%and 19.5%（by mass）.At temperature less than 55℃,the highest yield to peracetic acid at each temperature level increases with temperature when the acetaldehyde concentration is below Cccp and decreases with temperature when the acetaldehyde concentration is above Cccp.

Dynamic Simulation of Volume Fraction and Density Solid Phase Effect on Phase Hold-Up in 3 Phase Fluidize Bed Column through CFD

The gas-liquid-solid fluidized bed has emerged in recent years as one of the most promising devices for three-phase operation. Selection and design is one of them in parameter in the performance of three phase system. This paper focuses on volume fraction and density effect on the phases hold-up in a 3 phase fluidize bed column containing liquid phase with 100 cm height and 20 cm diameter, in this case the solid phase with 0.15, 0.25, 0.35 volume fraction and density 2470, 3000, 4000, 5000 m3 dispersion into liquid phase and the gas phase enter the column through a sparger of 2 cm diameter with 0.02 m/s velocities. The results show as the solid phase volume fraction increases from 0.02 to 0.08 m/s. The gas hold-up decreases and solid hold-up increases. Solid phase density increases, so solid phase hold-up decreases and gas hold-up decreases.

Characteristics of high-sulfate wastewater treatment by two-phase anaerobic digestion process with Jet-loop anaerobic fluidized bed

A new anaerobic reactor, Jet-loop anaerobic fluidized bed （JLAFB）, was designed for treating high-sulfate wastewater. The treatment characteristics, including the effect of influent COD/SO42 ratio and alkalinity and sulfide inhibition in reactors, were discussed for a JLAFB and a general anaerobic fiuidized bed （AFB） reactor used as sulfate-reducing phase and methane-producing phase, respectively, in two-phase anaerobic digestion process. The formation of granules in the two reactors was also examined. The results indicated that COD and sulfate removal had different demand of influent COD/SO4^2- ratios. When total COD removal was up to 85%, the ratio was only required up to 1.2, whereas, total sulfate removal up to 95% required it exceeding 3.0. The alkalinity in the two reactors increased linearly with the growth of influent alkalinity. Moreover, the change of influent alkalinity had no significant effect on pH and volatile fatty acids （VFA） in the two reactors. Influent alkalinity kept at 400-500 mg/L could meet the requirement of the treating process. The JLAFB reactor had great advantage in avoiding sulfide and free-H2S accumulation and toxicity inhibition on microorganisms. When sulfate loading rate was up to 8. 1 kg/（m^3.d）, the sulfide and free-H2S concentrations in JLAFB reactor were 58.6 and 49.7 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, the granules, with offwhite color, ellipse shape and diameters of 1.0-3.0 mm, could be developed in JLAFB reactor. In granules, different groups of bacteria were distributed in different layers, and some inorganic metal compounds such as Fe, Ca, Mg etc. were found.

PHASE HOLDUP AND LIQUID DISPERSION IN GAS-LIQUID-SOLID CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BEDS

Axial and radial profiles of gas and solids holdups have been studied in agas-liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed at 140mm i.d..Experimental results indicate that the axialand radial profiles of gas and solids holdups are more uniform than those in a conventionalfluidized bed.Axial and radial liquid dispersion coefficients in the gas-liquid-solid circulating fluidizedbed are investigated for the first time.It is found that axial and radial liquid dispersioncoefficients increases with increaes in gas velocity and solids holdup.The liquid velocity has littleinfluence on the axial liquid dispersion coefficient,but would adversely affect the redial liquiddispersion coefficient.It can be concluded that the gas-liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed hasadvantages such as better interphase contact and lower liquid dispersion along the axial directionover the expanded bed.

Effects of internals on phase holdup and backmixing in a slightly-expanded-bed reactor with gas–liquid concurrent upflow

Five different internals were designed,and their effects on phase holdup and backmixing were investigated in a gas–liquid concurrent upflow reactor where the spherical alumina packing particles of three diameters(3.0,4.5 and6.0 mm)were slightly expanded under the conditions of varied superficial gas velocities(6.77×10-2-3.61×10-1 m·s-1)and superficial liquid velocities(9.47×10-4-2.17×10-3 m·s-1).The experimental results show that the gas holdup increases with the superficial gas velocity and particle size,opposite to the variational trend of liquid holdup.When an internal component is installed amid the upflow reactor,a higher gas holdup,a less liquid holdup and a larger Peclet number characterizing the weaker backmixing are obtained compared to those in the bed without internals under the same operating conditions.Additionally,the minimal backmixing is observed in the reactor equipped with the internals with a novel multi-step design.Finally,empirical correlations were proposed for estimating gas holdup,liquid holdup and Peclet number with the relative deviations within 11%,12%and 25%,respectively.

Pressure Drop of Liquid–Solid Two-Phase Flow in the Vertical Tube Bundle of a Cold-Model Circulating Fluidized Bed Evaporator

A cold-model vertical multi-tube circulating fluidized bed evaporator was designed and built to conduct a visualization study on the pressure drop of a liquid–solid two-phase flow and the corresponding particle distribution.Water and polyformaldehyde particle(POM)were used as the liquid and solid phases,respectively.The effects of operating parameters such as the amount of added particles,circulating flow rate,and particle size were systematically investigated.The results showed that the addition of the particles increased the pressure drop in the vertical tube bundle.The maximum pressure drop ratios were 18.65%,21.15%,18.00%,and 21.15%within the experimental range of the amount of added particles for POM1,POM2,POM3,and POM4,respectively.The pressure drop ratio basically decreased with the increase in the circulating flow rate but fluctuated with the increase in the amount of added particles and particle size.The difference in pressure drop ratio decreased with the increase in the circulating flow rate.As the amount of added particles increased,the difference in pressure drop ratio fluctuated at low circulating flow rate but basically decreased at high circulating flow rate.The pressure drop in the vertical tube bundle accounted for about 70%of the overall pressure drop in the up-flow heating chamber and was the main component of the overall pressure within the experimental range.Three-dimensional phase diagrams were established to display the variation ranges of the pressure drop and pressure drop ratio in the vertical tube bundle corresponding to the operating parameters.The research results can provide some reference for the application of the fluidized bed heat transfer technology in the industry.

STUDIES OF THE EVAPORATION AND SCALING MITIGATION IN A RECIRCULATING THREE-PHASE FLUIDIZED BED

Heat transfer of liquid evaporation was studied in a recirculating three-phase fluidized bedin which an inert gas serving as'carrying gas'was introduced.The gas velocities,particle sizes,par-ticle densities and particle concentrations in the liquid were examined.Heat fluxes were measured aswell.Significant enhancement in heat transfer was resulted when an inert gas and solid particles wereintroduced into the flow boiling liquid.Scaling mitigation was to be expected in the process.

Photocatalytic oxidation of Rhodamine B in a three-phase internal circulating fluidized bed with TiO_2/SiO_2 as photocatalyst

A novel photoreactor of three-phase internal circulating fluidized bed was applied to the degradation of Rhodamine B with TiO2/SiO2 catalyst and TiO2 powder,respectively.The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/SiO2 catalyst was much higher than that of TiO2 powder under the same condition,and the half life of Rhodamine B using TiO2/SiO2 was 9.5 min,much lower than 63 min when using TiO2 powder.Moreover,TiO2/SiO2 had a good adsorption capacity of Rhodamine B,which played an important role on degradation.In addition,it was found that the degradation kinetics of Rodamine B with TiO2/SiO2 catalyst did not follow the first order reaction.The degradation kinetics model in terms of the adsorption process of catalyst and the analytic solution of reactant degradation rate in liquid phase could be deduced,which consisted of two parts.The first part was due to the adsorption,while the second part was due to the photocatalysis.In the beginning of the reaction,the adsorption process was dominant.However,when the adsorption achieved a balance,the degradation of Rhodamine B in liquid phase and solid phase was mainly caused by photocatalysis and the degradation kinetics model conformed to the first order reaction.

Implementation of a Demoisturization and Devolatilization Model in Multi-Phase Simulation of a Hybrid Entrained-Flow and Fluidized Bed Mild Gasifier

A mild gasification process has been implemented to provide an alternative form of clean coal technology called the Integrated Mild Gasification Combined Cycle (IMGCC), which can be utilized to build a new, highly efficient, and compact power plant or to retrofit an existing coal-fired power plant in order to achieve lower emissions and significantly improved thermal efficiency. The core technology of the mild gasification power plant lies on the design of a compact and effective mild gasifier that can produce synthesis gases with high energy volatiles through a hybrid system: utilizing the features of both entrained-flow and fluidized bed gasifiers. To aid in the design of the mild gasifier, a computational model has been implemented to investigate the thermal-flow and gasification process inside this mild gasifier using the commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) solver ANSYS/FLUENT. The Eulerian-Eulerian method is employed to model both the primary phase (air) and the secondary phase (coal particles). However, the Eulerian-Eulerian model used in the software does not facilitate any built-in devolatilization model. The objective of this study is therefore to implement a devolatilization model (along with demoisturization) and incorporate it into the existing code. The Navier-Stokes equations and seven species transport equations are solved with three heterogeneous (gas-solid) and two homogeneous (gas-gas) global gasification reactions. Implementation of the complete model starts from adding demoisturization first, then devolatilization, and then adding one chemical equation at a time until finally all reactions are included in the multiphase flow. The result shows that the demoisturization and devolatilization models are successfully incorporated and a large amount of volatiles are preserved as high-energy fuels in the syngas stream without being further cracked or reacted into lighter gases. The overall results are encouraging but require future experimental data for verification.

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.

A continuous and high-efficiency process to separate coal bed methane with porous ZIF-8 slurry:Experimental study and mathematical modelling

Coal bed methane has been considered as an important energy resource.One major difficulty of purifying coal bed methane comes from the similar physical properties of CH_4 and N_2.The ZIF-8/water-glycol slurry was used as a medium to separate coal bed methane by fluidifying the solid adsorbent material.The sorption equilibrium experiment of binary mixture(CH_4/N_2)and slurry was conducted.The selectivity of CH_4 to N_2 is within the range of 2-6,which proved the feasibility of the slurry separation method.The modified Langmuir equation was used to describe the gas-slurry phase equilibrium behavior,and the calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental data.A continuous absorption-adsorption and desorption process on the separation of CH_4/N_2 in slurry is proposed and its mathematical model is also developed.Sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the operation conditions and the energy performance of the proposed process was also evaluated.Feed gas contains 30 mol%of methane and the methane concentration in product gas is 95.46 mol%with the methane recovery ratio of 90.74%.The total energy consumption for per unit volume of product gas is determined as 1.846 kWh Nm^(-3).Experimental results and process simulation provide basic data for the design and operation of pilot and industrial plant.

Study on performance of a packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage unit integrated with solar water heating system

In thermal systems such as solar thermal and waste heat recovery systems, the available energy supply does not usually coincide in time with the process demand. Hence some form of thermal energy storage (TES) is necessary for the most effective utilization of the energy source. This study deals with the experimental evaluation of thermal performance of a packed bed latent heat TES unit integrated with solar flat plate collector. The TES unit contains paraffin as phase change material (PCM) filled in spherical capsules, which are packed in an insulated cylindrical storage tank. The water used as heat transfer fluid (HTF) to transfer heat from the solar collector to the storage tank also acts as sensible heat storage material. Charging experiments were carried out at varying inlet fluid temperatures to examine the effects of porosity and HTF flow rate on the storage unit performance. The performance parameters such as instantaneous heat stored, cumulative heat stored, charging rate and system efficiency are studied. Discharging experiments were carried out by both continuous and batchwise processes to recover the stored heat, and the results are presented.

Mobile bed thickness in skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows

A new instantaneous mobile bed thickness model is presented for sediment transport in skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows. The proposed model includes a basic bed load part and a suspended load part related to the Shields parameter, and takes into account the effects of mass conservation, phase-lag, and asymmetric boundary layer development, which are important in skewed asymmetric flows but usually absent in classical models. The proposed model is validated by erosion depth and sheet flow layer thickness data in both steady and unsteady flows, and applied to a new instantaneous sediment transport rate formula. With higher accuracy than classical empirical models in steady flows, the new formula can also be used for instantaneous sediment transport rate prediction in skewed asymmetric oscillatory sheet flows.

Mathematical Simulation and Design of Three-Phase Bubble Column Reactor for Direct Synthesis of Dimethyl Ether from Syngas

A three-phase reactor mathematical model was set up to simulate and design a three-phase bubble column reactor for direct synthesis of dimethyl ether （DME） from syngas, considering both the influence of part inert carrier backmixing on transfer and the influence of catalyst grain sedimentation on reaction. On the basis of this model, the influences of the size and reaction conditions of a 100000 t/a DME reactor on capacity were investigated. The optimized size of the 10000 t/a DME synthesis reactor was proposed as follows： diameter 3.2 m, height 20 m, built-in 400 tube heat exchanger （Ф 38×2 mm）, and inert heat carrier paraffin oil 68 t and catalyst 34.46 t. Reaction temperature and pressure were important factors influencing the reaction conversion for different size reactors. Under the condition of uniform catalyst concentration distribution, higher pressure and temperature were proposed to achieve a higher production capacity of DME. The best ratio of fresh syngas for DME synthesis was 2.04.

Surface-particle-emulsion heat transfer model between fluidized bed and horizontal immersed tube

A mathematical model, surface-particle-emulsion heat transfer model, ispresented by considering voidage variance in emulsion in the vicinity of an immersed surface. Heattransfer near the surface is treated by dispersed particles touching the surface and through theemulsion when the distance from the surface is greater than the diameter of a particle. A film withan adjustable thickness which separates particles from the surface is not introduced in this model.The coverage ratio of particles on the surface is calculated by a stochastic model of particlepacking density on a surface. By comparison of theoretical solutions with experimental data fromsome references, the mathematical model shows better qualitative and quantitative prediction forlocal heat transfer coefficients around a horizontal immersed tube in a fluidized bed.

Numerical simulation of dense particle-gas two-phase flow using the minimal potential energy principle

A simulation method of dense particle-gas two-phase flow has been developed. The binding force is introduced to present the impact of particle clustering and its expression is deduced according to the principle of minimal potential energy. The cluster collision, break-up and coalescence models are proposed based on the assumption that the particle cluster are treated as one discrete phase. These models are used to numerically study the two-phase flow field in a circulating fluidized bed （CFB）. Detailed results of the cluster structure, cluster size, particle volume fraction, gas velocity, and particle velocity are obtained. The correlation between the simulation results and experimental data justifies that these models and algorithm are reasonable, and can be used to efficiently study the dense particle-gas two-phase flow.

基于CFD-DEM流化床内静电效应影响的数值研究

气固流化床由于具有传热传质效率高等优点,因此在煤化工、煤燃烧和煤炭分选等领域得到广泛应用。但在流化过程中,颗粒与颗粒或壁面间频繁接触、碰撞,导致颗粒表面产生电荷,从而发生颗粒黏附到反应器壁、颗粒团聚和静电放电等现象,影响颗粒运动状态、空隙率、混合程度等特性,甚至引发生产事故。为探究静电效应对流化床内气固两相流动特性的影响,基于开发的双网格CFD-DEM模拟程序,耦合静电力模型,对单孔射流流化床内气固两相流化过程进行数值模拟,从床层整体和典型区域示踪颗粒2种角度对考虑静电力前后流化床内气固两相流动特性进行研究。结果表明:考虑静电力后,颗粒分布更加分散,床层空隙率增大,床层膨胀高度增加,相同初始位置颗粒的运动轨迹发生改变;流化床内颗粒运动及速度分布近似呈轴对称分布,滞止区颗粒竖直和水平速度始终接近于零;随着颗粒携带电荷量升高,流化床内喷泉区颗粒速度矢量逐渐稀疏,喷射区颗粒速度矢量逐渐密集,Lacey混合指数呈现一定程度的减缓。以上研究结果及方法可为进一步研究工作和工程实际应用提供参考。