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.

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.

Investigation into the operation of an autothermal two-section subbituminous coal fluidized bed gasifier

Using a newly developed experimental setup,the features and advantages of an autothermal single-casing atmospheric sub-bituminous coal fluidized bed air-blown gasifier,combining a combustion and gasification section,and mixing the dispersed phase(inert material,char)and heat exchange between them through an annular transfer device,have been revealed.To increase the efficiency of the gasifier,an experimental-computational method was developed find the conditions for optimal operation,combining changing the annular flow's geometry and regulating the primary air for gasification.A simple and reliable multizone thermodynamic calculation model makes it possible to predict the composition of char and syngas in the gasification section with acceptable accuracy.This method confirmed that a two-section fluidized bed gasifier can provide efficient gasification of solid fuels and is suitable for use in small-scale cogeneration plants.Syngas with a heating value of 3.6-4.5 MJ/m^(3)and CGE of 38.2%-42.3%was obtained in the experimental setup without optimizing the primary air flow rate.With optimization,the indicators increased to the heating value of syngas of 5.20-5.34 MJ/m^(3)and CGE of 42.5%-50.0%.With heat regeneration of 0.8,CGE increases to 70%.

Comparative analysis on gas–solid drag models in MFIX-DEM simulations of bubbling fluidized bed

In this study,the open-source software MFIX-DEM simulations of a bubbling fluidized bed(BFB)are applied to assess nine drag models according to experimental and direct numerical simulation(DNS)results.The influence of superficial gas velocity on gas–solid flow is also examined.The results show that according to the distribution of time-averaged particle axial velocity in y direction,except for Wen–Yu and Tenneti–Garg–Subramaniam(TGS),other drag models are consistent with the experimental and DNS results.For the TGS drag model,the layer-by-layer movement of particles is observed,which indicates the particle velocity is not correctly predicted.The time domain and frequency domain analysis results of pressure drop of each drag model are similar.It is recommended to use the drag model derived from DNS or fine grid computational fluid dynamics–discrete element method(CFD-DEM)data first for CFD-DEM simulations.For the investigated BFB,the superficial gas velocity less than 0.9 m·s^(-1) should be adopted to obtain normal hydrodynamics.

Scale-up and thermal stability analysis of fluidized bed reactors for ethylene polymerization

A set of hydrodynamic similarity laws is applied to the scale-up of ethylene polymerization fluidized bed reactors(FBRs)under the condensed mode operation.The thermal stability of open-loop controlled FBRs is investigated by the homotopy continuation method.And the Hopf bifurcation point is selected as an index of the thermal stability similarity.The simulation results show the similarity in state variables,operation parameters,the space-time yield(STY),and the thermal stability of FBRs with different scales.Furthermore,the thermal stability behaviors and similarity of the closed-loop controlled FBRs with different scales are analyzed.The observed similar trend of Hopf bifurcation curves reveals the similarity in the thermal stability of closed-loop controlled FBRs with different scaling ratios.In general,the results of the thermal stability similarity confirm that the hydrodynamics scaling laws proposed in the work are applicable to the scale-up of FBRs under the condensed mode operation.

Effects of particle type on the particle fluidization and distribution in a liquid–solid circulating fluidized bed boiler

A liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed boiler is designed and built for visualization research by applying the fluidized bed heat transfer and fouling prevention technology to the water side of the boiler. Four types of engineering plastic particles with different physical properties are selected as the solid working media. The effect of particle types on the fluidization and distribution of particles in the boiler is investigated under different feedwater flow rates and amount of added particles by using the charge couple device image measurement and acquisition system. The results show that all kinds of particles can't be normally fluidized and accumulate in the drum at low amount of added particles and feedwater flow rate. The particles with great density and low sphericity are more likely to accumulate. The average solid holdup in the riser tubes increases with the increase in feedwater flow rate and the amount of added particles. The non-uniform degree of particle distribution in the riser tubes generally decreases with the increase in feedwater flow rate and the amount of added particles. The particles with small density and settling velocity have high average solid holdup in the riser tubes under close sphericity. In generally,the smaller the density and settling velocity, the more uniform the particle distribution in the riser tubes.Three-dimensional diagrams of the non-uniform degree of particle distribution in the riser tubes of the boiler are established.

An analysis approach of mass and energy balance in a dual-reactor circulating fluidized bed system

An analysis approach considering gas-solids hydrodynamics,reaction kinetics and reacting species nonuniformity together in a dual-reactor system is presented for better understanding its mass and energy balance.It was achieved by a 3-dimensional comprehensive hydrodynamics and reaction model for the dual-reactor system,which was developed from the successfully verified 3-dimensional comprehensive combustion model for one circulating fluidized bed(CFB)system(Xu and Cheng,2019).The developed model and analysis approach was successfully used on a 1 MW circulating fluidized bed–bubbling fluidized bed(CFB-BFB)dual-reactor system.Results showed the sensible and chemical energy between two reactors as well as the energy distributions in each reactor were balanced and they agreed well with the experimental measurements.The analysis approach indicated energy balance had a close relationship with the mass transfer in the CFB-BFB dual-reactor system.It may be applied in a design and operation optimization for a dual-reactor system.

Emissions of SO_2, NO and N_2O in a circulating fluidized bed combustor during co-firing coal and biomass

This paper presents the experimental investigations of the emissions of SO2, NO and N20 in a bench scale circulating fluidized bed combustor for coal combustion and co-firing coal and biomass. The thermal capacity of the combustor is 30 kW. The setup is electrically heated during startup. The infuence of the excess air, the degree of the air staging, the biomass share and the feeding position of the fuels on the emissions of SO2, NO and N2O were studied. The results showed that an increase in the biomass shares resulted in an increase of the CO concentration in the flue gas, probably due to the high volatile content of the biomass. In co-firing, the emission of SO2 increased with increasing biomass share slightly, however, non-linear increase relationship between SO2 emission and fuel sulfur content was observed. Air staging significantly decreased the NO emission without raising the SO2 level. Although the change of the fuel feeding position from riser to downer resulted in a decrease in the NO emission level, no obvious change was observed for the SO2 level. Taking the coal feeding position R as a reference, the relative NO emission could significantly decrease during co-firing coal and biomass when feeding fuel at position D and keeping the first stage stoichiometry greater than 0.95. The possible mechanisms of the sulfur and nitrogen chemistry at these conditions were discussed and the ways of simultaneous reduction of SO2, NO and N2O were proposed.

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.

Anaerobic tapered fluidized bed reactor for starch wastewater treatment and modeling using multilayer perceptron neural network

treatability of synthetic sago wastewater was investigated in a laboratory anaerobic tapered fluidized bed reactor （ATFBR） with a mesoporous granular activated carbon （GAC） as a support material. The experimental protocol was defined to examine the effect of the maximum organic loading rate （OLR）, hydraulic retention time （HRT）, the efficiency of the reactor and to report on its steady- state performance. The reactor was subjected to a steady-state operation over a range of OLR up to 85.44 kg COD/（m^3·d）. The COD removal efficiency was found to be 92% in the reactor while the biogas produced in the digester reached 25.38 m^3/（m^3·d） of the reactor. With the increase of OLR from 83.7 kg COD/（m^3·d）, the COD removal efficiency decreased. Also an artificial neural network （ANN） model using multilayer perceptron （MLP） has been developed for a system of two input variable and five output dependent variables. For the training of the input-output data, the experimental values obtained have been used. The output parameters predicted have been found to be much closer to the corresponding experimental ones and the model was validated for 30% of the untrained data. The mean square error （MSE） was found to be only 0.0146.

Chemical-looping gasification of biomass in a 10 kW_(th) interconnected fluidized bed reactor using Fe_2O_3/Al_2O_3 oxygen carrier

Abstract:The aim of this research is to design and operate a 10 kW hot chemical-looping gasification(CLG)unit using Fe2O3/Al2O3as an oxygen carrier and saw dust as a fuel.The effect of the operation temperature on gas composition in the air reactor and the fuel reactor,and the carbon conversion of biomass to CO2and CO in the fuel reactor have been experimentally studied.A total60 h run has been obtained with the same batch of oxygen carrier of iron oxide supported with alumina.The results show that CO and H2concentrations are increased with increasing temperature in the fuel reactor.It is also found that with increasing fuel reactor temperature,both the amount of residual char in the fuel reactor and CO2concentration of the exit gas from the air reactor are degreased.Carbon conversion rate and gasification efficiency are increased by increasing temperature and H2production at 870℃reaches the highest rate.Scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and BET-surface area tests have been used to characterize fresh and reacted oxygen carrier particles.The results display that the oxygen carrier activity is not declined and the specific surface area of the oxygen carrier particles is not decreased significantly.

CFD simulation of bubbling and collapsing characteristics in a gas-solid fluidized bed

Computational Fluid Dynamics （CFD） has become an alternative method to experiments for understanding the fluid dynamics of multiphase flow. A two-fluid model, which contains additional terms in both the gas- and solid-phase momentum equations, is used to investigate the fluidization quality in a fluidized bed. A case study for quartz sand with a density of 2,660 kg/m^3 and a diameter of 500 μm, whose physical property is similar to a new kind of catalyst for producing clean fuels through the residue fluid catalytic cracking process, is simulated in a two-dimensional fluidized bed with 0.57 m width and 1.00 m height. Transient bubbling and collapsing characteristics are numerically investigated in the platform of CFX 4.4 by integrating user-defined Fortran subroutines. The results show that the fluidization and collapse process is in fair agreement with the classical theory of Geldart B classification, but the collapse time is affected by bubbles at the interface between the dense phase and freeboard.

Analysis of Gas-Solid Flow Characteristics in a Spouted Fluidized Bed Dryer by Means of Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics

In order to grasp the particle flow characteristics and energy consumption of industrial fluidized spouted beds,we conduct numerical simulations on the basis of a Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics(CPFD)approach.In particular,the traction model of Wen-Yu-Ergun is used and different inlet conditions are considered.Using a low-speed fluidizing gas,the flow state of the particles is better and the amount of particles accumulated at the bottom of the bed wall becomes smaller.For the same air intake,the energy loss of a circular nozzle is larger than that of a square nozzle.

Experiment research on grain drying process in the heat pump assisted fluidized beds

A heat pump assisted fluidized bed grain drying experimental system wasdeveloped. Based on this system, a serial of experiments was performed under four kinds of air cycleconditions. According to the experimental analysis, an appropriate drying medium-air cycle for theheat pump assisted fluidized bed drying equipment was decided, which is different from the commonlyused heat pump assisted drying system. The experimental results concerning the drying operationperformance of the new system show that the averaged coefficient of performance (COP) can reach morethan 2.5. The economical evaluation was performed and the power consumption for removing a kilogramwater from grains was about 0.485 kW-h/kg (H_2O), which shows its reasonable commercial efficiencyand great application potentiality in future market.

Fluidized bed coating efficiency and morphology of coatings for producing Al-based nanocomposite hollow spheres

Abstract： We performed fluidized bed coating ofAl-based nanoeomposite powder-binder suspensions onto polymer substrates. The effects of the type and amount of the binder and nanoparticle additive on the coating process efficiency and coating characteristics were investigated. The efficiency decreased from 52% to 49% as the processing time increased from 15 to 20 min. However, the amount and thickness of the coating also increased as the processing time and amount of the binder were increased. The addition of nanoparticles to the system decreased the thickness of the coating from 222 to 207 μm when polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） was used as a binder. The suspension containing 3wt% R-4410 binder exhibited the greatest efficiency of 60%.

CFD simulation of pressure fluctuation characteristics in the gas-solid fluidized bed:Comparisons with experiments

A simple hydrodynamic model based on two-fluid theory, taking into account the effect of discrete particles on both the gas- and solid-phase momentum equations, was used to numerically investigate the pressure fluctuation characteristics in a gas-solid fluidized bed with the aid of CFX 4.4, a commercial CFD software package, by adding user-defined Fortran subroutines. Numerical simulations together with typical experimental measurements show that pressure fluctuations originate above the distributor when a gas pulse is injected into the fluidized bed. The pressure above the bubble gradually increases due to the presence of a rising bubble. When the bubble passes through the bed surface, the pressure near the bed surface gradually decreases to a lower value. Moreover, the pressure signals in the bubbling fluidized beds show obviously periodic characteristics. The major frequency of pressure fluctuations at the same vertical position is affected slightly by the operating gas velocity, and the amplitude of pressure fluctuations is related to both the operating gas velocity and the vertical height. In this study, the influence of the operating gas velocity on the pressure wave propagation velocity can be ignored, and only two peak frequencies in the power spectrum of the pressure fluctuations are observed which are associated with the bubble formation above the distributor and its eruption at the bed surface.

Properties of Concrete Incorporating Bed Ash from Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion and Ground Granulates Blast-furnace Slag

The properties of concrete incorporating circulating fluidized bed combustion （CFBC） bed ash and ground granulates blast-furnace slag （GGBS） were studied.Compressive strength,drying shrinkage,mercury intrusion porosimetry （MIP）,scanning electronic microscopy （SEM）,and X-ray diffraction （XRD） of concrete samples containing CFBC bed ash and GGBS were used.This work used initial surface absorption test （ISAT） and rapid chloride penetration test （RCPT） on concrete to measure the absorption and the ability of concrete to resist chloride ion characteristics for different concrete samples containing CFBC bed ash and GGBS.Open circuit potential （OCP）,direct current polarization resistance were obtained to evaluate rebar corrosion.The CFBC bed ash was X-ray amorphous and consist of SiO2,Al2O3 and CaO compounds.As the replacement of CFBC for sand increases,the rate of initial surface absorption （ISA） increases but compressive strength decreases.When the content of CFBC bed ash replacement for sand maintains constant,the replacement of GGBS for cement increases,compressive strength increases but the rate of ISA decreases.Chloride and corrosion resistance of rebar significantly improve by utilizing a proper amount of CFBC bed ash and GGBS in concrete.

HCl emission characteristics and BP neural networks prediction in MSW/coal co-fired fluidized beds

The HCl emission characteristics of typical municipal solid waste(MSW) components and their mixtures have been investigated in a Φ150 mm fluidized bed. Some influencing factors of HCl emission in MSW fluidized bed incinerator was found in this study. The HCl emission is increasing with the growth of bed temperature, while it is decreasing with the increment of oxygen concentration at furnace exit. When the weight percentage of auxiliary coal is increased, the conversion rate of Cl to HCl is increasing. The HCl emission is decreased, if the sorbent(CaO) is added during the incineration process. Based on these experimental results, a 14×6×1 three-layer BP neural networks prediction model of HCl emission in MSW/coal co-fired fluidized bed incinerator was built. The numbers of input nodes and hidden nodes were fixed on by canonical correlation analysis technique and dynamic construction method respectively. The prediction results of this model gave good agreement with the experimental results, which indicates that the model has relatively high accuracy and good generalization ability. It was found that BP neural network is an effectual method used to predict the HCl emission of MSW/coal co-fired fluidized bed incinerator.

Mechanical,expansion and rheological properties of circulating fluidized bed fly ash based ecological cement:A critical review

Circulating fluidized bed fly ash(CFBFA)is a solid waste product from circulating fluidized bed(CFB)boilers in power plants,and the storage of CFBFA is increasingly become an environmental problem.Previous scholars have made contributions to improve the resource utilization of CFBFA.Especially,ecological cement is prepared by CFBFA,which is more conducive to its large-scale utilization.In recent years,a lot of effort has been paid to improve the properties of ecological cement containing CFBFA.In this work,the physicochemical properties of CFBFA are introduced,and recent research progress on the mechanical,expansion,and rheological properties of CFBFA based ecological cement(CEC)is extensively reviewed.The problem of over-expansion of f-CaO is summarized,which limits the scale application of CFBFA in ecological cement.Hence,the challenge for f-CaO in CFBFA to compensate for cement volume shrinkage is proposed,which is beneficial to the utilization of CFBFA in ecological cement,and the reduction of CO_(2) emissions from the cement industry.In addition,the environmental performance,durability,and economy of CEC should be valued in future research,especially the environmental performance,because the CFBFA contains heavy metals,such as Cr,As,which may pollute groundwater.

Collecting aerosol in airflow with a magnetically stabilized fluidized bed

A magnetically stabilized fluidized bed (MSB) is a highly efficient filter that takes the advantage of both fluidized beds and fixed beds. This paper presents the research to collect aerosol in airflow with a MSB. The filtering model of MSB is established with its parameters including magnetic Geld intensity, gas superficial velocity, average grain-size, and bed height on the collection efficiency of MSB. The model is verified by experiments.