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Many processes appears where there is a need for a contact of fluid with solid. Examples
such as catalytic cracking, water treatment with ion exchange, drying using air, and
combustion of solid fuels.

Traditionally these are done in fixed bed of particles.

However a technique in which instead of fixing particle bed we fluidise the solids in gas
or liquid. This technique is useful in some cases.

FLUIDISATION
Fluidisation was invented to describe a certain mode of contacting granular solids with
fluids. It is defined as an operation by which solid particles are transformed into fluid like
state through contact with gas or liquid.
In a fluidised behaviour the solid particles act as a fluid so a piece of wood floats on this
bed, ripples and waves are produced if the outer wall is tapped. More the column of
solids has a characteristic hydrodynamic head.
STAGES IN FLUIDISATION OR FLUIDISATION CHARACTERISATION
Consider a bed of fine particles. Pass a fluid upward at a low flowrate through this bed of
fines, fluid will gradually permeate through the void spaces between stationary particles.
This is a FIXED BED. The characteristic of which are that the particles contained in the
bed are motionless and are supported by contact with each other. Now on increasing the
flowrate, particles will move apart and a few are seen to be vibrate and move about in the
restricted regions. This is called EXPANDED BED. On more increase in velocity, a
point is reached when particles are all just suspended in the upward flowing gas or liquid.
Here the frictional forces between a particle and fluid along with the upthrust
counterbalance the weight of the particle (gravity force). The bed is considered to be just
fluidised and is known as INCIPIENTLY FLUDISED BED or a bed at MINIMUM
FLUIDISATION. Here the pressure drop through any cross section of bed equals the
weight of the fluid and particles in this section. After this on more increase in velocity,
behaviour for liquid and gas are different.
FOR LIQUID SOLID SYSTEM
On further increase in velocity , in liquid solid systems, usually results above minimum
fluidisation are smooth , progressive expansion of the bed. Here gross flow instabilities
are damped (quiet) and remain small, and large scale bubbling or heterogeneity is not

observed under normal conditions.

Such a bed is called as PARTICULATELY

FLUIDISED BED, a HOMOGENEOUSLY FLUIDISED BED, a SMOOTHLY

FLUIDISED BED or a simply LIQUID FLUIDISED BED.
FOR GAS SOLID BED
Gas solid systems generally behave in quite a different way. Here with an increase in
velocity above minimum fluidisation, large instabilities with bubbling and channeling are
observed. At higher flowrates agitation becomes more violent and the movement of the
solid becomes more vigorous. In addition to this the bed does not expand much beyond
its volume at minimum fluidisation.

Such a bed is called an AGGREGATIVE

FLUIDISED BED, a HETEROGENEOUSLY FLUIDIZED BED, a BUBBLING (or

BOILING as it looks like a boiling liquid) FLUIDISED BED or simply a GAS
FLUIDISED BED.
Howerver in some cases solid-liquid system will not fluidise smoothly and gas solid
systems will not bubble.

Both gas and liquid fluidised beds are considered to be

DENSE-PHASE FLUIDISED BED as long as there is a fairly defined upper limit or

surface to the bed. At sufficiently high fluid flowrate the terminal velocity of the solids is
exceeded and the upper surface of the bed disappeared, and the solids are carried out of
the bed with the fluid. In this state we have a DISPERSE-, DILUTE-, or LEAN
PHASE FLUIDISED BED WITH PNEUMATIC TRANSPORT OF SOLIDS or
CONVEYING or CONTINUOUS FLUIDISATION.

COMPARISON OF FIXED BED AND FLUIDISED BED

ADVANTAGES:

The rapid mixing of solids leads to nearly isothermal condition and uniform solids
distribution throughout the reactor. No local hot spots are formed as may be present
in fixed bed, thus operation can be controlled simply and reliably.

The resistance to diffusion through the particles is smaller in the fluidised bed
( because size is smaller than in the fixed bed).

It permits ready additions or withdrawals of solids from the bed. This is helpful in
continuous operations.

Heat transfer coefficients are higher than in fixed beds ( due to the motion of particles
past internal or external heat transfer surfaces), thus offering a great advantage where
exothermic or endothermic reactions are involved.

Along with the heat transfer rates mass transfer rates are also high due to the greater
surface area available.

The rate of heat transfer between a fluidised bed and immersed object is high, thus
exchange with in the fluidised bed require relatively small surface areas.

In many cases fluidisation causes smaller pressure drop than the fixed bed.

Fluidisation eliminates pelleting of catalyst ( i.e. forming rings, spheres, cubes, etc.)
which is a costly operation for many catalytic processes.

DISADVANTAGES

In fluidised operation the catalyst may be broken i.e. attrition or size reduction may
be happened. This causes adjustment of the of fluid rates as fluidisation properties of
the material may become different.

Attrition and formation of fines lead to losses of catalyst, thus cost may be
appreciable.

In the fluidised reactor the fluid veliocity must be closely coordinated with the
properties of solids so that adequate fluidisation occurs. It is a restriction, however in
fixed there is a great freedom.

Fluidisation with gaseous components is possible only when there is no liquid or wax
formation during reaction, this is severe restriction.

There may be a problem of serious erosion (thus special and expensive designs may
be required to eliminate or minimize wear in reactors and transfer lines.

As solids are carried over in fluidisation an additional apparatus for fine recovery is to
be installed.

For non-catalytic operations at high temperature the agglomeration (size enlargement)

and sintering of fine particles may occur which is responsible of a lowering in
temperature of operation and thus reaction rate is reduced.

The average flow of solids and fluid is cocurrernt. This has an unfavourable effeect
on the driving force. In order to have countercurrent flow, a multicomponent reactor
is required; this is very much expensive than the fixed bed.

FLUIDISATION IMPERFACTIONS:
Where a liquid is the fuidising medium, particles will remain substantially separate, other
than doing collisions. This particulate fluidisation mode is unfortunately not reflected
especially where a gas is the medium. Here the gas may pass somewhat unevenly
through the fluidised bed and the particles may be noticeably grouped together in the
typical aggregative mode of fluidisation. This mode is less desirable practically and less
easy to treat theoretically but it is the typical mode and therefor neither easy nor cheap to
change.
Two major operational imperfections which are met in fluidised bed work are
channelling and slugging. Channeling is an abnormality due to the establishments of
flow paths in a bed of solids where a large amount of fluid passes without fluidising
solids. It may be through channeling or intermediate channeling. Channeling depends
upon the solid and the fluid properties. Slugging is essentially a function of apparatus
design, with the properties of solids and fluid playing a minor role. It is the condition in
which bubbles of the fluid agglomerates to approach the diameter of the bed, the solids
being pushed up like a piston and then raining down through the bubble or causing a
disintegration of the bubble. The phenomenon is most common in gas-solid fluidisation.

FLUIDISED BED HEAT TRANSFER

Many a process operated on commercial scale is known where heat is generated with in
the bed and the generated heat is removed quite efficiently by virtue of fluidisation
technique itself. Gas fluidised systems expose extremely large surface of solids to the gas.
For instance , consider a 1m3 of bed of particles of 100 microns of average diameter, the
total surface area of this much amount of solids exceeds 30000m 2

enough to cover the

entire surface of the great pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Such enormous surface area
greatly enhances heat and mass transfer operations for the obvious reasons. Over and
above the solid mixing enforced with in the bulk of the bed brings down the temperature
gradient to negligible level. This surface area and intense mixing causing great heat and
mass transfer operations.
HEAT TRANSFER TO THE WALL
A no of investigations of heat tranfer coefficients at the wall in fluidised beds have been
reported and in all cases the value found for h w were considerably larger for those for an

empty tube at the same fluid velocity. Presumably this is because the motion of solid
particles near the walls tend to prevent the development of a slow moving layer or film of
fluid, and the heat carrying capacity of the particles themselves as they move between the
center and the wall is significant.

DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS
Basic elements of fluidised bed system may be

As

Fluidisation vessel

Fluidised bed portion

Disengaging space

Fluid distributor

Solids feeder or flow control

Solids discharge

Dust seperator for the exit streams

Instrumentation

Fluid supply

fluidisation is most important in chemical reactions so we consider design

fundamental of vessel for reactions only. Fluidised bed vessels are usually larger in
diameters as 10 to 30 ft are not unusual in catalytic cracking. In smooth fluiduisation for
solid liquid the behaviour is same as that for mixed reactor, while for gas solid
systems the behaviour may be of plug flow or mixed reactor. However for very high
velocities the behaviour is same as that of plug flow reactor. Same equations as that for
mixed and plug flow reactors can be used without or little modification.
Following six types of distributors may be employed;
1)Multiorifice plates, 2)gauze plates, 3)single orifice plates, 4) porous plates, and
5)sintered plates.

APPLICATIONS OF FLUIDISATION:
Some of the uses of fluidisation technique are as:

It is used for the transportation of powdered solids.

It makes possible to get comparatively good mixing.

They are used for heat exchange in both physical and chemical opertaions because of
their unique ability to rapidly transport heat and maintain a uniform temperature.

It has been used for drying.

It is used in oxidation of ethylene, production of alkyl chloride, pthalic anhydride etc.

It is used in cracking (FCC) and reforming of hydrocarbons.

It is used in carbonisation and gasification.