R&D NOTE
Residence Time Distribution of Solids in a
Fluidized Bed
M. Prasad Babu and Y. Pydi Setty*
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India
A
continuous fluidized bed provides an intimate and large area of
contact between gas and solid particles, which results in good
heat and mass transfer rates between the phases. A fluidized bed
is also characterized by uniform temperature throughout as compared to
a fixed bed. But the fluidized bed is limited in its operation between
minimum fluidization velocity and terminal velocity of solids. In addition,
solid particles are subjected to attrition.
With an increase in gas rate above minimum fluidization, backmixing
of solids increases. Beran and Lutcha (1975) reported that the advantages
found for plug flow reactors with fluids are true for the plug flow of solids
in a continuous fluidized bed. Hence, the authors (1975) suggested that
by using baffles inside the bed, plug flow could be approached.
Several investigations were carried out by earlier workers using different
types of baffles inside the bed to reduce gross irregularities and instability
of the bed caused by the excess gas. But these modifications increase the
complexity of the bed, rendering operation and control more difficult.
The aim of the present work is to carry out experimental work on
residence time distribution of solids in a single-stage fluidized bed and
suggest an alternative method to reduce the non-idealities inside the bed
to approach plug flow conditions which improves quality of the product.
This can be achieved by using a binary solid mixture in place of uniformly
sized solids, as observed in the present work. In other words, using a binary
solid mixture gives more and more plug flow tendency to the particles.
The earlier work on RTD (residence time distribution) of solids in a
continuous fluidized bed may be classified on the basis of single-parameter
and multi-parameter models. Beran and Lutcha (1975) and Reay (1978)
used a dispersion model to describe the RTD of solids in a rectangular
fluidized bed dryer provided with vertical baffles. Beran and Lutcha (1975)
reported increased dispersion coefficient with an increase in gas flow rate,
while Reay (1978) reported an increase in particle diffusivity with an increase
in gas rate, and a decrease in particle size and density. Burovoi and
Svetozarova (1965) reported a decrease in dispersion coefficient with an
increase in the particle size. Pydi Setty (1983) used an axial dispersion
model to describe the RTD of solids in a single-stage spiral fluidized bed.
Morris et al. (1964) reported poor agreement between the experimental
data in a single-stage fluidized bed and the axial dispersion model. They
observed that solids mixing by bulk movement of solids did not occur when
the bed is operated near minimum fluidization velocity. Above 1.5 Umf , they
noticed that the movement of solids occurred by gross solids movement
but not by diffusion. Hence, the authors concluded that representation of
solids mixing by a simple axial dispersion model is inadequate.
*Author to whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail address: psetty@
nitw.ernet.in
118
Experimental investigation on RTD of solids is carried
out in a single-stage fluidized bed provided with an
internal, using uniformly sized particles and a binary solid
mixture, varying gas flow rate, solids rate, bed height,
dilution and the bed geometry. The effect of these
variables on first and second moments as well as on
F-curves has been determined. Using a binary solid
mixture or an internal inside the bed is found to reduce
backmixing of solids. The data is fitted to FTEM and the
values of N obtained were compared for different variables.
Une étude expérimentale sur la distribution du
temps de séjour des solides a été menée dans un lit
fluidisé à un étage muni d’un interne; on a utilisé pour
cela des particules de tailles uniformes et un mélange
de solides binaire et fait varier le débit de gaz, la vitesse
des solides, la hauteur de lit, la dilution et la géométrie
du lit. L’effet de ces variables sur les premier et second
moments, ainsi que sur les courbes F, ont été
déterminés. On a trouvé que l’utilisation d’un mélange
de solides binaire ou d’un interne à l’intérieur du lit
réduisait le rétromélange des solides. Les données ont
été calées au FTEM et les valeurs de N obtenues ont été
comparées pour différentes variables.
Keywords: fluidized bed, residence time distribution,
binary solid mixture, bed geometry.
The assumption of ideal mixing was made by
Krishnaiah et al. (1982) and Toei and Akao (1968)
while studying RTD of solids in a multistage fluidized
bed. Ideal mixing of solids can be characterized by a
tanks-in-series model (Levenspiel, 1972). The model
was extended by Buffham and Gibilaro (1968) to include
gamma function extension to the tanks-in-series model.
A fractional extension to the tanks-in-series model, known
as the fractional tank extension model (FTEM), was
proposed by Stokes and Nauman (1970) to give
fractional values to the number of tanks to describe the
RTD of solids in a fluidized bed. Wittmann et al. (1983)
measured residence time distribution of solid particles
in a bench-scale fluidized bed reactor in the absence
and presence of a chemical reaction. The residence
time distributions were evaluated by a backflow
cascade model by non-linear optimization. The radial
The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003
and longitudinal concentrations of NaHCO3 in the emulsion phase Smolders and Baeyens (2000) and Rhodes et al. (1991)
of the reactor were measured during steady state operation. The reported on RTD of solids in a circulating fluidized bed riser using
authors reported the values of longitudinal dispersion coefficient and NaCl salt as the tracer and used a dispersion model to interpret
the solid dispersion coefficient in the bubble-free emulsion phase. the data. Smolders and Baeyens (2000) related Peclet numbers
Berruti et al. (1988) estimated the residence time distribution of with gas velocity and circulation rate and reported a decrease in
low density particles in a fluidized bed of sand particles. The authors
used a single parameter model (axial dispersion model and tanks-in-
series model) and a multi-parameter model (circulation model) to
describe the RTD of solids. They reported that the circulation model
gives a good description of the physical mechanism involved and
provides good agreement with the experimental results. Aksahin et
al. (2001) interpreted the experimental data on gas residence time
distribution in a laboratory scale fluidized bed system with available
two-phase, dense-phase dispersion models for adsorptive tracers
and the modified models assuming a stationary dense phase and
neglecting axial dispersion in this phase. The authors calculated
mean residence time and variance. They found that methods
considering convective flux alone between the bubble and emulsion
phases gave closer values to the experimental ones than the
methods also including the diffusive flux. Hence, the work gives the
effect of adsorption on mass transfer in a laboratory-scale fluidized
bed reactor and the effect of temperature on mass transfer.

Table 1. Experimental conditions of the present investigation.

Di: 80.75 mm; tc: 2.00 mm; dw: 10.00 mm; hw: 30.0, 47.5 and 57.5 mm;
GS: 0.4622 to 0.9829 kg/m2·s; Gf : 1.356, 1.627, 1.898 and 2.170 kg/m2·s

Particle characteristics
Sample rs , kg/m3 dp, mm
A (uniform) 2620 0.7960
B (mixture) 2620 0.8292 Figure 1. Experimental setup.

Table 2. Experimental RTD data.

Uniform size; flat plate; T = 28°C; hw = 30.0 mm; Gf = 1.627 kg/m2·s; GS = 0.4622 kg /m2·s; –
t = 82.97 s; sq2 = 0.5266; N = 1.29; s = 0.01391.

S.No t, s c(t) E(t) E(q) q FE FM

1 0 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

2 15 0.0910 0.0065 0.5425 0.1808 0.0490 0.0674
3 30 0.1650 0.0119 0.9840 0.3620 0.1870 0.1990
4 45 0.1280 0.0092 0.7600 0.5420 0.3450 0.3370
5 60 0.1000 0.0072 0.5960 0.7230 0.4670 0.4630
6 75 0.0825 0.0059 0.4920 0.9040 0.5660 0.5690
7 90 0.0690 0.0050 0.4110 1.0850 0.6470 0.6560
8 105 0.0605 0.0044 0.3610 1.2660 0.7170 0.7260
9 120 0.0465 0.0033 0.2770 1.4460 0.7750 0.7830
10 135 0.0275 0.0020 0.1640 1.6270 0.8150 0.8280
11 150 0.0225 0.0016 0.1340 1.8080 0.8416 0.8630
12 165 0.0236 0.0017 0.1400 1.9890 0.8660 0.8920
13 180 0.0255 0.0018 0.1523 2.1700 0.8930 0.9140
14 195 0.0239 0.0017 0.1423 2.3500 0.9190 0.9320
15 210 0.0210 0.0015 0.1255 2.5310 0.9440 0.9460
16 225 0.0196 0.0014 0.1170 2.7120 0.9660 0.9570
17 240 0.0158 0.0011 0.0939 2.8927 0.9846 0.9662
18 255 0.0013 0.0001 0.0078 3.0730 0.9938 0.9730
19 270 0.0013 0.0001 0.0074 3.2540 0.9950 0.9790
20 285 0.0012 0.0001 0.0069 3.4350 0.9965 0.9832
21 300 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 3.6160 0.9971 0.9867

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003 119
the Peclet number with an increase in the solids circulation rate,
thus increasing solids backmixing. The authors also assumed a
core/annulus structure for the riser and an interchange of particles
between the regions. The interchange of particles increased
backmixing of solids and gave higher dispersion to experimental
curves compared to theoretical curves. Rhodes et al. (1991)
correlated the Peclet number with riser diameter and mean solids
flux. Longitudinal solids flux decreased with an increase in riser
diameter. The RTD measured by the authors confirmed the
existence of core/annulus flow structure in which the solids near
the wall have a lower upward velocity than those in the core.
Experimental
The experimental setup consists of a fluidization column and an air
chamber both made up of galvanized iron separated by a
perforated plate, which acts as a distributor for air while simultane-
ously supporting the fluidized bed. The perforated plate was
provided with a stainless steel wire mesh of 100-mesh size to
prevent passage of solids through the perforations. An air inlet pipe
from the rotameter was connected to the air chamber at the bottom
with a perforated plate provided in the air chamber above the pipe.
Experiments were performed for the measurement of
residence time distribution of solids for different experimental
conditions by varying the solids flow rate, gas flow rate, bed
height and plate geometry. Experiments were performed using
solids of uniform size as well as for a binary solid mixture of 20%
dilution (20% by wt. coarse and 80% by wt. fine).
RTD studies have been made using colored material as the
tracer. The uniformly sized material used was of 0.796 mm size.
The binary solid mixture contains 20% coarse size (dp = 0.995 mm)
and 80% fine size (dp = 0.796 mm). Particle size of the binary
solid mixture is calculated from (McCabe and Smith, 1993):
1
dp =
 fi / d pi (1)
i

Table 3. Model parameters obtained.

Run No. Sample hw, mm Gf , kg/m2·s GS, kg/m2·s N t̄, s sq2

Flat Plate

1 B 30.0 1.356 0.5728 1.52 69.49 0.4461

3 B 30.0 1.356 0.6574 1.37 67.82 0.4930
5 B 30.0 1.898 0.6379 1.35 76.91 0.4876
20 A 30.0 1.356 0.9633 1.41 60.41 0.5021
21 A 30.0 1.627 0.9633 1.42 62.98 0.5064
22 A 30.0 1.898 0.9633 1.40 48.88 0.5217
28 B 47.5 1.898 0.6574 1.30 86.40 0.5110
31 B 47.5 1.627 0.7485 1.28 95.22 0.5453
32 B 47.5 1.898 0.7485 1.19 93.07 0.5786
36 A 47.5 1.356 0.5728 1.42 87.04 0.5013
39 A 47.5 1.356 0.6574 1.24 92.73 0.6000
40 A 47.5 1.627 0.6574 1.20 124.77 0.5831
41 A 47.5 1.898 0.6574 1.12 128.30 0.6428
42 A 47.5 1.356 0.7876 1.21 76.86 0.6085
46 A 47.5 1.627 0.9829 1.23 80.91 0.5812
47 A 47.5 1.898 0.9829 1.16 87.79 0.6555
48 B 57.5 1.356 0.7485 1.35 101.94 0.5055
49 B 57.5 1.627 0.7485 1.33 96.74 0.5194
50 B 57.5 1.898 0.7485 1.18 82.05 0.5683

Baffle Plate

57 A 30.0 1.356 0.8006 1.51 112.46 0.4777

60 A 30.0 1.356 0.9829 1.46 71.34 0.5510
61 A 30.0 1.627 0.9829 1.41 77.18 0.5058
62 A 30.0 1.898 0.9763 1.28 62.73 0.5143
64 B 30.0 1.627 0.5728 2.41 82.20 0.3270
65 B 30.0 1.898 0.5728 2.01 74.54 0.4212
67 B 30.0 1.627 0.6379 2.04 76.12 0.4077
70 B 30.0 1.627 0.7680 1.67 73.29 0.4494
73 B 30.0 1.627 0.9437 1.52 67.18 0.4623

Spiral Plate

76 B 30.0 1.627 0.9633 1.30 64.21 0.5318

77 B 30.0 1.898 0.9568 1.26 68.64 0.5694
79 A 30.0 1.627 0.9698 2.12 59.74 0.4478

120 The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003
where fi is the mass fraction of i of particle size dpi in the mixture.
Figure 1 shows the experimental setup and the experimental
conditions of the present study are given in Table 1, while the RTD
experimental data for a typical experiment are shown in Table 2.
Column 1 in Table 3 indicates the run number, which is the
number of the actual experiment performed in the laboratory.
Air was admitted into the column, while the solids at a
known flow rate were admitted by adjusting the valve position
at the bottom of the conical storage bin of solids. The fluidized
solids exit through the downcomer.
At steady state a known weight of tracer was introduced as a
pulse into the column at the feed inlet. Samples were collected at
the exit at fixed time intervals util no tracer was present in the outlet
of the solids. Each collected effluent sample of known weight was
extracted for color using distilled water. Color concentration of
each extracted sample was analyzed for concentration using a
pre-calibrated visible range colorimeter. Tracer concentration,
c(t), of each sample was obtained from the calibration chart
prepared earlier and is expressed as kg tracer/kg material. As the
tail-end samples contain very little tracer, the samples were
analyzed for color concentration by hand-picking.
Results and Discussion
Using the experimental c(t) vs. t curve, the moments of each
RTD curve are obtained as follows (Levenspiel, 1972):
µ µ
2 increase in t̄ with an increase in particle size. In the present work, the
Ú ctdt Ú ct dt
t = 0 ; st2 = 0 - t 2 and s q2 = st2 / t 2 (2)
µ µ
Ú cdt Ú cdt
0 0
Exit age distribution function, E(q) was obtained from c(t) vs. t
curve as per the method given by Levenspiel (1972). The
cumulative age distribution function, F(q) was obtained by
integrating E(q) over q (=t/t̄) for each sample of the experiment
at the corresponding value of q.
The following observations have been made for the range of
experimental conditions in the present investigation. Mean
residence time t̄ obtained from the RTD curve was found to
decrease with an increase in solids flow rate for all the systems
used in different bed geometries except for a flat plate at higher
bed heights (hw = 47.5 mm). With an increase in gas rate, t̄
decreases for all systems except for the binary solid mixture in a
spiral plate and the flat plate at hw = 30.0 mm.
In a spiral plate, t̄ decreases with an increase in Gf for
uniformly sized particles, while the trend was reversed when a
mixture was used. In a mixture, due to the presence of a second
solid particle, the mean residence time increases. This indicates
that the heterogeneous solid–solid interaction gives more
residence time for solids in a spiral plate with an increase in gas rate.
When a mixture is used in a flat plate fluidized bed, t̄
increases with an increase in Gf for hw = 30.0 mm, while the
trend was reversed at hw = 47.5 mm and 57.5 mm. This is due
to mismatch between increased gas flow rate and decreased
solids holdup at low bed heights. When uniformly sized solids
are used in a flat plate, t̄ increases with an increase in Gf at
higher bed heights (hw = 47.5 mm), while t̄ decreases with an
increase in Gf at hw = 30.0 mm. With an increase in gas rate, gas
holdup increases while solids holdup decreases. Hence, t̄
decreases at hw = 30.0 mm for uniformly sized solids. For higher
bed heights, the increase in gas holdup with an increase in gas
The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003
rate does not match the decrease in solids holdup as the solids
holdup will be already at a higher level at higher bed heights.
Hence, the effect of Gf on t̄ at different bed heights gives a different
trend for a mixture compared to that of uniformly sized solids due
to the presence of heterogeneous binary solid–solid interactions.
For the entire range of experimentation, it was observed that
the mean residence time increases with an increase in bed
height. With an increase in bed height, solid concentration
increases. t̄ is given by H/AGS. At constant GS , H increases with
increase in hw and hence t̄ increases.
Comparing the RTD data of a binary solid mixture with that
of uniformly sized solids in a flat plate, it is seen that t̄ for a
mixture is less than that of uniformly sized solids. This is in
agreement with Samir (1996) who reported decrease in t̄ with
increase in dilution. He further reported that as dilution
increases, the particles get more and more diffusion-oriented,
thus reducing the mean residence time. Hence, the mean
residence time for a mixture will be less compared to that of
uniformly sized solids under similar conditions. The above
observations were also confirmed in the present investigation.
Similar observations were also found during experimentation
using a baffle plate, but when a spiral plate was used it was observed
that t̄ for a mixture is higher than that of uniformly sized solids
compared under similar conditions. When a mixture is used, the
effective particle size increases. Pydi Setty (1983), while reporting
the results on RTD of solids in a spiral fluidized bed, reported an
use of a mixture in a spiral plate gave more residence time for solids
compared to uniformly sized solids. Hence, it can be concluded
that, in a spiral plate, use of a mixture shows solids behavior similar
to that of increasing particle size, while in a flat plate, it cannot be
taken to be the same as that of increasing particle size when a
mixture is used. The behavior is completely different.
The experimental results in a baffle plate indicate that sq2 first
decreases with increase in GS for both uniformly sized solids as
well as for a mixture and then increases for a high solids flow
rate. When a mixture is used this trend is very clear for high gas
flow rate, while at low gas flow rate, sq2 was found to increase
with an increase in GS. When a baffle plate is used, there will be
directional movement for solids. So compared to a flat plate,
baffles, when used, reduce the bubble size and give more
diffusional movement for solids, thus reducing spread in
residence times. In a flat plate, with an increase in GS , more
particle–particle interactions will be involved. When baffles are
used, these baffles hinder the particle–particle interaction due
to more directional movement and reduced channel cross-
section. Hence, there will be a reduction in the variation of
residence times or sq2 decreases with increase in GS. When a
mixture is used the same observations were found for a higher
gas flow rate, i.e. there will be more diffusional movement for
solids with an increase in GS in a baffle plate for a higher gas
flow rate. For a mixture at a low gas flow rate, it was found that
sq2 increases with an increase in GS. This is because, at low Gf ,
the behavior of a solids mixture is similar to that of a flat plate of
cross-section equal to the channel cross-section of the baffle plate.
sq2 was found to increase with an increase in gas rate,
which is in agreement with earlier investigations. This is true for
the complete range of experimentation in the present work.
The increase in backmixing of solids due to an increase in
gas flow rate is due to increased heterogeneity caused by
increased bubble phase, which increases spread in
residence times.
121
 With an increase in bed height, sq2 was found to increase for
both uniformly sized solids as well as for a mixture of solids
used in a flat plate. Similar observations were also reported by
Pydi Setty (1983). This is due to an increase in random-walk
movement for solids with an increase in bed height and, hence,
more spread in residence times.
Comparing the data of a mixture with that of uniformly sized
solids, it was found that the solids backmixing is less for a
mixture than that of uniformly sized solids for both a flat plate
and a baffle plate.
In a spiral plate, the reduction in sq2 was observed for low
gas flow rates, while at high gas flow rates for a mixture, it was
found to be higher than that of uniformly sized solids. In a spiral
plate, solids will be moving in a spiral direction owing to the
spiral geometry. Since at high gas flow rates the bubbling will
be higher, addition of coarse particles to fine particles does not
improve the behavior and does not decrease sq2.
In a flat plate and a baffle plate, addition of coarse particles
to a bed of fine particles decreases the spread in residence times.

Modeling of RTD Curves

Morris et al. (1964) reported that the solids movement in a
fluidized bed is by diffusion at low bed heights and is by gross
circulation pattern in deeper beds. In general, diffusional
movement of particles in a fluidized bed can be approached
only by using some sort of internals inside the bed as observed
in the present work which shows that data on a baffle plate and
a spiral plate show low values of sq2 compared to that of a flat
plate operating under similar conditions. When diffusional
movement of solids is the controlling factor, models like the
axial dispersion model can be used.
In the present work, most of the experimentation involves no
internals inside the bed. Hence, the fractional tank extension
model of Stokes and Naumann (1970) was used to fit the
experimental data and the model parameter, N, the number of
tanks for different experimental conditions have been
determined. Figure 2 shows the fitness of the model for a typical
experiment indicating perfect ideal mixing between stages.
The parameter N was evaluated for each experiment by
minimizing the RMS (root mean square) deviation between
experimental and model values of F(q) at each interval of time.
The RMS deviation, s, is given by:
1/ 2
È1 M 2˘
{
s = Í Â (Fk )exp - (Fk )model
ÍÎ M k =1
} ˙˙˚ (3)
The deviation is minimized with respect to the parameter N by
Fibonnacci search method (Raghu Raman, 1985).
As seen from Table 3, the number of tanks is found to
decrease with an increase in gas flow rate. This is due to
increased solids backmixing, which reduces the number of
tanks. This is especially true for deeper beds. For shallow beds
(hw = 30.0 mm), gas flow rate has little effect on N. With an
increase in solids flow rate, the number of tanks, N, is found to
decrease indicating increased solids backmixing at a high solids
flow rate. At high solids flow rates, particle–particle collisions
will be higher, which leads to more random-walk movement for
solid particles and higher solids backmixing. Also, the number
of tanks N decreases with increase in bed height. With an
increase in bed height, solids backmixing increases — as seen
from the values of sq2 — and, hence, N decreases. This also
Figure 2. Effect of bed height and dilution on RTD of solids.
confirms the results reported by earlier investigators (Pydi
Setty, 1983).
Experimental data using a flat plate and a baffle plate show
higher values of N for a binary solid mixture compared to the
uniformly sized solids. This indicates that solids backmixing can
be reduced by the addition of coarse particles to a bed of fine
particles without resorting to the use of an internal inside the
bed. Comparing the values of N for uniformly sized particles in
a flat plate with that of a baffle plate, values of N were higher in
a baffle plate, indicating reduced solids backmixing in a baffle
plate, which is true due to the presence of a baffle internal.
Again, comparing the values of N in a flat plate for the mixture
with that of uniformly sized particles, it is observed that RTD
data gave higher values of N for a mixture than that of
uniformly sized particles, almost equivalent to values of N in a
baffle plate with uniformly sized particles. This clearly indicates
that using a mixture is an alternative for reducing the solids
backmixing rather than using an internal inside the bed, an
observation of practical importance, since in practice a mixture
is used rather than uniformly sized particles. Samir (1996)
reported reduction in solids backmixing with dilution and the
reduction increases with increase in dilution.
The values of N in a spiral plate indicate that N for a mixture is
less than that of undiluted solids. This is in contrast with the
observations in a baffle plate and a flat plate. The spiral geometry
gives directional and hence diffusional movement for solids. When
a mixture is used, solids backmixing is increased due to the new
heterogeneous particle–particle interactions. Hence, though
directional movement is present, the particle–particle collisions are
controlling and increasing the solids backmixing. Hence, using a
mixture does not improve the performance in a spiral fluidized bed.
Comparing the RTD data of uniformly sized solids in a flat
plate with that of a spiral plate with uniformly sized solids,
higher values of N are observed for a spiral indicating reduced
solids backmixing in a spiral plate under similar conditions
which is true due to the presence of a spiral internal. Hence, the

122 The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003
presence of an internal reduces solids backmixing inside the bed
as reported by Pydi Setty (1983), which is also observed in the
present work. Similar improvement of reduced solids backmixing
is also observed in the present work which is obtained by using
a solids mixture in a flat plate or a baffle plate. The reduction
increases with increase in dilution (Samir, 1996).
Effect of System Variables on RTD of Solids
The curves of F(q) vs. q tend towards plug flow conditions as N
increases and the experimental RTD curves lie between the two
extreme conditions of plug flow, and perfect mixed flow, i.e. the
curves show an S-shaped curve. From the nature of the curves
one can establish the increasing tendency towards plug flow or
perfect mixing with respect to different variables.
In the present investigation it was found that solids backmixing
increases with an increase in bed height. Figure 2 indicates increased
solids backmixing with an increase in bed height. Experimentation
on RTD of solids using a solids mixture show a reduction in solids
backmixing compared to that of uniformly sized particles as seen
from Figure 2. Experimental RTD data of solids in a spiral plate and
a baffle plate also show a reduction in solids backmixing.
Conclusions
Gas–solid fluidized beds offer several advantages as mentioned
earlier. But the presence of gas bubbles increase heterogeneity
of the bed causing random movement of particles resulting in
non-uniform quality of product. Several earlier investigators
suggested the use of internal baffles inside the bed so as to
increase the plug flow tendency of the solid particles.
The experimental RTD data shows an increase in solids backmix-
ing with an increase in gas flow rate, solids flow rate and bed height.
This is in agreement with Beran and Lutcha (1975) and Reay (1978)
who reported an increased dispersion with an increase in gas rate.
Pydi Setty (1983) observed increased dispersion with increase in bed
height. These authors used the axial dispersion model to describe the
RTD of solids and reported the values of the dispersion coefficient. An
increase in dispersion coefficient indicates deviation from plug flow
conditions or an increase in solids backmixing.
Using an internal like a baffle internal or a spiral internal
increases the plug flow tendency of particles. Also, addition of
coarse material to a bed of fine particles increases the plug flow
tendency of the solid particles in a flat fluidized bed or a fluidized
bed provided with a baffle plate. The same improvement obtained
with respect to the plug flow tendency of particles in a fluidized
bed provided with a spiral plate or a baffle plate compared to that
of a flat plate fluidized bed can be obtained using a binary solid
mixture (addition of coarse sized particles to a bed of fine particles)
as observed in the present work. Hence, a binary solid mixture can
be used in practice, conveniently without adapting to the complex
features of using an internal inside the bed.
Since, in practice, the actual material used will be a mixture
rather than a material of uniform size, the present work is
critical, as it involves the use of a mixture of particles.
Nomenclature
A cross-sectional area of the column, (m2)
dp particle size, (mm)
dw downcomer diameter, (mm)
Di inside diameter of the column, (mm)
FE experimental value of F(q)
FM Predicted value of F(q) from the model
Gf mass velocity of gas, (kg/m2·s)
The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Volume 81, February 2003
GS mass velocity of solids, (kg/m2·s)
H holdup of solids, (kg)
hw bed height, (mm)
N equivalent number of ideal stages
T temperature, (°C)
tc thickness of the column, (mm)
t̄ mean residence time, (s)
Greek Symbols
sq2 variance of the RTD curve, (s2)
sl2 dimensionless variance of the RTD curve
rS density of solids, (kg/m3)
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Manuscript received August 23, 2001; revised manuscript received
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