CFD SIMULATION OF THREE-PHASE FLUIDIZED BEDS INVESTIGATION ON TURBULENCE MODELS

Mohsen Hamidipour1,2, Jinwen Chen1, Tadek Dabros1, Faal Larachi2 CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada, One Oil Patch Drive, Devon, AB, Canada, T9G1A8 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Laval University, Qubec, QC, Canada G1V0A6

Summary CFD simulations of gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds have been performed in a full 3dimensional, unsteady triple-Euler framework by using FLUENT and are discussed in comparison with experimental data obtained from laboratory scale three-phase fluidized beds. The significance of implementing higher-order discretization numerical schemes as well as the choice of available k- turbulence modeling (standard, RNG, realizable) are discussed. The realizable formulation was unable to produce the expected gulf-stream pattern of three-phase fluidized beds whereas the RNG and standard k- models exhibited better description of flow pattern. Keywords Three-phase fluidized bed, Computational fluid dynamics, Modeling, Turbulence

Introduction
Three-phase fluidization is a process in which the solid catalyst particles are suspended in a gas-liquid flow environment. The operation is in an upflow cocurrent mode. The ease of catalyst addition and removal, and excellent heat transfer are the major advantages of this process while solid entrainment could be considered as a potential disadvantage. Extensive applications of gas-liquid-solid fluidized bed reactors can be found in the chemical, petrochemical and refining industries [1]. Understanding the hydrodynamics is the key to scale up three-phase fluidized beds from lab to commercial scale. In addition to experimental efforts [2,3], advanced modeling tools, e.g. computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have proven very useful, especially when conducting experiments is otherwise unfeasible. So far very few studies have been published on CFD modeling and simulation of three-phase fluidized beds. Two modeling approaches are used: i) Euler-Euler-Euler based on the interpenetrating multi-fluid formulation, and ii) Euler-Lagrange which solves the motion equation for the dispersed phase. The merit of the former to study hydrodynamics of three-phase fluidized beds has not been considered until recently [4]. One of the important issues in developing successful computational frameworks is the choice of turbulence formulation. Moreover, several other factors such as the choice of solid pressure and viscosity relations, interphase momentum exchange rates, numerical

discretization schemes and grid resolution could significantly affect model predictive capability. Therefore the aim of this work is to perform Eulerian multi-fluid simulations of gas-liquid-solid fluidized beds with specific focus on turbulence models. Various formulations of the k- model are systematically tested. The importance of selecting higher-order discretization schemes to achieve reliable results through correct physical representation is assessed. To ease reproducing results, details of numerical parameters that have been used in CFD simulations are reported explicitly. The simulations were carried out using the commercial CFD package FLUENT (Version 13.0.0).

Computational model
To model three-phase fluidized bed hydrodynamics, a triple Euler model was developed in which gas, liquid and solid were treated as mutually-interacting interpenetrating continua. The isothermal reaction-free model consists of mass and momentum equations for each phase. The continuity equation can be written as:
r ( q q ) + ( q q vq ) = 0 t

where q and q are the density and volume fraction of each phase (q = g, l, s) respectively. The volume fractions of the three phases should satisfy the following condition: g + l + s = 1

Momentum equation for gas phase:

r r r r r ( g g vg ) + ( g g vg vg ) = g P + g + g g g + Fg t

0.3

0.2

Momentum equation for liquid phase:

r r rr r ( l l vl ) + ( l l vl vl ) = l P + l + l l g + Fl t
Axial solid velocity (m/s)
0.1

Momentum equation for solid phase:

r r rr r ( s s vs ) + ( s s vs vs ) = s P Ps + s + s s g + Fs t

-0.1

The solid phase momentum equation includes solid pressure which arises due to collisions among solid particles. The system of equations was closed using proper closure laws for turbulence, solid pressure and interphase momentum exchange terms.

-0.2 Experimental data CFD model -0.3 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Results and discussion

Since the radial profiles of axial solid velocity and gas holdup are commonly used to compare simulations with experimental data, three types of averaging have been performed. Radial profiles of time-averaged flow field parameters have been tangentially- and axially-averaged over the fully developed region of the flow. After reaching pseudo-steady-state, a time averaging process was enabled for a period of 40 s. The movement of solids in a three-phase fluidized bed is similar to the liquid phase pattern in a gas-liquid bubble column [3]. It has been shown that in a bubble column the radial profile of gas phase holdup provides the driving force for liquid circulation. The variation is considerable with the maximum value occurring along the column centerline whereas the minimum value occurs close to the reactor wall. This holdup pattern leads to liquid circulation throughout the column with liquid ascending in the core region and descending along the wall. Similarly, the circulation pattern for solid particles in a three-phase fluidized bed results from radial variation of bed density. The larger bubbles with greater rising velocities tend to move in the core region. The radial profile of gas holdup induces circulation of the emulsion phase (liquidsolid mixture). Figure 1 presents the radial profile of axial solid velocity. According to the flow pattern of a typical single circulation cell in a threephase fluidized bed, the axial solid velocity is maximal at the centerline, decreasing across the radial position until it reaches the inversion point where the velocity is zero. From the inversion point position to the wall the velocities are negative. Figure 2 illustrates the radial profile of gas holdup. The highest gas holdup is in the center of the bed while it diminishes near the wall. The model reasonably captures the trend of the experimental data. The effect of different factors including the choice of turbulence model on CFD results will be discussed in detail.

Dimensionless radial position, r/R

Figure 1. Radial profile of axial solid velocity, comparison of CFD results with experimental data, Ul = 0.065 m/s, Ug = 0.11 m/s.
0.3

0.25

0.2

Gas holdup

0.15

0.1

0.05 Experimental data CFD model 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Dimensionless radial position, r/R

Figure 2. Radial profile of gas holdup, comparison of CFD results with experimental data, Ul = 0.06 m/s, Ug = 0.1 m/s.

References
[1] F. Larachi, L. Belfares, I. Iliuta, B.P.A. Grandjean, Three-Phase fluidization macroscopic hydrodynamics revisited, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 40 (2001) 993-1008. [2] W. Warsito, L.S. Fan, ECT imaging of threephase fluidised bed based on three-phase capacitance model. Chem. Eng. Sci. 58 (2003), 823-832. [3] K. Kiared, F. Larachi, J. Chaouki, C. Guy, Mean and turbulent particle velocity in the fully developed region of a three-phase fluidised bed. Chem. Eng. Tech. 22 (1999) 683-689. [4] R. Panneerselvam, S. Savithri, G.D. Surender, CFD simulation of hydrodynamics of gasliquid-solid fluidised bed reactor. Chem. Eng. Sci. 67 (2009) 119-1135.