Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539

www.elsevier.com/locate/ces

Effect of particle shape on liquid-fluidized beds of binary (and ternary) solids

mixtures: segregation vs. mixing
R. Escudiéa, b , N. Epsteina,∗ , J.R. Gracea , H.T. Bia
a Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2216 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z4
b Laboratoire de Biotechnologie de l’Environnement (LBE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Avenue des étangs, 11100 Narbonne, France

Received 1 June 2005; received in revised form 26 July 2005; accepted 21 August 2005
Available online 2 November 2005

Abstract
Experiments were carried out in water-fluidized binary (and ternary) mixtures of teflon spheres, discs and rods. All particles had the same
volume, while the discs and rods had nearly the same sphericity. It is shown that segregation can occur by shape, with similar segregated and
mixed zones as when binary mixtures of different size or density are fluidized. The model of Pruden and Epstein (1964; Stratification by size
in particulate fluidisation and in hindered settling. Chemical Engineering Science 19, 696), in which the degree of segregation depends on the
bulk density difference(s) of the corresponding monocomponent beds at the same liquid velocity, is vindicated qualitatively for each system, but
sphericity is not sufficient as a single shape factor to yield a single quantitative correlation of the transitions between segregation patterns for the
different systems. Segregation by shape of non-isometric particles appears to require higher reduced density differences than sizing of spheres,
probably because of the greater bed instabilities generated by the non-isometric particles. Overall bed voidage is predicted well by the serial
model of Epstein et al. (1981; Liquid fluidisation of binary particle mixture– I.Overall bed expansion. Chemical Engineering Science 36, 1803).
䉷 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Fluidization; Particle mixing; Segregation; Shape; Hydrodynamics

1. Introduction may segregate or mix, according to the characteristics of the

The use of liquid fluidization in the mining industry was
practised as early as the 19th century in order to separate solids
of different sizes or densities, and applications of liquid–solid
fluidized beds to a variety of other operations have increased
markedly during the past century (Epstein, 2003a). In the last
three decades, fluidized-bed reactors have received much at-
tention in the biotechnology sector, one of the most common
applications being wastewater treatment. In such bioreactors,
the properties of the fluidized carrier particles (size, density,
shape) can change during the process because of their colo-
nization by a biofilm. In other industrial applications, even if
the particles are uniform at the beginning of the process, their
properties may change due to attrition, coalescence or chemi-
cal reaction. Consequently, the solids in these reactors can vary
in size and/or density and/or shape, with the result that they
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: 1 604 822 2815; fax: 1 604 822 6003.
E-mail address: helsa@chml.ubc.ca (N. Epstein).
0009-2509/$ - see front matter 䉷 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ces.2005.08.028
particles and the liquid, and the operating conditions.
In order to better understand classification phenomena and
to simplify the problem, previous studies have focused on
mixing and segregation in binary-solids mixtures, and in a
small number of cases ternary-solids mixtures. Much work
has been devoted to investigating the segregation of particles
by size (sizing) and, to a lesser extent, by density (sorting). As
illustrated for the case of binary sizing in Fig. 1, four different
segregation or mixing patterns have been identified by Gibilaro
et al. (1985), who labelled them (a) perfect mixing, (b) par-
tial segregation 2, (c) partial segregation 1 and (d) complete
segregation. Other investigators have used other designations,
e.g. “complete mixing” for (a), “continuous stratification with
no interface” for (b), “segregation with transition zone” or
“. . .fuzzy interface” or “. . .mixed region” or “. . .continuously
stratified intermediate layer” for (c), and “clean-cut segre-
gation with a sharp interface” for (d). For simplicity we
adopt the terms: (a) homogeneous mixing, (b) heteroge-
neous mixing, (c) incomplete segregation and (d) complete
segregation.
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Fig. 1. Mixing and segregation patterns for liquid fluidization of binary-sized
spheres of equal density, after Gibilaro et al. (1985).
Two approaches have been developed to describe and predict
these phenomena. Initiated by Kennedy and Bretton (1966), a
dispersion–segregation model based on a one-dimensional ver-
sion of Fick’s Law was developed on the assumption that at
any level the dispersive flux of species i relative to the random
movement of the fluidized particles can be equated to the seg-
regation flux of this species:
−Di jCi /jz = Ci Upi .
The main problems in solving this equation are the estimations
of both the dispersion coefficient Di (Di Felice, 1995; Epstein,
2003b) and the segregation velocity Upi of species i. In addi-
tion, this method does not provide any criteria for distinguish-
ing between the four mixing-segregation patterns of Fig. 1. A
second approach, initiated by Pruden and Epstein (1964), as-
sumes that the driving force for segregation of a binary parti-
cle mixture is the bulk density difference of the corresponding
monocomponent beds. This approach is adopted in the present
work.
Although the effects of particle size and density are now well
established, the influence of particle shape is still unknown.
Recently, Barghi et al. (2003) reported on the mixing and seg-
regation in liquid–solid fluidized beds using an electrochemical
technique involving the collision frequencies of tracer parti-
cles on probes with 3.0 wt% aqueous NaCl solution as the liq-
uid. In addition to sizing and sorting experiments, aluminium
tracer particles of cylindrical shape were mixed with 5-mm
glass spheres, the cylindrical particles having the same volume
and similar density to the spheres and diameter to length ra-
tios, Dc /Lc , of either 1 or 2, corresponding to sphericities of
0.874 and 0.825, respectively. Some segregation occurred only
with Dc /Lc = 2, and then only at the lower velocities in the
heterogeneous mixing mode illustrated by Fig. 1b, the elec-
trodes at the top of the bed registering more collisions from the
cylinders than at lower levels. It should be noted, however, that
since the bed heights employed by Barghi et al. (2003) were
very small (typically, a defluidized bed height of 200 mm and
voidages not exceeding 60%), mixing effects due to the liquid
1529
distributor played a dominant role in their experiments, partic-
ularly at higher liquid superficial velocities. Also, their results
for every type of particle classification were almost all within
the dense solids voidage range (
≈ 0.5.0.6), which explains
their conclusion that “particle density had a much stronger ef-
fect on segregation than size and shape”. This conclusion con-
forms to the generalization (Epstein, 2005) that sorting, unlike
sizing, is best performed in the lower voidage range.
The objective of the present work is to study the liquid-
fluidized-bed classification by shape (“shaping”) of particles
having the same volume and the same density but different
shapes. A predictive model, based on differences of bulk density
of each individual monocomponent bed, is first developed for
“shaping”. This model is examined by generating experimental
data for binary and ternary mixtures of particles of equal volume
and equal density but different shapes: spheres, discs and rods.
2. Experimental equipment and measurement technique
The experimental set-up is similar to that described by Lee
et al. (2001), where it was used for three-phase fluidization
tests (see their Fig. 1). The column is constructed of acrylic,
with an inner diameter (D) of 0.127 m and an overall height of
2.58 m. Water at 20 ◦ C is fed from a feed tank and is circulated
back to the fluidization column via a centrifugal pump. The
tank is equipped with baffles to calm the flow and minimize
(1) entrainment of air with the incoming water. The liquid flow rate
is measured by two calibrated rotameters.
The column consists of three sections: a calming entry sec-
tion filled with 25-mm plastic spherical Tri-Packs (FABCO) to
homogenize the liquid flow before it reaches the liquid distrib-
utor, the test section separated from the calming section by the
distributor, and a disengagement section. The discharged water
returns by gravity to the feed tank. The distributor, designed so
that its pressure drop is always at least 25% of that across the
bed of particles, consists of a perforated plate containing 54
holes of 4.8 mm diameter on a square grid, giving a free area
ratio of 7.7%.
Along the height of the column, 6.3-mm diameter pres-
sure taps were located, starting at 64 mm above the distributor
and then at four 153-mm intervals followed by thirteen 103-
mm intervals. A differential pressure transducer, Omega model
PX750-30DI, measured the dynamic pressure drops over each
interval, the pressure difference being recorded for periods of
60 s at 50 Hz. Assuming negligible wall friction and acceler-
ational effects, the dynamic pressure gradient, −
P /
Z, be-
tween adjacent pressure taps, i.e., the static pressure gradient
corrected for the hydrostatic head, is then given by
−
P /
Z = (1 −
)(s − l )g, (2)
where
is the average bed voidage between successive
pressure taps.
In order to understand the effect of particle shape in a binary-
solid liquid fluidized bed, three different shapes of particles
were used, all made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), i.e.,
Teflon䉸 , thereby ensuring the same density (s =2160 kg/m3 ).
1530 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539

Table 1 The initial hypothesis is that the degree of segregation depends

Characteristics of the three types of particles on the difference between the bulk densities of the two particle
Dc (mm) Lc (mm) d (mm)  k species when each is fluidized separately in the same column
with the same liquid at the same superficial liquid velocity, U, as
Spheres N.A. N.A. 9.525 1 N.A.
Discs 12.7 3.50 9.461 0.716 1.342
for the binary (Epstein, 2005). For a binary particle mixture of
Rods 4.76 25.4 9.525 0.686 0.500 uniform density s , uniform volume-equivalent diameter d and
different shapes (2 > 1 ), the driving force for segregation is
then given by
The first type of particles was spherical, with a diameter (dp ) B2 − B1 = [
2 l + (1 −
2 )s ] − [
1 l + (1 −
1 )s ]
of 9.53 mm (3/8 ) and an Archimedes number of = (s − l )(
1 −
2 ), (8)

dp3 l (s − l )g where Bi is the bulk density of the monocomponent flu-
Ar = = 9.8 × 106 (3) idized bed of particle species i, and
i is the overall voidage of
2
the monocomponent fluidized bed of particle species i at the
assuming water at 20 ◦ C as the liquid. Hence, these particles are given U.
clearly in the Newton regime (Ar > 100, 000) when undergoing The empirical equation of Richardson and Zaki (1954) can
free settling. be applied to each particle species fluidized separately:
In order to isolate the influence of particle shape, the two
U = Ue1
n1 1 = Ue2
n2 2 , (9)
other types of particles were cut from circular cylinders to have
the same volume (Vp ) as the spheres, so that their volume- where Ue is the value of U when a linear plot of log U vs. log

equivalent diameter was is extrapolated to
=1. Assuming as a crude approximation that

Ue /Ut is the same for all three particle shapes in the Newton
d = 3 6Vp /. (4) region, Eq. (9) can be re-written
 
From Eq. (4), the cylinder diameter (Dc ) and the cylinder length Ut2 n1 /n2
(Lc ) are related by
1 ≈
. (10)
Ut1 2
d 3 = 3Dc2 Lc /2. (5) Substituting Eq. (10) into Eq. (8),
  
The two types of cylinder were chosen to have different shapes, Ut2 1/n1 n2 /n1
but very nearly the same sphericity (), defined as the ratio of B2 − B1 ≈ (s − l )
2 −
2 . (11)
Ut1
the surface area of the sphere of the same volume to the surface
area of the particle. For cylindrical particles this leads to By analogy to the sizing phenomenon, a reduced bulk density
difference, , can be defined, and it becomes the governing
d2 measure of the degree of particle segregation:
= . (6)
Dc Lc + 0.5Dc2
(B2 − B1 )
= =
1 −
2 (8a)
Defining k as the ratio of cylinder diameter (Dc ) to volume- (s − l )
equivalent diameter (d), Eqs. (5) and (6) reduce to  
Ut2 1/n1 n2 /n1
6k ≈
2 −
2 . (12)
= . (7) Ut1
4 + 3k 3
The degree of segregation can be estimated from the value of
For k > 0.874, the shape corresponds to a disc (Lc < Dc ) , which clearly depends on the characteristics of the mono-
whereas k < 0.874 denotes a rod (Lc > Dc ). A range of k val- component fluidized bed expansions, and therefore on the val-
ues was considered to find where the same sphericity occurs ues of the Richardson–Zaki parameters. In general, as shown
for both disc and rod. Since the particles are cut from com- by Haider and Levenspiel (1989) for nonspherical particles, the
mercial PTFE circular cylinders, there are practical limitations terminal settling velocity decreases as the particle sphericity
to the values of Dc available. Rods and discs were then cut decreases (Ut2 > Ut1 ). In addition, the particle shape affects the
to volumes virtually identical to that of the spheres, while the expansion index n in the Stokes regime, with n increasing as
sphericities of the rods and discs were similar, as shown in the sphericity decreases (Chong et al., 1979; Dharmarajah and
Table 1. Cleasby, 1986). In the Newton regime, the expansion index has
been reported to be almost constant (Dharmarajah and Cleasby,
3. Theoretical considerations 1986). Consequently, in both regimes: Ut2 /Ut1 > 1,
2 < 1 and
n2 /n1
1. The right-hand side of Eq. (12) is therefore always
In order to predict the classification of liquid fluidized beds positive, so that particles of larger sphericity should tend to seg-
by shape (“shaping”), we adopt an approach similar to that regate towards the bottom of the column. In the Stokes regime,
initiated by Pruden and Epstein (1964) to predict the segrega- the value of the normalized bulk density difference can in-
tion of binary-size uniform-density spherical particle mixtures. crease, decrease or remain unchanged as U (and hence
2 ) is
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
increased, depending on the values of Ut2 /Ut1 , n1 , n2 /n1 and


2 ; thus no qualitative generalization can be drawn about the
expected effect of bed expansion on segregation in this regime.
However, based on the reasonable assumption that the expan-
sion index is almost constant in the Newton regime (n1 ≈ n2 ),
Eq. (13) can be rewritten for this regime (in which Ut2  Ut1
especially for isometric2 vs. non-isometric1 particles) as
  
Ut2 1/n1
 ≈
2 −1 (13)
Ut1
so that  always increases as the bed expands. Hence more
segregation should occur at higher voidages. Since the three
species of particles (fluidized by water with d =dp ) in this work
are in the Newton regime, as noted above, Eq. (13) becomes
central to this study.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Monocomponent particle systems
The three different species were first fluidized separately to
determine their bed expansion behaviour and thus to estimate
the Richardson–Zaki parameters. This procedure was accom-
panied by observation of the flow patterns for the different par-
ticle shapes.
4.1.1. Voidage measurement techniques
Three different methods were tested to determine the voidage
within the fluidized beds of the three monocomponent particle
systems. The first was to measure the bed height visually. This
ideally requires a very clear and stable interface between the
particle swarm and the freeboard, which was the case only for
the spheres in the present study.
With the aid of measurements of dynamic pressure drops, two
alternative techniques were also employed. Figs. 2a–c present
typical dynamic pressure gradient profiles for the spheres, discs
and rods, respectively. In the bed of spheres, well above the liq-
uid injection level, the dynamic pressure gradients are constant
and independent of height. The voidage can then be estimated
from Eq. (2) as
−
P /
Z

=1− . (14)
(s − l )g
This second method requires a large interval over which the
pressure gradient is constant, which was the case consistently
for the spheres, only sometimes for the discs and never for the
rods. However, when the bed height and hence void fraction
were low, the pressure drop could only be determined from two
or three pressure taps.
The third method was to plot the dynamic pressure (i.e.,
static pressure minus hydrostatic head of liquid) vs. vertical
position to determine the height of the bed. The dynamic pres-
sures were obtained additively from measured dynamic pres-
sure drops between successive pairs of pressure taps. Figs. 3a–c
present dynamic pressure profiles along the column. In the free-
board section, the dynamic pressure is zero above the particle
1531
disengagement zone, whereas it increases with distance below
the surface of the bed. When the surface is stable and the void
fraction is homogeneous in the bed, the pressure plot is linear,
and hence it is possible to extrapolate the curve to obtain the bed
height. This was the case for the beds containing the spheres
and those containing the discs. For the rods, the curves were
linear except close to the distributor and the top bed surface,
and the latter could be estimated by extrapolating the linear
portion of the curve.
4.1.2. Expansion and global hydrodynamics
The general bed characteristics differed for each of the three
particle species fluidized separately. For the spheres, the bed
appeared visually to be relatively homogeneous compared to
what was later observed for the discs and the rods, and the inter-
face was distinct and stable, regardless of the liquid flow, since
the particles were not appreciably entrained into the freeboard.
The void fractions based on all three methods are consequently
in very good agreement (Fig. 4a).
For the discs, the interface was less distinct, but the bed
height did not fluctuate much. For a high liquid velocity with

> 85%, some particles were entrained into the freeboard. The
maximum liquid superficial velocity used was restricted to
0.33 m/s to minimize this entrainment. As shown in Fig. 4b,
the three techniques give small differences in the determination
of the bed void fraction. The average pressure gradient method
gave poor results for the low void fractions because the number
of data points available to calculate the mean pressure gradient
was too low.
For the rods, the particle motion differed from that of the
other two shapes. Very large circulation loops (vortices) were
generated within the bed, and the interface was unstable and
oscillating. In addition, for lower liquid velocities, the bed ap-
peared to lock periodically, and some preferential pathways
of liquid appeared, a channeling phenomenon observed also
by Briens et al. (1997) for “angular” particles. The minimum
superficial liquid velocity for the voidage measurements was
therefore taken as that corresponding to the collapse of these
pathways. The voidages estimated from the visual observa-
tions and the two dynamic pressure methods differ significantly
(Fig. 4c), undoubtedly because the visual determination is quite
subjective due to the instability of the interface.
As a result of these comparisons, the third method (extrap-
olation of the linear part of the dynamic pressure curve to de-
termine the bed height) was adopted to determine the average
voidage of both monocomponent and the subsequent binary and
ternary component beds. In order to test this technique, the to-
tal mass of solids introduced in the column was compared in all
runs with that estimated by the equation for dynamic pressure
at the bottom of the bed:
M (s − l )g
Pbottom = , (15)
s A
where M is the total mass of solids and A the cross-sectional area
of the column. As the first pressure tap is located 64 mm above
the distributor, we assume that the pressure gradient between the
bottom of the column and the first tap is the same as between the
1532 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539

Fig. 2. Dynamic pressure gradient profiles for the three particle shapes: (a) Spheres, U = 0.316 m/s, (b) discs, U = 0.251 m/s, (c) rods, U = 0.316 m/s.

Fig. 3. Dynamic pressure profiles for three particle shapes: (a) Spheres, U = 0.316 m/s, (b) discs, U = 0.251 m/s, (c) rods, U = 0.316 m/s.

first and the second tap. Whatever the particle species and void expansion index n is even lower for the discs and rods, with
fraction, the ratio of the mass of solids calculated from Eq. (15) values of 1.95 and 1.84, respectively. Thus, the expansion index
and the actual mass of particles introduced was within 1±0.03. in our experiments was somewhat affected by the shape of the
Therefore, it is fair to assume that there is negligible holdup particles, even in the Newton regime.
of stagnant particles between the distributor holes, and that the Pressure drop fluctuations can be useful in characterizing the
dynamic pressure profiles provide satisfactory measurements degree of instability (or turbulence) within the bed. For each
of bed voidages. bed composition the intensity percentage, Ip , of the pressure
Table 2 reports values of Ue and n obtained by fit- fluctuations at U = 0.251 m/s was determined as
ting the monocomponent expansion measurements with the 
N
i=1 (
Pi −
P )
Richardson–Zaki equation, 2
Ip = 100 N , (17)
U/Ue =
n (16) i=1
Pi

as illustrated in Fig. 5. The index for the spheres is 2.27, close
to results in the literature for the Newton regime (between 2.3
and 2.4). This experimental value is also in good agreement
with the correlations of Khan and Richardson (1989) and Rowe
(1987) that predict n values of 2.41 and 2.37, respectively. The
where
Pi is the instantaneous pressure drop between the sec-
ond and the third pressure taps from the bottom, and N is the
number of data points. Table 2 summarizes the intensity of
pressure fluctuations for the three particle species. The results
confirm the visual observation that the fluctuations for the rods
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Fig. 4. Expansion of monocomponent fluidized beds: (a) Spheres, (b) discs,
(c) rods.
were significantly higher than for the discs, and these in turn
were higher than for the fluidized spheres.
Thus, when each particle species is fluidized separately,
the characteristics of the respective liquid fluidized beds dif-
fer, despite the equal particle volumes and densities. For the
spheres, pressure fluctuations are small, the interface between
the bed and freeboard is clear and stable, and the value of the
Richardson–Zaki index, n, is close to that reported in the lit-
erature. When the discs were fluidized, the instabilities within
the bed increased and the interface was less well defined.
Compared to the spheres, the terminal free settling velocity de-
creased because the drag on the discs was larger. For the rods,
the pressure fluctuations were even greater and the interface
was most unstable.
1533
Table 2
Characteristics of the monocomponent fluidized beds
Ue (m/s) n Ip (%)
Spheres 0.458 2.27 7.0
Discs 0.335 1.95 16.7
Rods 0.401 1.84 26.4
Fig. 5. Richardson–Zaki type plots based on dynamic pressure profiles: points
are experimental; lines are best fits of Eq. (16).
4.1.3. Binary-mixture segregation model
The reduced bulk density difference, , defined by Eq. (8a),
has been found to be a reasonably good quantitative indi-
cator for distinguishing between the four qualitative segre-
gation or mixing patterns of Fig. 1 (Epstein and Pruden,
1999) in the analogous sizing problem for spheres. In that
case,  < 0.015 ± 0.005 corresponds to homogeneous mixing,
0.015 ± 0.005 <  < 0.045 ± 0.015 to heterogeneous mixing,
0.045 ± 0.015 <  < 0.10 ± 0.005 to incomplete segregation
and  > 0.10 ± 0.005 to complete segregation. Fig. 6a plots
the bulk densities of the three kinds of particles fluidized sep-
arately, both with
obtained directly from the experimental
measurements and, more smoothly but more approximately,
with
determined from the Richardson–Zaki correlation lines
of Fig. 5. Fig. 6b then shows the corresponding reduced bulk
density differences, , for the three possible binary mixtures
(spheres-discs, spheres-rods and rods-discs), with the sizing
limits for spheres of the four segregation patterns also delin-
eated at the right. The latter provides a relatively quiescent
base case against which the present less quiescent results can
be compared.
4.2. Binary particle systems
Experiments were next performed to investigate the effect of
particle shape on the segregation in liquid-fluidized beds. The
sphere ( = 1) − disc ( = 0.716) and sphere ( = 1) − rod
 = 0.686) binary systems allow the influence of sphericity to
be determined, whereas the rod ( = 0.686) − disc( = 0.716)
1534 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Fig. 6. Framework of the segregation model: (a) Bulk density variation with
velocity of monocomponent beds, (b) reduced bulk density difference, , vs.
velocity for the three possible binaries, with the observed limits of the four
mixing-segregation patterns for sizing of spheres shown at the right based on
Epstein and Pruden (1999).
binary system facilitates understanding of the shape effect be-
yond that characterized by the sphericity of the two species,
since the rod and disc sphericities were nearly equal. For each
binary, different initial compositions of the bed were used to
test the composition-dependence of the phenomena.
Table 3 summarizes the experimental conditions and the main
results. The initial bed compositions Xs , Xd and Xr are defined
as the ratio of the mass of the spheres, discs and rods, respec-
tively, to the mass of the total particles. The initial total bed
mass for each binary was also varied in order to maximize the
number of pressure drop measurements. The sphere-disc binary
experiments with an initial bed composition Xs of 0.650 were
therefore performed twice with different initial bed masses of
5.96 and 3.97 kg.
Although the three particle shapes were each coloured differ-
ently, segregation could be observed visually only when a sepa-
rate layer of one shape (always the spheres) formed below, with
a heterogeneously mixed layer (i.e., a developing transition re-
gion) above; but no separate layer of the other shape at the top,
as in Fig. 1c, was ever observed. Incomplete segregation was
nevertheless reported when two layers formed with a region of
spheres alone at the bottom. The bed height of this lower mono-
component layer was measured visually since the interface be-
tween the two layers was usually stable but its height too low
for a pressure drop measurement within the lower layer. The
occurrence of heterogeneous mixing, i.e., continuous stratifica-
tion with no interface from the bottom to the top of the bed,
could not be distinguished visually from homogeneous mixing.
Instead, use was made of the dynamic pressure profile within
the bed, as shown in Fig. 7 for the sphere-disc mixture with
Xs =0.848. In the case of a perfectly linear plot, the solids con-
centration profile along the bed height is taken to be uniform,
consistent with homogeneous particle mixing. Deviation from
linearity in the upper part of the bed is a consequence of par-
tial segregation within the bed, i.e., of continuous stratification
from bottom to top where there is no visible interface, or from
the lower interface to the top when there is a monocomponent
layer below.
4.2.1. Sphere-disc binary mixtures
As predicted by the theory for the Newton regime that as-
sumes n1 ≈ n2 (Eq. 13), as well as by the more general Eq.
(12) using the measured values of the Richardson–Zaki param-
eters, the spheres and discs segregated at high liquid superfi-
cial velocities, with a pure layer of spheres at the bottom of
the column, and a mixed layer on top. As the liquid veloc-
ity increased, the height of the pure layer increased, whereas
the height of the mixed layer decreased, as illustrated by the
changing position of the interface (shown by dotted lines) in
Fig. 7. For lower liquid velocities, separation into two distinct
layers disappeared. The critical velocity above which the seg-
regation with a mixed top transition zone (incomplete segrega-
tion) starts is reported in Table 3 as a function of the bed com-
position. This table also presents the superficial velocity below
which apparently homogeneous mixing occurs. This velocity
is independent of the bed composition and equal to 0.182 m/s.
The corresponding reduced bulk density  is 0.066 according
to Eq. (8a), much higher than the 0.015 ± 0.005 reported in the
case of sizing of spheres. The bed composition also affected
the degree of particle agitation within the bed, as confirmed by
the Ip values in Table 3, where the intensity of the pressure
fluctuations (Ip ) is seen to have increased from 6.5% to 12%
as the disc concentration increased from Xd = 0.152 to 0.618.
At the same liquid velocity and at the same location, Ip was
7.0% and 16.7% for the monocomponent fluidized beds of
spheres and discs, respectively. In other words, for the sphere-
disc mixture, the values of Ip mainly fell quantitatively between
those of the corresponding monocomponent beds, depending
on the relative concentrations of the two species.
Consider now the incomplete segregation pattern. The pres-
sure fluctuations can influence the destabilization of the lower
pure layer. It is, however, not possible to conclude that the
velocity above which this pattern occurs depends only on the
initial bed composition, because it varied also when the initial
mass of particles was changed with Xs held constant at 0.650.
In fact, irrespective of velocity, the pure layer disappeared when
the interface between the pure layer and the mixed layer was
close to 200 mm above the distributor: this is the height below
which the distributor generated instabilities. Consequently, it
appears that the distributor affects the transition between the
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539 1535

Table 3
Experimental conditions and results for the binary-component and ternary-component fluidized beds

System Mass (kg) Initial bed composition Incomplete segregation  Homogeneous mixing  Ip (%)

Sphere-disc 4.57 Xs = 0.848 U > 0.182 m/s 0.066 U < 0.182 m/s 0.066 6.5
5.96 Xs = 0.650 U > 0.208 m/s 0.081 8.5
3.97 Xs = 0.650 U > 0.225 m/s 0.085 8.4
3.38 Xs = 0.382 U > 0.247 m/s 0.096 12.0
Sphere-rod 4.57 Xs = 0.848 U > 0.251 m/s 0.012 U < 0.251 m/s 0.012 9.1
5.96 Xs = 0.650 Intermittently U > 0.300 m/s 0.024 8.4
5.40 Xs = 0.382 No 16.2
Rod-disc 4.01 Xr = 0.831 No U < 0.219 m/s 0.095 22.1
4.98 Xr = 0.669 No 24.2
Ternary 5.27 Xs = 0.848 U > 0.229 m/s U < 0.229 m/s
Xr = 0.076
Xd = 0.076
5.27 Xs = 0.736 No All velocities
Xr = 0.132
Xd = 0.132

heterogeneous mixing and the incomplete segregation patterns.

However, the transition liquid velocity of partially mixed to par-
tially segregated beds ranged from 0.182 to 0.247 m/s, corre-
sponding to a reduced bulk density difference, , between 0.066
and 0.096. This transition zone corresponds to higher values of
 than reported in the literature for the case of sizing ( between
0.030 and 0.060 according to Epstein and Pruden, 1999).
Starting from the experimental measurements, it is possible
to estimate the liquid-free composition of the mixed layer when
incomplete segregation occurs. The quantity of spheres in the
bottom pure layer can be estimated based on the interface height
(hI ) above the distributor, assuming that this layer has the same
voidage as the monocomponent fluidized bed at the same liquid
velocity. The average sphere concentration xs within the mixed
layer is then
ms − (1 − (U/Ues )1/ns )hI As
xs = , (18)
ms − (1 − (U/Ues )1/ns )hI As + md
where ms and md are the initial masses of spheres and discs in
the bed, respectively. Fig. 8 reports the sphere composition xs
of the mixed layer for the four experiments. For U < 0.24 m/s,
the composition of the upper layer was independent of the
initial bed mass and composition, whereas xs decreased lin-
early with increasing superficial liquid velocity, indicating that
more segregation occurred for higher liquid velocities. For Fig. 7. Dynamic pressure profiles along bed for sphere-disc binary mixture
U > 0.24 m/s, there are discrepancies in xs estimated from the with Xs = 0.848. Dotted horizontal lines demarcate the segregation interface
different experiments, perhaps in response to the variation of positions.
transition velocity with the initial bed composition. Fig. 8 can
be regarded as a mixing-segregation map, with the line delineat-
ing the interface between the two patterns. Consider a sphere- not take into account the additional mixing provided by the
disc mixture with Xs = 0.4 fluidized with increasing superficial distributor near the bottom of the column. Consequently, the
liquid velocity starting from Umf . If the liquid velocity is less curve in Fig. 8 provides a limiting case to distinguish between
than about 0.24 m/s, it is not possible to have two layers with incomplete segregation and heterogeneous mixing.
a pure sphere layer at the bottom, because the composition, xs , An estimate of the degree of stratification of the incom-
of the hypothetical mixed layer would exceed 0.4. When the pletely mixed upper transition layer when the incomplete seg-
liquid velocity is just to the right of the xs vs. U curve, a pure regation pattern prevails is provided by Fig. 9, which plots both
layer of spheres forms at the bottom of the column, and xs for the measured P and corresponding
against distance above
the mixed layer would be less than 0.4. This interpretation does the distributor for the highest velocity run with Xs = 0.848.
1536 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Fig. 8. Composition of mixed layer for sphere-disc binaries: mix-
ing-segregation map. Open and filled squares for Xs = 0.650 correspond to
M = 3.97 and 5.96 kg, respectively.
Fig. 9. Dynamic pressure profile for the sphere-disc binary at the highest
velocity with Xs = 0.848, and the corresponding voidage profile.
The voidage
at any level was obtained by applying Eq. (2)
to the P vs. Z plot, with −dP /dZ replacing −
P /
Z. The
figure shows a gradual voidage increase above the interface
from
= 0.767, the monocomponent sphere voidage for the
lower fully segregated layer, to
= 0.857 at the top of the
bed. Since the monocomponent disc composition at the same
superficial velocity was 0.864, it is apparent that transition to
a fully segregated disc layer at the top was being approached.
The slight rise in voidage towards the bottom of the bed can be
attributed to distributor disturbance.
The overall bed voidage is plotted in Fig. 10 against the
superficial liquid velocity for all binary experiments and the
monocomponents. The overall binary voidages clearly lie be-
tween those of the two corresponding monocomponent beds.
Experiments with the same bed composition (Xs = 0.650) but
different initial masses are in good agreement. The experimen-
tal overall voidages can also be compared to the predictions
of the “serial model” (Epstein et al., 1981). In this theory, the
overall bed expands as if each type of particle acts indepen-
dently of the other, whatever the degree of segregation. The se-
rial model does not take into account any possible contraction
due to mixing of different species. In the case of a binary bed,
Fig. 10. Overall bed voidages (points) compared to serial model predictions
(lines) for sphere-disc binaries. Open and filled squares for Xs = 0.650
correspond to M = 3.97 and 5.96 kg, respectively.
the serial model predicts that
1 X1 1 − X1
= + , (19)
1 −
1 −
1 1 −
2
where
is the overall voidage of the binary-species bed, X1 the
fluid-free volume fraction of species 1 in the total bed,
1 and

2 the voidages of species 1 and 2 when they are each fluidized
alone in the same column at the same superficial liquid velocity.
Fig. 10 compares the experimental and the predicted voidages.
The voidage of each individual particle species is calculated
using the Richardson–Zaki parameters reported in Table 2. The
agreement of the serial model with the present binary-mixture
experiments is quite good.
4.2.2. Sphere-rod binary mixtures
Table 3 presents the transition velocities between the three
patterns: homogeneous mixing, heterogeneous mixing and
incomplete segregation, for the sphere-rod binary mixtures.
Incomplete segregation occurred only for superficial liquid
velocities exceeding 0.251 m/s with Xs = 0.848. When Xs
was decreased to 0.650, incomplete segregation was observed
intermittently, but only for U > 0.300 m/s. For Xs = 0.382,
no bottom segregation could be observed for any of the liquid
velocities tested. Given the reduced bulk density difference
plot in Fig. 6b, it is not surprising that segregation was more
restricted for the sphere-rod mixture than for the sphere-disc
mixture. The sphere concentration within the mixed layer, xs ,
is computed only for Xs = 0.848 (Fig. 11). Its concentration
is between 0.7 and 0.8, much higher than for the sphere-disc
mixtures, demonstrating the smaller extent of segregation for
the sphere-rod mixtures.
The transition between homogeneous and heterogeneous
mixing is again independent of the initial bed composition. The
critical velocity is 0.251 m/s, which corresponds to  = 0.012,
a value that is comparable to  = 0.015 ± 0.005 for sizing
of spheres. The serial model gives accurate predictions of the
overall bed voidage at different velocities for the three different
compositions, as shown in Fig. 12.
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Fig. 11. Solids composition of mixed layer for sphere-rod binary with
Xs = 0.848.
Fig. 12. Overall bed voidages (points) compared to serial model predictions
(lines) for sphere-rod binaries.
4.2.3. Rod-disc binary mixtures
For binary mixtures of rods and discs, no segregation was
ever observed, in spite of the expectation, considering the range
of reduced bulk density difference plotted in Fig. 4, that the
rods and discs might segregate more sharply than the sphere-
rod mixtures. Indeed, the index  for the rod-disc binary falls
within the range at which incomplete segregation starts for the
sphere-disc binary. The hydrodynamics of the rod-disc mix-
ture differed radically from that of the sphere-disc mixture. The
pressure fluctuation intensity, Ip , was close to 26.4%, the value
for the rod monocomponent bed (see Table 2). This level of
fluctuations was generated by vigorous circulation within the
bed that promoted mixing of the particles. The transition be-
tween homogeneous and heterogeneous mixing occurred at a
superficial liquid velocity of 0.219 m/s, which corresponds to
a reduced bulk density difference  of 0.095, much higher than
for sizing of spheres. The serial model again gives good pre-
diction of the overall voidage, as shown in Fig. 13.
4.2.4. Discussion
We have shown that particle classification by shape can oc-
cur in solid–liquid fluidized beds. As predicted by the reduced
1537
Fig. 13. Overall bed voidages (points) compared to serial model predictions
(lines) for rod-disc binaries.
bulk density difference theory given by Eq. (12), particles of
higher sphericity tend to segregate to the bottom of the bed. In
addition, as expected from the theory, the segregation tendency
increases in the Newton regime (Eq. 13) with increasing su-
perficial liquid velocity. However, even if the sphericity is the
same for two different shapes of particles, aspects of the shape
not uniquely defined by the sphericity can affect segregation.
The rods and the discs have almost the same sphericity (0.686
and 0.716, respectively, Table 1), but the mixing-segregation
phenomena differ for the sphere-rod and sphere-disc binaries.
Particles of the same volume and sphericity (rods and discs)
can also segregate, at least partially (e.g. in the heterogeneous
mixing mode). Thus the sphericity is insufficient to account for
the tendency of differently shaped particles to segregate. Recent
work by Tran-Cong et al. (2004) also indicates that sphericity
is not the most appropriate shape factor for predicting settling
behaviour of non-spherical particles. They demonstrated that a
combination of two shape factors (particle circularity and ra-
tio of spherical-surface-equivalent to volume-equivalent-sphere
diameter) is required, along with the projected diameter, to de-
scribe the effect of particle shape on the hydrodynamic drag
coefficient.
The model based on the reduced bulk density difference is
helpful to predict whether or not a binary system segregates
or mixes, because only the expansion characteristics of each
monocomponent fluidized bed is required to compute it. How-
ever, it does not take into account the mixing effect that can
be generated by some non-isometric shapes such as the rods.
In the present study, the voidage fluctuations (manifested as
pressure fluctuations) are important when the concentration of
rods is high in a binary system. As a consequence, even if the
reduced bulk density differences are close for the sphere-disc
and rod-disc mixtures, mixing is more efficient for the rod-disc
binary because the voidage fluctuations are higher.
4.3. Ternary particle mixtures
The three kinds of particles were finally mixed to obtain
a sphere ( = 1)-disc ( = 0.716)-rod ( = 0.686) ternary
1538 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539

Notation

A cross-sectional area of column, m2

Ar Archimedes number defined by Eq. (3),
dimensionless
Ci volumetric concentration of solid species i,
kg m−3
d volume-equivalent sphere diameter, m or mm
dp diameter of spherical particles, m or mm
D inner diameter of column, m
Dc cylinder (disc or rod) diameter, m or mm
Di axial diffusion coefficient of solid species i,
m2 s−1
Fig. 14. Overall bed voidages (points) compared to serial model predictions g gravitational acceleration, m s−2
(lines) for sphere-disc-rod ternaries. hi vertical distance between distributor and
segregation interface, m
Ip intensity of pressure fluctuations, %
system. Two different initial bed compositions were tested: k ratio of cylinder diameter to volume-
Xs =0.848, Xr =Xd =0.076 and Xs =0.736, Xr =Xd =0.132. equivalent sphere diameter, dimensionless
Table 3 summariszes the main results of these experiments. A Lc cylinder (disc or rod) length, m or mm
segregation pattern with a pure layer of spheres at the bottom of ms , md mass of spheres and discs, respectively,
the column and a ternary-component mixed layer at the top was in the bed, kg
observed only for the case where the sphere volume fraction M total mass of particles, kg
in the total bed solids was 0.848, and this segregation occurred n Richardson–Zaki expansion index,
only for U > 0.229 m/s. The liquid-free fraction of spheres in dimensionless
the mixed layer can be estimated to be higher than 0.77, similar N number of data points in Eq. (22),
to that for the sphere-rod binary in Fig. 11. For the ternary, the dimensionless
heterogeneous mixing pattern, characterized by a continuous P dynamic pressure, Pa
stratification from top to bottom, was never observed, and con- Pbottom dynamic pressure at bottom of bed, Pa
sequently only two patterns were noted: homogeneous mixing U superficial liquid velocity, m s−1
and incomplete segregation. The Ue value of U when a linear plot of log U vs.
serial model, Eq. (19) with
the right-hand side changed to 3i=1 Xi /(1 −
i ), is once more log
is extrapolated to
= 1, m s−1
able to predict the total void fraction from the bed character- Upi segregation velocity of species i, m s−1
istics of each particle species fluidized separately, as shown Ut terminal free-settling velocity, m s−1
in Fig. 14. VP particle volume, m3
xs volume fraction of solids that are spheres within
the mixed layer, dimensionless
5. Conclusions
Xi liquid-free volume fraction in bed of particle
species i, dimensionless
Particles of different shapes can segregate in fluidized
Z vertical coordinate, m
beds, even when they have the same volume and density.
Sphericity is not adequate for distinguishing the onset or
degree of segregation between different binary systems. Greek letters
Turbulence enhancement over that for the spheres, as mea-
sured by the intensity of the pressure fluctuations, was
greater for the rods than for the discs, despite their similar  reduced bulk density difference
sphericities, so that the segregation tendencies of the three (B2 − B1 )/(s − l ), dimensionless
binaries decreased in the following sequence: sphere-disc,
Pi instantaneous pressure drop, Pa
sphere-rod, rod-disc. The method of Pruden and Epstein
overall voidage, dimensionless
(1964), whereby the degree of segregation in a binary mix-
i overall voidage of the monocomponent
ture depends on the difference in bulk densities of the fluidized bed of particle species i, dimensionless
two component species, is shown to give good qualita-  viscosity of liquid, kg m−1 s−1
tive predictions for teflon particles of three shapes flu- Bi bulk density of monocomponent fluidized
idized by water within the Newtonian regime. The overall bed of particle species i, kg m−3
bed expansions for binary and ternary mixtures of spheres, l density of liquid, kg m−3
discs and rods are well predicted by the “serial model” s density of solid particles, kg m−3
of Epstein et al. (1981).  sphericity, dimensionless
 R. Escudié et al. / Chemical Engineering Science 61 (2006) 1528 – 1539
Subscripts
1 particle species 1 (component having lower
sphericity in the case of a binary, the rod-disc
binary excepted)
2 particle species 2 (component having higher
sphericity in the case of a binary, the rod-disc
binary excepted)
3 particle species 3 in the case of a ternary
i particle species index or fluctuating
pressure drop measurement index
d discs
r rods
s spheres
Superscript
— space-average or time-average
Acknowledgements
The continuing financial support of the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada is gratefully acknowl-
edged, as is the substantial aid given by Friedrick Po in pro-
ducing the discs and rods, and in the start-up of the fluidization
experiments.
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