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OCTAVE LEVENSPIEL
Chemical Engineering Department, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill. 60616
This simple three-region model for the gas flow through fluidized beds views uniformly sized bubbles, sur-
rounded by clouds and followed by wakes, rising through an emulsion of downward moving solids, Inter-
change of gas occurs continuously among bubble, cloud-wake, and emulsion regions. This model contains
one parameter, the effective bubble size, and all internal flows and interchanges in the bed are derived
from it. Qualitative and quantitative checks with reported bed behavior are presented.
N IMPORTANT incentive for much fluidization research at These bubbles are surrounded and accompanied by a cloud of
A present is the desire to develop procedures for design of circulating bubble gas, distinct from the emulsion gas, and the
fluidized beds for chemical and physical operations. To date size of this cloud is given by
the major obstacle thwarting these attempts is the fact that no
satisfactory flow model has been developed to represent the
(4)
actual flow and contacting pattern of gas with the solids in the
bed. As the size and velocity of bubbles increase, the relative thick-
I n this paper we propose a simple model for the flow of gas ness of the cloud decreases. From Equation 4 we see that
through fluidized beds. I t contains one parameter, the effec- when
tive bubble size, and all internal flows and interchanges in the
UAT
bed are derived from it. In another paper (Kunii and Leven- > 5 (5)
spiel, 1968b) we sholv that this model can fit the reported data Uf
in all three areas-gas-solid heat transfer. gas-solid mass the cloud thickness is less than 10% the bubble diameter.
transfer, and conversion in catalytic reactions. Arbitrarily let us call these large fast bubbles with negligible
Now an actual operating fluidized bed consists of a lower clouds.
dense bubbling region and an upper region of decreasing den- Finally, gas flow upward within rising bubbles, and at the
sity consisting of entrained, splattered, and settling solids. maximum cross section of the bubble its velocity is ?urn,;
Here we are concerned only with the dense bubbling region. hence the upward volumetric flow rate in each bubble is
This consists of a continuous phase, called the emulsion,
through which rise bubbles which are usually surrounded and
accompanied by a cloud of rising gas.
The derivation of these expressions. the justification of their
Bubble Phase use, and considerable related information are given by David-
son and Harrison (1963).
I n developing the model a number of simplifying assump-
Assumption 2. Bubble Size. Normally small bubbles
tions are made.
are observed at the bottom of a fluidized bed, larger ones near
Assumption 1. Behavior in Vicinity of a Single Bubble.
the top. I n addition, a t any level in the bed the bubble size
I n the vicinity of any one of the many rising bubbles in a
is not uniform. For this treatment, however, we take the
bubbling fluidized bed let us assume that the gas flow is given
bubble size to be uniform throughout the bed or section of bed
by the Davidson model with its spherical bubble surrounded,
under consideration. \Ye call this the effective bubble size.
in the case of a large fast bubble, with a spherical cloud.
In a shallow freely bubbling bed this may be a rather poor
The velocity of rise of a single bubble of diameter d b , hence the
representation of the physical situation. I n large deep beds
velocity relative to solids far from the bubble, is
where the maximum stable bubble size is reached, or in beds
containing internals or baffles to control the bubble size, this
should be a reasonable representation of the state of affairs.
A small, slow bubble rises more slo\vly than the gas percolating
Assumption 3. Bubble Velocity. Let us relate the veloc-
through the emulsion? or
ity of rise of a crowd of bubbles to the velocity of rise of a
single bubble by
ub = U, - U,f f Ubr = U, - U,f + 0.711 (gdb)liz (7)
and hence the faster rising emulsion gas u f shortcuts through This expression and arguments for its use were first presented
the rising bubble. A large fast bubble moves faster than the by Sicklin (1962) for gas-liquid systems, and later used by
emulsion gas, or Davidson and Harrison (1963) for fluidized beds.
Assumption 4. Voidage of Bubbles and Emulsion.
Although experimental evidence (Kunii and Levenspiel, 1968a)
446 I&EC F U N D A M E N T A L S
Gas flow through bubble 3umf (Equation 6). Hence the relationship between the total
Fraction ub + 3 &nf flow and that through the two phases is given by
consisting
/---
Fraction uo = (1 - 6)urnf + 6 ( u b + 3urnf) (9)
consisting of
I n a bed of large fast bubbles with negligible clouds, or for
emulsion
phase: I-.s u b / u f > 5, each rising bubble carries its own gas up the bed
with it, so the net upward velocity of bubble gas is simply that
of the bubble itself. So, a material balance gives
\
1 wne;ion
Average upward
velocity Now at low gas velocity the bubble fraction is very small; a t
Figure 1 . Typical cross section of a b e d containing high u, this term dominates the term which follows. Hence
sma I I rising bubbles with little error we can write
All velocities measured an a superflcial (empty tube) basis
A
20
-
ub
Umf
10
0
I
uo / Urnt
Figure 2. Interrelationship of bubble velocity and bubble fraction of b e d with
superficial gas velocity and minimum fluidizing velocity
(
emulsion gas to be the minimum fluidizing velocity, or terial balance for the solids crossing any horizontal plane gives
( )
The bubbling bed model indicates that the gas in a vigor-
uo = of emulsion ue + bubbles and wakes ub ously bubbling bed is in three regions-namely, bubble gas
(bed volume) bed volume surrounded by cloud gas, both rising through emulsion gas,
with the characteristics of these three regions given in terms of
or
u,, unLf,and one bed parameter, the bubble size.
u, = (1 - 6 - ff8)emfu, + (6 + “66mf)Ub (15) T o be able to use this model for heat transfer, mass transfer,
and reaction operations one more characteristic of bubbling
Combining Equations 12, 14, and 15 to eliminate u, and beds is needed-namely, the interchange rate from region to
u, gives an expression relating bubble velocity with uo and
region. This is here developed. For beds of small slow bub-
thus
Umf;
bles (ub < u,, or u, << 2urn,) these bubbles simply supply a
1 short cut for the faster moving percolating gas. This situation
ub = - [u, - (1 - 6 - a6)Umfl is easy to treat, but is not of much practical importance. Hence
6
we develop only the expressions for vigorously bubbling beds
At high gas velocities u, is the dominant term in the large having bubbles with negligible clouds (ub > Emf, or uo > 2urnf).
brackets, lvhile a t low uo the bubble fraction 6 becomes very This is the troublesome situation where gas bypassing is serious,
small; hence as a good approximation we have in the whole and it also is the situation of practical importance.
range of flows Since there are as many definitions of gas interchange as
there are interpreters of two-region models, let us first clearly
and unambigously define a set of gas interchange measures for
the three-region model. So, recognizing bubble, cloud, and
This expression is identical to Equation 10, derived assuming emulsion regions, consider a single bubble of volume Vb.
stationary soiids. Hence the relation of U b , 6, and db with u, Based on unit volume of bubble the interchange coefficient
and urn is approximately the same lvith both treatments, and between bubble and cloud, &c, cloud and emulsion, K,,, and
is given by Equations 7 and 10. This finding justifies the state- the over-all coefficient between bubble and emulsion, Kb,, can
ment just after Equation 11 that the description of the bubble be defined as
phase is essentially the same whether the solids are taken as
circulating or stationary.
The upward velocity of gas in the emulsion is found directly
by combining Equations 12, 14, and 16 to give
Kbe-
- 1
Kbc
+-Kce1
Approximating a: by v w ’ v b from Figure 4, or cr = 0.2 0.4
for d , < 0.2 mm, taking e m f = 0.5 and 6 to be small, we find
- From a physical standpoint the interchange coefficient can be
looked upon as a flow of gas from bubble to emulsion with an
equal flow in the opposite direction; thus
that this flow reversal occurs when (volume of gas going from bubble )
\to emulsion or emulsion to bubble)
Kbe =
(volume of bubbles in the bed) (time)
T o summarize: At low gas velocities solid circulation is Alternatively we may express the gas interchange in terms of
negligible, so Equations 7 to 10 describe the bubble behavior. a dimensionless crossflow ratio, defined with respect to either
,4t high gas velocities the circulation of solids becomes appreci- bubble volume or bed volume. Thus
able; however, an accounting of this circulation gives sub-
number of times the bubble gas
stantially the same expressions as the simpler treatment without
solid circulation. Hence Equations 7 to 10 describe the bubble
phase for the whole range of gas flow rates. At low gas veloci-
ties the emulsion condition is given by Equation 11 and by
X =
( is replaced on passage of bubble
through the bed
) -
-
~
ub/L f
kceSbc ( d c / d b )
Kce =
Vb
or
-
this process is best represented by the Higbie penetration model. Equation 10 gives, in a bed with large bubbles,
Analogous to the contact of a bubble with a liquid, the char-
acteristics of this system are equivalent to the contact of a
1.5ub .--uo - u m f - -
1.5
(uo - urn/) (29)
vertical cylinder with the same diameter and height as the
T ub - umf n
spherical cloud (Higbie, 1935). Thus Thus in a fluidized bed where bubbles are rising uniformly
-I
across a section under consideration, the bubble size is related
in a simple way to the bubble frequency as measured by the
probe.
Nomenclature
At = cross-sectional area of fluidized bed, sq. cm.
Cab, CAo CAc= concentrations of gaseous component A in
bubble, in gas cloud-wake region, and in
emulsion phase, respectively, g.-moles/cc.
D,,D, = axial and radial dispersion coefficients of gas,
db [cml sq. cm./sec.
Figure 6. Over-all gas interchange for different 53, De = diffusion coefficient of gas and effective diffu-
sion coefficient of gas in emulsion phase, re-
bubble sizes spectively, sq. cm./sec.
Comporison of bubbling bed model predictions of Equations db = effective diameter of bubble, cm.
22, 2 4 , and 2 8 with experimental measurements of Koboyarhi = effective diameter of cloud, cm.
d,
et a/. (1 967) = particle diameter, cm.
dP
dbad
L, = 10 -
= 0.4
e m f E 0.5
100 cm.
.i?
h
= acceleration of gravity, cm./sec.2
= vertical distance between two successive bub-
bles to register on a frequency probe, cm.
umf = 2.1 cm./sec. = interchange coefficient between bubble and
uo = 9 N 18 cm./sec.
Kb,, Kce
cloud and between cloud and emulsion,
d b measured at mid height of bed
respectively, based on volume of bubble,
sec. -l
= over-all interchange coefficient between
Relationship between Effective Bubble Size and Mea- bubble and emulsion based on volume of
sured Size. Because of the many simplifying assumptions bubble, sec.-l
= mass transfer coefficient between bubble and
made throughout this analysis, from the assumption of the cloud and between cloud and emulsion,
Davidson bubble onward, it would be mere coincidence if the respectively, cm./sec.
effective bubble size (calculated from the model) was found = mean height of fluidized bed, cm.
to match the actual measured size. I n any case it is expected = height of static bed, cm.
= height of bed at minimum fluidizing condi-
that a simple relationship holds. tions, cm.
A first comparison can be made from the reported data of 1 = vertical distance from distributor, cm.
Kobayashi et al. (1967), who found both Kbe and db in the same N A = g.-moles A
experiment. Their reported data are shown as the points in n = frequency of bubbles passing a probe located
Figure 6, while the predictions of the model, obtained from a t a given point in bed, set.?
= volumetric gas flow rate into and out of a
Equations 22, 24, and 28, are shown as lines. They also calcu- single bubble, cc./sec.
lated the approximate values of both KO, and db based on the = effective radius of bubble and of cloud, re-
experimental results reported by Gilliland and Mason (1949, spectively, cm.
1952), Overcashier et al. (1959), and Ioffe and Pismen (1960), = boundary area of a single bubble, and outer
which are included in Figure 6. The seemingly perfect agree- boundary area of its cloud, respectively,
sq. cm.
ment is better than can be expected. t = time, sec.
Additional checks with other types of measurements such as Ub, Ubr = rise velocity of a bubble in a bubbling bed
axial and radial dispersion of gas, the movement of solids, etc., and velocity of bubble with respect to
are needed. Such a program is under way and will be reported emulsion ahead of it, cm./sec.
= upward gas velocity within emulsion phase,
on soon. cm./sec.
= u m f / e m f ,cm./sec.
= superficial gas velocity a t minimum fluidiza-
Summary tion conditions, cm./sec.
= superficial gas velocity (based on an empty
Quantities descriptive of the bubble phase, emulsion phase, tube), cm./sec.
and the gas interchange rate between these phases have been = downward velocity of solids in emulsion phase,
developed for a bubbling fluidized bed. These expressions cm./sec.
vb = volume of single bubble, cc.
indicate that knowing u,,, uo, and the properties of the mate-
Vu = volume of wake of single bubble, cc.
rials, only one parameter, the effective bubble size, is needed to X = number of times bubble gas is replaced on
supply an adequate description of the flow of gas through the passage of bubble through bed
Elutriation in a multisize particle fluidized bed was studied by fluidizing spherical glass beads of size range
less than 595 and greater than 88 microns, in a 3-inch diameter column using air as the fluidizing medium.
The variables studied were particle size distribution and superficial gas velocity. Particle distributions were
made to follow a straight line on log-probability coordinates. The rate of elutriation could be described
mathematically by an equation of the form: X / X , = +
( 1 - b)e-k28in which X and X, are the con-
centrations by weight of particles below a given size in the bed at times 0 and 0, respectively; b is a constant
with value 0 5 b 5 1 ; k l < kz, both constants having dimensions of reciprocal time units. k l increased with
increasing superficial gas velocity and decreased with increasing particle size. The size distribution of the
elutriated particles formed a log-normal distribution in which the geometric mean diameter increases with
elutriation time, while the standard deviation decreases with time.
LUTRIATION of particles from a fluidized bed is usually en- Since there are few published data on the elutriation of
E countered whenever the bed is composed of particles which particles from fluidized beds with wide ranges of particle size,
do not have the same diameter. The elutriation phenomenon it is hoped that this study (Rankell, 1965) will add to the avail-
results from the fact that the gas velocity required to fluidize able information.
the largest particle usually exceeds the terminal velocities of
the finer particles in the bed. Thus, the finer particles be- Review of Literature
come entrained in the fluidizing gas and are removed from
One of the first attempts to correlate experimental elutriation
the system. rates was the work of Leva (1951). The systems he investi-
Previous studies of this phenomenon have investigated arti- gated consisted of binary mixtures composed of 80% of coarse
ficial systems consisting of one coarse and one or more fine component and 20y0 of fine component. H e expressed the
components (Leva, 1951; Osberg and Charlesworth, 1951 ; rate of elutriation by an equation of the form:
Wen and Hashinger, 1960). This work, however, is not di-
rectly applicable to operating conditions in full-scale fluidized x = Xoe-ka (1)
bed processes. This observation has been confirmed by Equation 1 was compared to the rate constant for a first-
Thomas, et al. (1961a). order chemical reaction. The elutriation rate constant was
found to be almost independent of the composition and com-
1 Present address, University of IVisconsin, Madison, IVis. posite size of the coarse component, but did increase rapidly