CN3124A: Fluid Particle Systems

AY2021/2022 Sem 2

Chapter 1 Tutorial: Packed Beds Tutorial

Problem 1:
A HPLC column has length of 12cm and diameter of 5mm. The packing used are spherical
particles of diameter of 5µm and voidage of the bed is 0.4. Determine the pressure drop across
the column when operating at 1, 2 and 5 ml/min.

The density and viscosity of the fluid at the operating temperature are 800kg/m3 and 0.001Pa.s
respectively.
CN3124A: Fluid Particle Systems
AY2021/2022 Sem 2

Problem 2:
A packed bed has solid particles density 2500kg/m3, length of 1.2m with cross-sectional area
0.05m2. Mass of solid in the bed is 80kg and mean diameter of particles is 1mm. Determine the
bulk density of the bed. Determine the pressure drop across the bed when water flows through
the bed at 10, 100, 1000 m3/h.
CN3124A: Fluid Particle Systems
AY2021/2022 Sem 2

Problem 3:
The reactor of a catalytic reformer contains spherical catalyst particles of diameter 1.46mm.
The packed volume of the reactor is to be 3.4m3 and the void fraction is 0.45. The reactor
feed is a gas of density 30kg/m3 and viscosity 2x10-5Pa.s, flowing at a rate of 11320 m3/h.
The gas properties may be assumed to be constant. The pressure loss through the reactor is
restricted to 68.95kPa. Calculate the cross-sectional area for flow and the bed depth required.