A PROJECT REPORT ON

Design fluid bed reactor and simulation

BY
(GROUP 15)

KAZMA SHAH 
(Gr. No. 12020268)

SHRENIK SHINDE
(Gr. No. 12020056)

AADITI SHINGATE
(Gr. No. 11910369)

SURAJ UKIRADE
(Gr. No. 11910651)

MOHAMMADMAAZ WARUNKAR
(Gr. No. 12020115)

Department of Chemical Engineering

BRACT’S Vishwakarma Institute of Technology,
666, Upper Indiranagar, Bibwewadi,  Pune – 411 037
 ABSTRACT
A fluidized-bed reactor was designed and constructed for practical demonstration of the
fluidization of solid particles at different fluid flow rates. The bed of this reaction was
sand particles of average size 1800 μm ,weighed 0.6 N and the fluidizingfluidwasair.
Alternatively, the fluidizing fluid can be substituted for any given gas by connecting the
desired gas cylinder to the blower. The height of the bed was25 mm on a mesh of 1230
μm. An air blower was designed to supply air from the room to liquidize the bed.The
shaft and discharge powers of the blower were18.8kWand its efficiency was 70%. The
minimum  and maximum operating pressures were 0.1133 and 24.5262 mH2O and their
corresponding velocities were 0.64 and 245.86 m/s respectively. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This document is prepared by the inspiration received from Professor Gayatri
Gawande, Department of Chemical Engineering and Professor Dr. Manik Deosarkar,
Head of  Department of Chemical Engineering, BRACT’s Vishwakarma Institute of
Technology. Many colleagues at the Chemical Engineering Department have carefully
read and improved the document; their contributions are gratefully acknowledged.
 Introduction
Fluidized   bed  reactors have  been significantly  utilized in chemical processes, in 
which parameters such as diffusion or heat transfer are the major design parameters.
Compared to packed bed, a fluidized bed has notable advantages such as better
control  of temperature, no  hot spot in the bed, uniform catalyst distribution and longer
life of the catalyst. Fluidized beds achieve  good mixing of  the suspended particles and
the suspending fluid. 
In a fluidized bed reactor the solids  or catalytic particles are supported  by  an up 
flow of fluidizing  fluid.  This reactor provides  easy loading  and removing  of catalysts. 
This is advantageous when the solids bed must be removed and replaced frequently. A
high conversion with a large throughput is possible with this type of reactor. Such
reactors inherently possess excellent heat transfer and mixing  characteristics.  The
desirability of  using fluidized-bed  is  dependent  on  achieving  good and  close  to
perfect mixing between the solids and the suspension fluid.
Fluidization occurs when small solid particles are suspended in an upward-flowing
stream of fluid. The fluid velocity is sufficient to suspend the particles, but  not large 
enough to carry them out of the vessel. The solid particles swirl around the bed rapidly,
creating excellent  mixing among  them. The  material fluidized is always a solid and the
fluidizing medium is either a liquid or a gas. The characteristics and behavior of a
fluidized bed are strongly dependent on both the solid and fluid properties. Because air
flows upward through the filter (distributor), the sand in the filter becomes suspended or
fluidized in the air column, forming a fluidized bed of sand. If the flow of air is controlled
properly, the sand does not flow out of the filter, but remains suspended. This happens
because the  flow  of air  is  just fast  enough  to keep  the  sand in suspension. The
weight of the sand prevents it from escaping the column. Fluidized Bed filters are  self
cleaning,and require little or no maintenance.
This  fluidized  bed unit was designed  for the study  of the characteristics of flow
through beds of solid particles using air as fluid. Low flow rates allow characteristics of a
solid bed to be investigated. Increasing flow rates allow the onset of fluidization and the
characteristics of a fluidized bed to be investigated.
Fluidized bed reactors are the most popular configurations employed from laboratory to
commercial scale. These reactors are widely used in petroleum and chemical
processing industries. Fluidized bed reactors are more efficient because the feedstock
input and bio-oil production are continuous. Fluidized bed reactors also use a heat
carrier composed of small inorganic particles that are very efficient in providing high
heat-transfer rates with uniform bed temperatures. The feedstock particles are fed into
the fluidized bed at its bottom and travel through the heated inorganic particles by the
introduction of pressurized gas also at the reactor bottom. This pressurized gas forces
both feedstock and inorganic particles to fluidize causing movement of feedstock
particles vertically through the reactor. High heat-transfer rates are provided by the
intimate contact between the small inorganic particles—often sand—and the feedstock
particles. These high heat-transfer rates contribute to high bio-oil yields [36]. Fluidized
bed reactors have the property of “self-cleaning,” which means that by-product char is
carried out of the reactor with the product gases and vapors, considering the biomass is
of relatively narrow particle size distribution. Cyclones are utilized to separate char
particles from the pyrolysis vapor prior to vapor condensation.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Literature review
Mass of Solid in the Bed
There is a drag force exerted on the solid particles by the flowing fluid, and at  low fluid
velocities the pressure drop resulting from this drag follows the Ergun equation, just as
for any other type of packed bed. When  the fluid velocity  is increased to  a certain
value however, the total drag on the particles will equal the weight of  the bed,  and the
particles  will begin  to  lift and  barely fluidize. This is expressed in equation

W S=ρ S A S h(1−ε ) (1)

Where, Ws =Mass of solids in the bed,

Ρs = Density of solid,
As = Cross-sectional area of solid,
h = Height of the bed settled before the particles start to lift, and
ε = void fraction of bed
ϵ = Void fraction of bed.
The void fraction of bed is expressed as;

mass of particle
ε =1− (2)
ρs ×total bed volume

The macroscopic observables in fluidized beds are the fluid pressure drop (∆ P) needed
to cause the fluid to flow through the bed of solids, the fluid velocity (u), and the density
of solid( ρ s). The Ergun equation is represent as in eq 2.
2
∆P ( 1−ε ) μu ( 1−ε ) u ρ f
=150 3 2
+1.75 3 (3)
h ε dp ε dp

Where, ∆P = pressure drop

Where,
∆ P = pressure drop,
h = Height of the bed,
μ = fluid viscosity,
ρf = Fluid density,
ε = Void fraction of bed,
u = fluid velocity,
dp = Particle diameter.

The equation for turbulent flow is different from streamline situation. The particles in the
bed will remain in a parked bed as the gravitational forces holding the solid particles
down are greater than the force exerted by the fluid flowing up through the bed
particles. At the point where the two forces become equal, the solid particles begin to
move up. The force balance describes this condition known as incipient fluidization is
given in equation

∆P
=¿ ( ρ S−¿ ρ f )( 1−ϵ )g (4)
h
The minimum fluidized velocity, umf in terms of parameters for the fluid, solid and bed is
expressed as in equation 5
3
2 150(1−ε em ) μf g ( ρ p −ρf ) ε mf d p
umf + umf − =0 (5)
1.75 ρ f d p 1.75 ρ f

For relative small particles and small Reynolds number the minimum fluidized velocity
(umf) is expressed as in equation 6;
2
8( ρ p− ρf ) d p
umf = 3 (6)
150 ( 1−ε mf ) / ε mf

The minimum fluidized velocity (umf) for relative large particles, large Reynolds number;
umf =¿ (7)

Terminal Velocity, ut
The solid particles are entrained when the upward velocity of fluid is sufficiently high
and thus they are carried up with the fluid. At this point elutriation occurs. This velocity is
called elutriation velocity. Elutriation is the selective removal of solid particles by
entrainment on the basis of size. The minimum elutriation velocity for particles of a
given size is the velocity at incipient entrainment, and is assumed to be equal to the
terminal velocity, ut. The terminal velocity for spherical particles at small Re is
expressed in equation 8 as;
2
g (ρ p− ρf ) d p
ut = (8)
18 μ f

Proper fluidization occurs at a velocity called actual fluidized velocity v f the

relationship between the minimum fluidized velocity u mf and terminal velocity ut is
given in equation 9
umf < uf <u t (9)

If the gas velocity is increased to a sufficiently high value, however, the drag on an
individual particle will surpass the gravitational force on the particle, and the particle will
be entrained in a gas and carried out of the bed. The point at which the drag on an
individual particle is about to exceed the gravitational force exerted on it is called the
maximum fluidization velocity.

Conceptual Fluidized Reactor Containing Uniform Particles with Degree of Bed Expansion
(DBE) as Related to flow velocity vf.

The fluidized velocity (uf) expressed by Kozeny-Carmen equation is as in equation 10

g( ρ p −ρf )d 2p ε 3
uf = (10)
150 μ (1−ε )
 Materials of Construction

The Reactor
The reactor was a glass tube of 1m long and 40 mm diameter The lower part of
the reactor was fitted with a mesh of 1.23mm (1230μm) at the base and also at the
top to prevent (the undesired escape of the solid particles from the reactor). The
bed of the reactor was filled with sand particles of weight 0.6N and average size of
1800μm to a height of 25mm. Also, the U-tube differential manometer made up of

plastic (transparent) tube was filled with water for the experiment .
Design of the Bed
The density of the sand was determined and it was found to be 2.6129g/cm3.
Choosing the height of the bed to be 25 mm for a tube of 40 mm diameter, the bed void
from equation (2) was;
Void fraction of bed (ε ) = 0.26869454
Or 4.77cm H2O
The pressure drop ΔP was calculated from equation (4)
ΔP = 468.406382 N/m2
Minimum fluidized velocity was calculated from equation (7)
umf =¿0.83625166 m/s

Fluidized velocity was calculated from equation (10)

u f =¿ 0.00040857 m/s

Terminal velocity was calculated from equation (8)

ut =¿ 245.95475 m/s

The cross-sectional area of the bed was thus,

π d2
A= = 0.001256 m2
4
Hence, the flow rate at various velocities was calculated as;
Ф = A*u
The flow rate at minimum velocity is; 0.00105033
The flow rate at fluidized velocity is; 5.1316E-07
The flow rate at terminal velocity is; 0.30891917
The minimum and maximum power requirements of the bed were calculated from
equations 11 and 12 respectively
below.
Qmin =∆ Pmin ×ф m ∈¿¿ (11)
Qmax =∆ Pmax × ф max (12)

Using equation (3) the pressure drop at minimum fluidized, fluidized velocity and
terminal velocity were calculated and tabulated in table
velocity (m/s) ΔP (m H2O) ΔP N/m2 flow rate(m3/s) Power (W)
0.836251662 0.11137 1111.505 0.00105033 1.167449
0.000408567 0.13985 1372.026 5.1316E-07 0.000704
245.9547504 4.3537 42691.51 0.30891917 13188.23

the power required for maximum fluidization was 13.2kW. It is therefore the discharge
power of the blower.

Blower Design

The blower head was calculated from the discharge power as;
Pd =ρg ф H
P
H= = 3347.566 m
ρg ф
This is equivalent to 4.35m (H2O)
 Velocity vector diagram of impeller wheel of the blower

According Adekunle et al (2008), the volume flow rate can be expressed as;
ф =2 π r 1 b1 v n 1
Wh
Where ф is volume flow rate, r 1is the radius of suction eye, b 1 is the blade width and
νn1 is speed of the suction eye along the radius. Hence,
ф
v n1 = = 20.49623 m/s
2 π r 1 b1

But νn1 =U1tanβ1

Hence,

U1= νn1/ tanβ1 = 36.9968 m/s

N = 5891.211 RPM
2× πN
U2¿ r 2 ω = b 1= 138.738 m/s
60
ф
v n2 =
2 π r 2 b2 = 6.832076 m/s

The impeller discharge velocity, V2,

V2 = √ U 22 +v 2n 2=¿ 38.9061 m/s

Assuming that the fluid enters the impeller with purely radial absolute velocity ν t1 =
0
The increase in head becomes
U × V t2
H= 2
g
Hg
V t 2= = 236.7024 m/s
U2

The blower discharge power was; Taking the efficiency of this blower to be 70%,
according to the new-generation blowers typically Deliver well in excess of 70 percent
efficiency, the input or shaft power is thus
Pd
PS = = 18840.32 W
Ƞ
Therefore, the power of the electric motor requires for this
duty is 18.85kW.
Advantages of fluidized bed reactor
The increase in fluidized bed reactor use in today's industrial world is largely due to the
inherent advantages of the technology.

 Uniform particle mixing: Due to the intrinsic fluid-like behavior of the solid material,
fluidized beds do not experience poor mixing as in packed beds. This complete
mixing allows for a uniform product that can often be hard to achieve in other reactor
designs. The elimination of radial and axial concentration gradients also allows for
better fluid-solid contact, which is essential for reaction efficiency and quality.
 Uniform temperature gradients: Many chemical reactions require the addition or
removal of heat. Local hot or cold spots within the reaction bed, often a problem in
packed beds, are avoided in a fluidized situation such as an FBR. In other reactor
types, these local temperature differences, especially hotspots, can result in product
degradation. Thus FBRs are well suited to exothermic reactions. Researchers have
also learned that the bed-to-surface heat transfer coefficients for FBRs are high.
 Ability to operate reactor in continuous state: The fluidized bed nature of these
reactors allows for the ability to continuously withdraw product and introduce new
reactants into the reaction vessel. Operating at a continuous process state allows
manufacturers to produce their various products more efficiently due to the removal
of startup conditions in batch processes.
Disadvantages of fluidized bed reactor
As in any design, the fluidized bed reactor does have its draw-backs, which any reactor
designer must take into consideration.

 Increased reactor vessel size: Because of the expansion of the bed materials in

the reactor, a larger vessel is often required than that for a packed bed reactor. This
larger vessel means that more must be spent on initial capital costs.
 Pumping requirements and pressure drop: The requirement for the fluid to
suspend the solid material necessitates that a higher fluid velocity is attained in the
reactor. In order to achieve this, more pumping power and thus higher energy costs
are needed. In addition, the pressure drop associated with deep beds also requires
additional pumping power.
 Particle entrainment: The high gas velocities present in this style of reactor often
result in fine particles becoming entrained in the fluid. These captured particles are
then carried out of the reactor with the fluid, where they must be separated. This can
be a very difficult and expensive problem to address depending on the design and
 function of the reactor. This may often continue to be a problem even with other
entrainment reducing technologies.
 Lack of current understanding: Current understanding of the actual behavior of
the materials in a fluidized bed is rather limited. It is very difficult to predict and
calculate the complex mass and heat flows within the bed. Due to this lack of
understanding, a pilot plant for new processes is required. Even with pilot plants, the
scale-up can be very difficult and may not reflect what was experienced in the pilot
trial.
 Erosion of internal components: The fluid-like behavior of the fine solid particles
within the bed eventually results in the wear of the reactor vessel. This can require
expensive maintenance and upkeep for the reaction vessel and pipes.
 Pressure loss scenarios: If fluidization pressure is suddenly lost, the surface area
of the bed may be suddenly reduced. This can either be an inconvenience (e.g.
making bed restart difficult), or may have more serious implications, such as
runaway reactions (e.g. for exothermic reactions in which heat transfer is suddenly
restricted).
 Conclusion
A fluidized reactor for practical demonstration was successfully designed and
fabricated and also tested. The pressure drops relative to flow of air was studied and
found satisfactorily. The minimum and maximum fluidized velocities were 0.64 and
245.86 m/s and the corresponding pressure drops were 0.11 and 43.53mH 2O
respectively. The blower rotational speed was 5882 rpm and its efficiency was found
to 70%. The blower head was 3347.58 m indicating that it can blow gas to this height. A
fluidized bed reactor for practical demonstration was successfully designed,
fabricated and tested. The pressure drops relative to flow of air was studied and
found satisfactorily.The minimum and maximum fluidized velocities were 0.64
and 245.86 m/s and the corresponding pressure drops were 0.11 and 43.53mH 2O
respectively. The blower rotational speed was 5882 rpm and its efficiency was found
to be 70%. The blower head was 3347.58 m indicating that its delivery can be optimised
at this height.
 References
 Trambouze, P., & Euzen, J. (2004). Chemical Reactors: From Design to
Operation. (R. Bononno, Trans.). Paris: Editions Technip.
 Lee F. Brown and H. Scott Fogler (2008) Fluidized Bed Reactors, Diffusion
and Reaction in Porous Catalysts, Professional Reference Shelf, University of
Michigan
 Doki Koi (2011) Fluidized bed sand filter (Retrieved,14/08/2011)
 Adekunle Taofeek Oyelami, Olawale Oluwadare Olaniyan, Dalyop Iliya and Abimbola
Samson Idowu (2008). The Design of a Closed-Type-Impeller Blower for a 500kg
Capacity Rotary Furnace AU J.T. 12(1): 50-56
 Ronald W. Missen, Charles A. Mims and Bradley A. Saville (1999) Introduction to
Chemical Reaction Engineering and Kinetics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York