Residence Time Distribution in Semi-Fluidized Beds

Abstract

Residence time distribution (RTD) studies have been made in solid-liquid semi-fluidized beds with particle size, particle density, height of the static bed and position of restraint as variables. A comparison of experimental data with those obtained from various models, shows that the dispersed plug flow model represents the most Satisfactorily flow phenomenon in semi-fluidized beds. A number of correlations have been proposed for prediction of the mean residence time and the dispersion number based on dimensional analysis for the three stages—packed bed, fluidized bed and semi-fluidized bed of semi-fluidization. The correlations have been tested with independent runs and these are found to agree with the experimental data within 20% deviations.