Study of Solids and Gas Distribution in Spouted Bed Operated In Stable and Unstable Conditions

A spouted bed is a special case of fluidization. It is an effective means of contacting gas with coarse solid particles. Spouted beds should be designed and operated to overcome performance instability and improves the uniform distribution of particles. Steady-state measurements were carried out in the 0.152 m ID cylindrical spouted bed made of Plexiglas that used 60° conical shape spout-air bed. The evaluation of solid and gas holdup in the two regions of spouted bed at stable and an unstable condition was performed using optical probe. The comparison of the radial profiles at the two conditions showed that the variation was in the spout region. The annulus region had similar profiles in both the condition as it acts as a loose packed bed, moving slowly downward. Stable bed was obtained at low gas velocity of 0.74 m/s and instability of spouting was observed at high gas velocity of 1.4 m/s. The beads can fluidize homogenously at stable conditions, while pulsation of the bed was appeared at unstable spout. Different flow regimes and characteristics can be obtained with minor variations in geometry or operating conditions.