Packed and Fluidized Bed

Packed and fluidized bed
• These are the devices in which a larger surface area for contact
between liquid-gas (absorption and distillation) or solid-liquid
(adsorption) is obtained
• For achieving rapid mass and heat transfer.
Packed bed
• A cylindrical column that is filled with a suitable packing material
• Different type pf packings
• Berl saddles
• Glass beads
• Rashig rings
Liquid is distributes as uniformly as possible at the top of the column

an flows downwards wetting the packing material
Rings (Raschig,etc) Tarus saddle
Pall Ring
• A gas is admitted at the bottom and flows upward contacting the
liquid in the counter current fashion.
• An important issue faced here is the pressure drop required for the
liquid/gas to flow through the column at a specified flow rate.
• To calculate this we rely on the Ergun equation.
• In packed be laminar, turbulent are not well defined as in open tubes.
• Turbulent > 1000; laminar< 10
Friction in the flow through a bed of solids
• In many technical processes liquids /gases flow through the bed of
solid particles
• The resistance to the flow of a fluid through the voids in a bed of
solids is a result of total drag of all the particles in the bed.
• Depending on Re (laminar turbulent flow) separation and wake
formation occur.
• Pressure drop through a bed of particles is related to the drag of
individual particles.
Requirements of tower packings
• Chemically inert
• Must be strong without excessive weight
• Must contain adequate passages for the contacting streams without
excessive pressure drop
• Must provide good contact between the phases
• Reasonable in cost
• Particle diameter – Dp
• Equivalent diameter – Deq
• Porosity or void fraction – Ɛ
• (for rashig rings and berl saddles, Ɛ = 0.6 to 0.75 )
• Ɛ = void volume/total volume of the bed
• Φs- sphericity
• Φs = surface area of a sphere of same volume as the particle/ actual
surface area of the particle
• or
• Φs = surface / volume ratio
• Φs = (SP/VP)sphere / (SP/VP)particle = 6/DP/ (SP/VP)particle = 6VP / SPDP
• Φs=1 (for sphere)

• Other non spherical particles Φs<1
• DP = diameter of the particle
• Calculate the sphericity of a solid particle of a cubical shape.
• Vs= superficial velocity
• VI = interstitial velocity
• At any cross section perpendicular to the flow Vavg is based on the
c/s area of the pipe (empty tower) – superficial velocity
• The area which is actually open to the flowing fluid – VI
• VI= VS/Ɛ
• VI= Q/Ɛ* Apipe
• Vs = volume flowrate / column area = Q/ ПD2/4
• Ɛ = void volume/total volume of the bed
• Ɛ = Vvoids/VR = (VR – Vall particles) = VR- VPNP/VR
• NP = VR (1- Ɛ)/VP
• VR = reactor volume
• VP = volume of one particle
• NP = number of particles
• NREP = particle Reynolds number
• rH = c/s area of the channel / wetted perimeter of the channel

• rH = AC/P
• NREP = [4 ƐVS ρ DP /(1-Ɛ)]*6µ*Ɛ]

• For laminar flow , HP eqn,
• ∆P= 32µVL/D2
• ∆P= 32µVIL/Deq2
• ∆P/L= 150µVs(1-Ɛ)2 / [ Dp2 * (Ɛ3)] -------laminar flow [NRe<10]
• Kozeny- Carmen equation

• Turbulent flow in packed beds
• hf = 4fLv2/2Dg
• hf=∆P/ρg = 2fLV2/gD
• f = ∆P Deq/2LVI2 ρ
• ∆P/L= 1.75ρVs2(1-Ɛ)/ [ Dp* (Ɛ3)] -------turbulent flow [Nre>1000] – BURKE

PLUMMER equation
• For transition region .,
• ∆P/L= 150µVs(1-Ɛ)2 / [ Dp2 * (Ɛ3)] +1.75ρVs2(1-Ɛ)/ [ Dp* (Ɛ3)] – ERGUN

equation
• Calculate the pressure drop of air flowing at 30° C and at 1 atm
pressure through a bed of 1.25 cm diameter spheres at a rate of 60
kg/min. The bed is 125 cm diameter and 250 cm height. The porosity
of the bed is 0.38. The viscosity of air is 0.0182 cP and the density is
0.001156 gm/cc
• Free settling
• Hindered settling
• The velocity gradients around each particle are effected by the

presence of nearby particles (so the normal drag correlations do not
apply)- hindered settling
• When the particles are at sufficient distance from the particles, so
that its fall is not affected by them – free settling
Motion of a particle through a fluid
• Stoke’s law for NRE <= 1
• CD= 0.44 for NRE between 1000 and 200000
• Vt = √2𝑔 ρp−ρ 𝑚/Ap ρpCD ρ
• Ap=П/4 DP2
• M=П/6 DP3 ρp ------------------mass of the particle
• Vt= g Dp2 (ρp− ρ)/18µ ------------------- stoke’s law
• Vt=√ g Dp (ρp− ρ)/ ρ -------------------Newton’s law
Fluidized bed
• When a liquid or gas is passed through a bed of solid particles at very low
velocity the particles do not move and the pressure drop is given by ERGUN
equation
• If the velocity steadily increased, the pressure drop and the drag on
individual particles increase and eventually the particles start moving and
get suspended in the fluid
• The term fluidization r fluidized bed are used to describe the condition of
fully suspended particles , since the suspension behaves like a dense fluid.
• Minimum fluidization velocity :

• For low NRE, only laminar flow term of ERGUN equation is significant.
• Vom = [ g (ρp-ρ) * Ɛm3 φs2DP2 ] /[(1-Ɛm) *150Vsµ]
• Ɛm - Porosity at minimum fluidization
• Many empirical equations state that Vom varies with somewhat less
than 2.0 power of the particle size and not quite inversely with µ
• For NRE> 103
• Vom = √ [ φs*DP * g * (ρp-ρ)* Ɛm3)/(1.75 ) ρ]
• Applications:
• Petroleum industry
• Fluid bed catalytic cracking
• Conditions for fluidization
• Types
• Particulate fluidization
• Bubbling fluidization
• As the velocity of the liquid is increased past the minimum

fluidization velocity, the bed expands uniformly and uniform
conditions prevail in the liquid solid mixture.
• Bubbling fluidization occurs in gas fluidized beds
• Here when the bed is fluidized large pockets of gas free particles are
seen to rise through the bed.
• When there are particles the bed void fraction is approximately the
value that prevails during incipient fluidization.
• The bubbles grow until they fill the c/s and then successive bubbles
move up the column , a condition known as slugging occurs.
• The non uniform nature of the bed was at first attributed to
aggregation of particles and the term aggregative fluidization was
applied.
• For particulate fluidization the expansion is uniform and the Ergun
equation which applies to the fixed bed might be expected to hold
approximately for the slightly expanded bed.
• Ɛ3/(1-Ɛ) = [ 150Vsµ]/ [g (ρp-ρ)φs2DP2 ]

• Calculate the terminal settling velocity of dust particles having a
diameter of 60µm in air at 294 K and 101.32kPa . The dust particles
can be considered spherical with a density of 1280 kg/m3.
• Air properties: ρ=1.137 kg/m3; µ=1.90*10-5 Pa.s
• Particles having a size of 0.1 mm and a shape factor of 0.86 and a
density = 1200 kg/m3 are to be fluidized using air at 25°C and
202.65kPa abs pressure. The void fraction at minimum fluidized
condition =0.43. The bed diameter is 0.6 m and the bed contains 350
kg solids. (a) Calculate the minimum height of the fluidized bed. (b)
calculate the pressure drop at minimum fluidization conditions using
Ergun equation(c) Calculate the minimum velocity of fluidization.

Packed and Fluidized Bed

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Packed and fluidized bed

Liquid is distributes as uniformly as possible at the top of the column

• Φs=1 (for sphere)

• rH = c/s area of the channel / wetted perimeter of the channel

• NREP = [4 ƐVS ρ DP /(1-Ɛ)]6µƐ]

• ∆P/L= 150µVs(1-Ɛ)2 / [ Dp2 * (Ɛ3)] -------laminar flow [NRe<10]

• Kozeny- Carmen equation

• ∆P/L= 1.75ρVs2(1-Ɛ)/ [ Dp* (Ɛ3)] -------turbulent flow [Nre>1000] – BURKE

• ∆P/L= 150µVs(1-Ɛ)2 / [ Dp2 * (Ɛ3)] +1.75ρVs2(1-Ɛ)/ [ Dp* (Ɛ3)] – ERGUN

• The velocity gradients around each particle are effected by the

• Minimum fluidization velocity :

• As the velocity of the liquid is increased past the minimum

• Ɛ3/(1-Ɛ) = [ 150Vsµ]/ [g (ρp-ρ)φs2DP2 ]

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