Model of Fluidized Bed Containing Reacting Solids and Gases

A mathematical model has been developed for describing the thermofluid dynamics of a dense, chemically reacting mixture of solid particles and gases. As used here, "dense" signifies having a large volume fraction of particles, as for example in a bubbling fluidized bed. The model is intended especially for application to fluidized beds that contain mixtures of carrier gases, biomass undergoing pyrolysis, and sand. So far, the design of fluidized beds and other gas/solid industrial processing equipment has been based on empirical correlations derived from laboratory- and pilot-scale units. The present mathematical model is a product of continuing efforts to develop a computational capability for optimizing the designs of fluidized beds and related equipment on the basis of first principles. Such a capability could eliminate the need for expensive, time-consuming predesign testing.