Design and Experimental Study of a Tapered Fluidized Bed Reactor without a distributor of Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Fluidized bed reactor is a key component in chemical engineering. The tapered fluidized bed reactor (TFBR) without a distributor was innovatively used for the preparation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in this paper. And it was designed and studied experimentally. The tapered angle is an important part in the design of the tapered fluidized bed reactor. The parameterized design (5°, 10°, 11°, 13°, 15°, 18°, 20°) was carried out by using CFD analysis, and the optimal tapered angle was selected as 11°. The fluidization mass and behavior of the tapered reactor, the quality and yield during the growth of CNTs were studied experimentally. Results showed that the pressure drop of the multi-walled CNTs in the bed and the expansion process of the bed are in good agreement with each other in the process of acceleration and deceleration, and the fluidization in the bed is more uniform. Moreover, the yield of multi-walled CNTs reached 94.2 g and the quality of multi-walled CNTs reached 97.96 % in a linear increase within 1 h, which verified the feasibility and reliability of the reactor design.