Experimental and numerical studies on a bubble-induced inverse gas-liquid-solids fluidized bed

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Hydrodynamics in a newly invented bubble-induced inverse gas–liquid-solids three-phase fluidized bed has been studied via both experimental and numerical methods. With experiments in a 3.0 m column of 0.153 m in diameter, four fluidization regimes including a fixed bed regime, a bed expansion regime, a complete fluidization regime, and a freeboard regime have been identified with the increase in the superficial gas velocity. A three-phase Eulerian-Eulerian CFD model was developed to simulate the hydrodynamics in the inverse three-phase fluidized bed and the simulation results have a good agreement with the experimental data. The effects of the particle property and solids loading on the transitions across the flow regimes were numerically studied. A higher solids loading and/or a larger particle density are reported to contribute to an easier fluidization and a faster flow development to the complete fluidization regime. The radial flow structure becomes less uniform with increased inner circulation of the liquid after introducing more bubbles into the column.