Experimental fluidization performances of silicon carbide in a fluidized bed

Abstract

A fluidized bed system was demonstrated and the fluidization performances of silicon carbide in the fluidized bed system were experimentally studied as to facilitate the further application of microwave-assisted fluidized bed. The results show that the smaller silicon carbide particles (0.25–1 mm) have better fluidization performances than larger ones (1–1.5, 1.5–2, 2–2.5 and 2.5–3 mm) due to the fact that the smaller particles are nearly spherical whereas the larger particles are irregular in shape (long and branched), and larger particles tend to form channels in fluidization. Fluidization velocity is too high, large bubbles will be generated to affect the uniformity of fluidized particles. The loading of fluidized particles should match that of the fluidized bed, and too low loading amount wastes the space of the fluidized bed, while too high loading amount will also produce large bubbles. For the fluidized bed system developed in this study, the suggested fluidization parameters were: (a) silicon carbide particle size of 0.25–1 mm, (b) fluidization velocity of 0.47–-0.71 m/s, and (c) silicon carbide particle loading of 40–50 g.