History of fluidization in North America

Abstract

This paper primarily discusses the development of fluidization in North America in the 20th century. Although the history described is primarily in North America, it cannot be completely divorced from fluidization developments in other parts of the world - such as the early fluidization research in Germany culminating in the first commercial fluidized -bed process, etc. Therefore, the paper primarily chronicles the development of fluidization from the early 1920s at the U.S. Bureau of Mines to the early 2000s.The paper describes how Fluid Catalytic Cracking and World War II combined to jump-start fluidization in North America in the 1940s. In addition, the growth of fluidization development is described by decade until the end of the century. The contribution of universities to the fluidization community in the United States and Canada are also explored. Some historical controversies regarding the choking velocity in pneumatic conveying, the location of the fast fluidization regime relative to the choking velocity and jets in fluidized beds are also discussed.Inevitably in such a paper it is impossible to recognize all who have contributed to this history. The authors would like to apologize for any unintended omissions to those who have made these significant contributions.