Numerical Simulation of Dense Gas-Solid Multiphase Flows Using Eulerian-Eulerian Two-Fluid Model

Abstract

Gas-solid fluidized beds are widely applied in chemical processes such as drying, combustion, synthesis of fuels, granulation, polymerization etc. They have several advantageous properties including; excellent heat and mass transfer, nearly isothermal conditions due to intense gas-solid mixing, large gas-solid surface area, smooth transport of solids, uniform solid product in batch processes, and possibility of continuous and largescale operations. On the other hand, these reactors have several drawbacks that provide a strong motivation for further studies and developments. These include; difficulty in scalingup and design, erosion of vessel and internals, formation of agglomerates, non-uniform products due to non-uniform solids residence time during continuous operation, and high particle entrainment. These drawbacks are bottlenecks for practitioners to reliably design and scale-up commercial fluidized bed reactors. The main reason for this is that the gassolid multiphase flow dynamics coupled with heat and mass transfer and chemical reactions that occur in these systems are very complex and not yet fully understood. In bubbling gas-solid fluidized beds, bubble characteristics such as size, shape, velocity, distribution have a vital influence on the hydrodynamics of bed and hence on its performance as a chemical reactor and/or a heat exchange unit. The extent of gas-solid mixing and segregation, heat and mass transfer as well as reaction conversion are governed by the number, size and motion of bubbles passing through the bed (Kunii & Levenspiel, 1991). Therefore, fundamental understanding of the hydrodynamics of fluidized beds thereafter their heat and mass transfer as well as chemical conversion come only after a sound understanding of bubbling behaviour is achieved. However, prediction of bubble characteristics is extremely complex as bubbles can grow, coalesce, split or even disappear as they move from the distributor where they are formed to the top of the bed where they finally erupt. Moreover, bubble characteristics vary with geometric construction of the bed and operating conditions. In many applications, heat exchanger tubes are inserted to enhance the rate of heat and mass transfer and chemical conversion, control the operating temperature, promote good mixing and reduce gulf circulation of solids. In these systems, the bubbling behaviour is also strongly influenced by the geometry and arrangement of the internals (Yates et al., 1990; Hull et al., 1999; Asegehegn et al., 2011a). Therefore,