Utility of argon as a static charge and wall fouling suppressant in atmospheric gas-solid fluidized beds

Abstract

This work aimed to study the usability of argon to mitigate electrostatic charging and fouling of polyethylene resin fluidized in a stainless-steel column. Nitrogen, argon, and their binary mixtures of various concentrations were utilized to fluidize polyethylene. Successive and intermittent fluidizations with argon and nitrogen were also carried out to explore the feasibility of using argon in commercial reactors. Fluidization with pure argon resulted in the lowest specific charge and substantially reduced the fouling by 90% relative to pure nitrogen. The results for the mixture trials showed a decreasing non-linear trend as the concentration of argon increased. Even presence of 10 vol% argon in the mixture reduced the wall fouling by 50%. Successive and intermittent fluidization also yielded fouling and specific charge values comparable to pure argon. The results are attributed to argon's relatively low dielectric strength and subsequent localized gas discharge within the particle-dense section of the bed.