Abstract (EN):
A theoretical and experimental study is described of the problem of mass transfer between a large 'active' sphere and the fluid flowing around it in the interstices of a fixed or fluidised bed of small inert particles. A continuum approach is adopted to describe the flowfield in the granular bed and a potential flow solution is obtained, from the coupling of D'Arcy's law and continuity. Description of the flowfield is then coupled with the equation of conservation of the transferred species; particular attention is given to the possibility of convective dispersion taking over molecular diffusion in the granular bed. An analytical solution of the mass transfer equation is developed for the condition of thin concentration boundary layer and a numerical solution is worked out. Experimental data for the sublimation of naphthalene are reported for fixed and fluidised beds over a wide range of the experimental variables. Application of the theory to the prediction of pressure effects on the rate of combustion of coke particles in fluidised beds is presented.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
No. of pages:
12