A Study of Solid Particles Feeding Tehnic by Fluidization

Abstract : The study of heterogeneous reactions in a drop tube furnace, at a laboratory scale, needs a continuous feeding and dispersing technic to yield mass flow rates as low as 1 g/h. In the present work, a solution based on fluidization, is proposed. A mixture of lime and sand is fluidized at a superficial velocity higher than the free fall velocity of the lime particles which are therefore carried over by the fluidizing gas stream out of the bed. The effects of various parameters such as the particles diameter, the lime content in the solid mixture, the height of the fluidized bed and the gas fluidizing velocity, on the flow have been investigated. The operating conditions leading to the obtention of a constant solid rate have been optimized. A simple method of evaluating the mass of the evacuated and dispersed lime particles have been developed, and satisfactory results were obtained.