LAB MANUAL ECH 3905

CSTR

Experiment 1: Batch CSTR

In this experiment students are required to study the saponification reaction ethyl acetate and
sodium reaction to form sodium acetate in a batch reactor. The objective of the experiment is to
determine the order of saponification reaction and to determine the reaction rate constant.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarized themselves with the theory on stirred
tank reactor including the reaction rate and order of reaction

2. The reactants are usually prepared by the students. The student should know how to confirm
the concentration of the reactant. This can be done by titrating NaOH with HCL and by
reacting completely ethyl acetate with NaOH before accounting the excess NaOH by titrating
it with HCL. The technician will give you reactants with certain concentration but you may
ask for different one. The technician will refuse if you ask for the concentration level which
is unsafe to use during the lab.

3. The overflow tube will control the amount of reactant you will put in the reactor. Pump P1
and P2 will control the flow of ethyl acetate and NaOH respectively. Don’t forget to turn on
the stirrer at a reasonable speed.

4. After certain period of time you have to take sample from the reactor to determine the extent
of reaction by titration method. You would want to do this at different time intervals you may
find reasonable. After taking the sample, the reaction may still take place in the sample. You
may want to stop the reaction by quenching it with HCL with certain concentration before
carry out the titration.

5. Learn how to operate the equipment safely from the lab demonstrator. The lab demonstrator
will show you how to operate the equipment for the continuous STR.

6. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the amount and concentration of the
reactants, the concentration of the titration agents, and the concentration of the quenching
agent, the sampling time and the amount of sample. Submit your design of experiment
according the guidelines to the lab demonstrator who will do necessary corrections and
recommendations before you start the experiment.

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CSTR
Experiment 2: Effect of Mixing Speed on Reaction Rate Constant

In this experiment students are required to study the effect of mixing speed on the reaction
constant of the saponification reaction ethyl acetate and sodium reaction to form sodium acetate
in a batch reactor.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarized themselves with the theory on stirred
tank reactor including the reaction rate and order of reaction

2. The reactants are usually prepared by the students. The student should know how to confirm
the concentration of the reactant. This can be done by titrating NaOH with HCL and by
reacting completely ethyl acetate with NaOH before accounting the excess NaOH by titrating
it with HCL. The technician will give you reactants with certain concentration but you may
ask for different one. The technician will refuse if you ask for the concentration level which
is unsafe to use during the lab.

3. The overflow tube will control the amount of reactant you will put in the reactor. Pump P1
and P2 will control the flow of ethyl acetate and NaOH respectively. Don’t forget to turn on
the stirrer at a reasonable speed.

4. After certain period of time you have to take sample from the reactor to determine the extent
of reaction by titration method. You would want to do this at different time intervals you may
find reasonable. After taking the sample, the reaction may still take place in the sample. You
may want to stop the reaction by quenching it with HCL with certain concentration before
carry out the titration.

5. Repeat the experiment for a suitable range of impeller speed.

6. Learn how to operate the equipment safely from the lab demonstrator. The lab demonstrator
will show you how to operate the equipment for the continuous CSTR.

7. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the amount and concentration of the
reactants, the concentration of the titration agents, the concentration of the quenching agent,
the sampling time and the amount of sample. Submit your design of experiment according
the guidelines to the lab demonstrator who will do necessary corrections and
recommendations before you start the experiment.

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PFR
Experiment 3: Effect of residence time on the reaction in a PFR

The objective of the experiment is to examine the effect of a step change input in a plug flow
reactor and to construct a residence time distribution (RTD) function for the plug flow reactor.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarized themselves with the theory on plug
flow reactor including the reaction rate and order of reaction

2. The reactants are usually prepared by the students. The student should know how to confirm
the concentration of the reactant. This can be done by titrating NaOH with HCL and by
reacting completely ethyl acetate with NaOH before accounting the excess NaOH by titrating
it with HCL. The technician will give you reactants with certain concentration but you may
ask for different one. The technician will refuse if you ask for the concentration level which
is unsafe to use during the lab.

3. The waste tank has an overflow valve, which should be open when the experiment is
conducted. Otherwise the fluid will just splash out when the tank is full. There is a level
indicator in the side of each vessel to help you decide to stop the experiment when necessary.

4. Valve V1, pump P1 is used to control the flow from vessel B1 to head tank HB1 (one of the
small tank at the top). Valve V8 control the flow from HB1 to the reactor.

5. Valve V9 control the flow of water into the reactor. You may want to remember to close V13
and an overflow valve for water when you are feeding water into the reactor.

6. For the experiment you may consider feeding the water into the reactor until the reading of
temperatures and conductivity become stable. Then introduce salt into the reactor and start to
record the conductivity change in a reasonable time interval until all reading become constant
again.

7. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the amount and concentration of the
reactants, where the conductivity and temperature sensors are and how to record and the
recording time interval. Submit your design of experiment according the guidelines to the lab
demonstrator who will do necessary corrections and recommendations before you start the
experiment.

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PFR
Experiment 4: Effect of Temperature on the Reaction in a plug flow reactor (PFR)

The objective of the experiment is to determine the effect of temperature on the conversion in a
PFR.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarized themselves with the theory on plug
flow reactor including the reaction rate and order of reaction

2. The reactants are usually prepared by the students. The student should know how to confirm
the concentration of the reactant. This can be done by titrating NaOH with HCL and by
reacting completely ethyl acetate with NaOH before accounting the excess NaOH by titrating
it with HCL. The technician will give you reactants with certain concentration but you may
ask for different one. The technician will refuse if you ask for the concentration level which
is unsafe to use during the lab.

3. The waste tank has an overflow valve, which should be open when the experiment is
conducted. Otherwise the fluid will just splash out when the tank is full. There is a level
indicator in the side of each vessel to help you decide to stop the experiment when necessary.

4. Valve V1, pump P1 is used to control the flow from vessel B1 to head tank HB1 (one of the
small tank at the top). Valve V8 control the flow from HB1 to the reactor.

5. Valve V2, pump P2 is used to control the flow from vessel B2 to head tank HB2 (one of the
small tank at the top). Valve V7 control the flow from HB2 to the reactor.

6. The hot tank B4 is located at the top (the biggest overhead vessel). Locate the overflow
vessel and make sure it always open so that you will not have problem with the hot water
spill over. The temperature of the water can be set from the control panel.

7. For the experiment you may feed the reactor with the reactants at certain flow rate until all
reading become constant. Take a sample and carry out a back titration. After taking the
sample, the reaction may still take place in the sample. You may want to stop the reaction by
quenching it with HCL with certain concentration before carry out the titration. Repeat the
experiment several times at different water temperature.

8. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the amount and concentration of the
reactants, the concentration of the titration agents, the concentration of the quenching agent,
the selection of different set of temperature, and the amount of sample. Submit your design of
experiment according the guidelines to the lab demonstrator who will do necessary
corrections and recommendations before you start the experiment.

4
RD
Experiment 5: Effect of Hot Air Inlet Temperature on the Drying Rate of a Rotary Dryer

The objective of the experiment is to study the drying characteristics of a solid material under
batch drying condition in a rotary dryer. Your task is to design and perform a drying experiment
using feed of your choice to study the effect of hot air inlet temperatures on the rate of drying.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarize themselves with the theory on rotary
dryer and rate of drying.

2. You may choose your own feed (and bring it on your own) to be used in the experiment.
However, the feed of your choice is advisable to be a food product, solid, spherical in shape,
can roll easily and will not get stuck in the dryer. Examples are nuts, corn, carrot cubes, etc.

3. There are 2 things that you can control on the dryer, the temperature of the hot air inlet and
the hot air flowrate. Vary the temperature accordingly to study the effect of the temperature
on the drying rate.

4. Air flowrate can be determined from the manometer reading on the dryer.

5. There are 4 temperature readings available on the dryer; inlet wet bulb temperature, outlet
wet bulb temperature, inlet dry bulb temperature and outlet dry bulb temperature.

6. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the selection of different set of
temperature. Submit your design of experiment according the guidelines to the lab
demonstrator who will do necessary corrections and recommendations before you start the
experiment.

7. Given are the specifications of the rotary dryer; diameter of orifice is 26 mm, diameter of the
pipe through which air flows is 52 mm, area of pipe is 2.12 x 10 -3 m2, and area of orifice is
5.31 x 10-4 m2.

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RD
Experiment 6: Effect of Hot Air Inlet Flowrate on the Drying Rate of a Rotary Dryer

The objective of the experiment is to study the drying characteristics of a solid material under
batch drying condition in a rotary dryer. Your task is to design and perform a drying experiment
using feed of your choice to study the effect of hot air inlet flowrates on the rate of drying.

General guidelines:

1. Before coming to the lab, students should familiarize themselves with the theory on rotary
dryer and rate of drying.

2. You may choose your own feed (and bring it on your own) to be used in the experiment.
However, the feed of your choice is advisable to be a food product, solid, spherical in shape,
can roll easily and will not get stuck in the dryer. Examples are nuts, corn, carrot cubes, etc.

3. There are 2 things that you can control on the dryer, the temperature of the hot air inlet and
the hot air flowrate. Vary the flowrates accordingly to study the effect of the flowrates on the
drying rate.

4. Air flowrate can be determined from the manometer reading on the dryer.

5. There are 4 temperature readings available on the dryer; inlet wet bulb temperature, outlet
wet bulb temperature, inlet dry bulb temperature and outlet dry bulb temperature.

6. Plan your experiment by giving specific attention to the selection of different set of flowrate.
Submit your design of experiment according the guidelines to the lab demonstrator who will
do necessary corrections and recommendations before you start the experiment.

7. Given are the specifications of the rotary dryer; diameter of orifice is 26 mm, diameter of the
pipe through which air flows is 52 mm, area of pipe is 2.12 x 10-3 m2, and area of orifice
-4 2
is 5.31 x 10 m .

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Ab/Des
Experiment 7: Absorption of carbon dioxide into water – analysis of liquid solution and
analysis of CO2 dissolved in water

INTRODUCTION
Absorption is a unit operation where one or more components of a gas stream are removed by
being taken up (absorbed) in a non-volatile liquid solvent. This means a soluble gas is absorbed,
by means of a liquid in which the solute gas is more or less soluble, from its mixture with an
inert gas. Most gas absorption aims at separation of acidic impurities from mixed gas streams.
In this experiment, carbon dioxide gas is removed using water as the solvent. The column
contains inert packing material, Raschig Ring to assist the process.

OBJECTIVE
1. To measure the rate of absorption of a gas such as CO2 into a liquid such as water.
2. To measure the rate of absorption stated above in different dynamic condition such as
varying the flow rate of water into the absorption column.

The analysis of gas absorption depends on fluid mechanics and on mass transfer. The fluid
mechanics determines the acceptable range of gas and liquid fluxes, which are adjusted by
changing the cross-sectional area of the tower. The mass transfer coefficients determine the rate
of absorption and hence the height of the packed tower.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Procedure 1: Main Experiment

1. Refer Figure 2 for the position of valves. Close valves V19 and V20. Switch on the air
compressor and drier. Adjust both pressure regulators for maximum working pressure of 2 bars.
2. Close these valves: V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7 and V9.
3. Open these valves: V8, V10, V11, V12 and V13.
Note: Valves V12 and V13 shall be used to vary the gas flow rate only and they shall never be
totally closed. Instead, use valves V19 and V20 to shut off the compressed air.
4. Fill vessel B1 to approximately three quarters full with (preferably) deionised water through
valve V10. Record the volume added (in L).
5. Open valve V3 slightly and start the liquid pump P1. Adjust valve V8 to obtain minimum flow
rate possible on flow meter FI 9 such that no overflow occur in vessel B3. Let the liquid flow
through the column and back into vessel B1. Record the liquid flow rate.
6. Open valve V19 and adjust control valve V12 to give an air flow of approximately 50% of full
scale on flow meter FI 10.
7. Carefully open the control valve on the carbon dioxide cylinder and adjust valve V13 to give a
value on the flow meter FI 11 approximately one half of the air flow. The flow meter scale
conversion is 1L/hr of water is equivalent to 0.0375m 3/hr of gas. This flow meter scale
conversion only applies to flow meter FI 7, FI 11, and FI 12.
Note: Reduce air flow rate if flooding occurs in the column.
8. After 15 minutes of steady operation, take 150ml of sample from valve V9 and V7 at 10
minutes intervals for a period of approximately 2 hours.

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9. Close the control valve on the CO2 cylinder.
10. Close valve V19.
11. Switch off the air compressor if no longer required.
12. Analyze the samples according to the procedure detailed below.

Procedure 1: Analysis of CO2 Dissolved in Water

Note: Water used for absorption should be deionised as presence of dissolved salts affect the
analysis described below. If tap water is used, no metal ions should be present in greater
quantities than 1.0mg/L and pH should be just alkaline: 7.1 to 7.8.

Chemical solutions needed:

Solution A: Phenolphthalein indicator prepared from carbon dioxide free distilled water i.e. A.R.
grade.

Solution B: Standard 0.05M sodium hydroxide solution, prepared by diluting 50ml 1M caustic
soda standard solution to 1L with carbon dioxide free distilled water.
Prepare daily and protect from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by keeping in a stoppered glass
bottle.

Solution C: Standard 0.01M sodium bicarbonate solution, prepared by dissolving approximately

0.1g of anhydrous sodium bicarbonate in carbon dioxide free distilled water to 100ml.

6. Withdraw a sample of liquid as described in step 8 above.

7. Discharge the sample at the base of a 100ml graduated cylinder, flicking the cylinder to throw
off excess liquid above the 100ml mark.
8. Add 5-10 drops of phenolphthalein indicator (Solution A); if the sample turns red immediately,
no free CO2 is present. If the sample remains colorless, titrate with standard alkali (Solution B).
Stir gently with a glass rod until a definite pink color persists for about 30 seconds. This color
change is the end point. Note the volume VB of alkali solution added.
For best results, use a color comparison standard, prepared by adding identical volume of
phenolphthalein (Solution A) to 100ml of sodium bicarbonate (Solution C) in a similar graduated
cylinder.

8
Ab/Des
Experiment 8: Desorption of carbon dioxide from water - liquid solution and gas analysis

INTRODUCTION
Desorption process the reverse of absorption process whereby some of absorbed substance is
released. It is also known as stripping process. This occurs in a system being in the state of
sorption equilibrium between bulk phase (fluid, i.e. gas or liquid solution) and an adsorbing
surface (solid or boundary separating two fluids). When the concentration (or pressure) of
substance in the bulk phase is lowered, some of the absorbed substance changes to the bulk state.
In this experiment, we will study about desorption of carbon dioxide from water flowing down
the tower using gas analysis method. Normally the tower used for desorption is the same as the
tower used for absorption.

OBJECTIVE
1. To measure the rate of transfer of substance (CO2) from a liquid (water) to a gas (air).
2. To measure the desorption of substance (CO2) from a liquid (water) flowing down the tower
using gas analysis method.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Procedure 1: Main Experiment

1. Close valves V19 and V20 (refer Figure 2 in Experiment 3 & 4). Switch on the air compressor
and drier. Adjust both pressure regulators for maximum working pressure of 2bar.
2. Close these valves: V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V14 and V16.
3. Open these valves: V15 and V17.
Note: Valve V17 shall be used to vary the gas flow rate only and it shall never be totally closed.
Instead, use valves V19 and V20 to shut off the compressed air.
4. Fill vessel B2 with CO2-rich water approximately 50L.
Note: Student may also transfer the CO2-rich water from vessel B1 obtained at the end of
Experiment 3 & 4 into vessel B2.
5. Open valve V2 slightly and start the liquid pump P2. Adjust valve V15 to obtain minimum
flow rate possible on flow meter F1 8 such that no overflow occur in vessel B4. Let the liquid
flow through the column and back into vessel B2. Record the liquid flow rate.
6. Open valve V20 and adjust control valve V17 to give an air flow of approximately 50 % of
full scale on flow meter Fl 12.
7. Set the temperature set-point on Controller KS 90 to 50°C. Switch on the heater.
8. After 15 minutes or so of steady operation, the Display KM 200 will start to detect the
presence of CO2. Record the CO2 concentration and at the same time collect samples,
approximately 150ml, through valves V14 and V16.
9. Continue recording CO2 concentration and collecting samples every 10 minutes for
approximately 2 hours operation.
10. Close valve V20. Switch off the air compressor if no longer required.
11. Analyze the samples according to the procedure described previously.

9
CF Evap
Experiment 9 CLIMBING FILM EVAPORATOR I

INTRODUCTION

Evaporation is a process used to concentrate a solution (the thin liquor) consisting of a volatile
solvent and a non-volatile solute to produce a concentrated solution (the thick liquor). Water is
commonly used in the industry as the solvent. Unlike distillation, the vapor in evaporation
process is usually a single component and there is no attempt to separate the vapor into fractions
even when the vapor is a mixture.
In this experiment, the evaporator unit consists of a long vertical tube with a heating jacket, a
cyclone separator, a distillate cooler, a concentrate receiver and a distillate receiver. It is a single
tube pilot plant vertical evaporator. Steam from a laboratory steam boiler is fed to the lower part
of the jacket and exit through the steam vent. The steam condensate passes through a steam trap
before going to the drain.

OBJECTIVE

1. To study the effect of steam pressure on the rate of evaporation at constant feed rate and
at atmospheric pressure.
2. To study the effect of feed flow rate on the rate of evaporation at constant steam
pressure and at atmospheric pressure.
3. To determine the capacity of the climbing film evaporator.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Procedure 1: Start up

Follow the general procedure for start up, starting the steam boiler and charging the evaporator
provided together with the experimental manual.
Procedure 2: Main Experiment
1. Water is used as the feed liquid.
2. Switch on the control panel and then switch on the computer.
3. Check all valves are closed except valves V5, V9 and steam vent valve V4.
4. Metering pump P1 initially off. In this experiment, vacuum pump P2 shall be off.
5. Fill up the feed vessel B4 with water and record the feed temperature, TF.
6. Place a 2L container under each vessel B1 and B2. Drain off any left over from vessels B1 and
B2 by opening valves V3 and V11 respectively.
7. Open valve V13 and let cooling water to flow into the condenser. Set the cooling water flow
rate to approximately 700L/hr.
8. Open feed control valves V2 and V21. Switch on the metering pump P1 and set the speed to
Mode II 100%. Fill the evaporator tube to about half the height. Reset the pump speed to Mode II
50 %.
9. Open valves V17, V18 and V20. Open the steam inlet control valve V14. Open the boiler
steam outlet valve and allow the steam flow to stabilize. Set the required steam pressure to
1.25bar(g). This is the maximum setting of steam pressure in this experiment.

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Note: At the initial start of the experiment, open the by-pass valve V15 momentarily until no
excessive condensate building up at the bottom of the tube. Close back valve V15.
10. Allow the system to reach steady state for 5 minutes.
11. Start the timer and collect the concentrate, distillate and steam condensate.
12. Record TT1, TT2 and TT3.
13. Record pressure PT1 and PT2.
14. Record the height at which boiling occurs in the tube. Note the bubble and climbing film
formation.
15. Repeat steps 10 to 14. If necessary, average the two sets of data.
16. Repeat the experiment at different steam pressure (at least 3 point of equal interval, below the
maximum of 1.25bar(g))
17. Record all data.

Procedure 1: Shut-down
1. Shut down the plant using the procedure in the sheet provided.

11
FFB
Experiment 10: Effect of flow rate on solid-liquid fluidized bed system

OBJECTIVE
1. To determine the minimum fluidization velocity thus recognizing the point where the
packed bed is said to start fluidizing
2. To measure the pressure drop across a packing material when a fluid is passed through it
(fluidization takes place)
3. To perform checking of leakage at connectors and tubing and to suggest suitable
immediate corrective action(s) and permanent preventive action (s)

THEORY

Gas and liquid flowing upwardly through layers of solid material in a vertical tube at a
certain speed causes the particles of the respective bed to be whirled up producing a so-called
fluidized bed. This physical phenomenon is extensively being exploited in the chemical industry,
e.g., for smoke and exhaust gas purification. Incomplete combustion of carbon, nitrogen or sulfur
compounds can effectively be oxidized in a catalyst fluidized bed. The fluidized-bed technique
also finds use in other industries, for example, the drying of fertilizers, the gasification of coal or
the cracking of hydrocarbons.
Depending on the mean velocity at which a gas or liquid flows through a bed in an
upward direction, the nature of the fluid and physical properties of the granular material, the
grain shape and the grain diameter, the state of the material through which the fluid passes will
change.
A defined basic state can be obtained if the bed is packed as loosely as possible (apparent
density of bed) in the reactor. It has been found to be expedient if, prior to starting the
experiment, the bed is momentarily whirled up, followed by slow settling. In this state, the
packing height provides the initial state. The packing passes through several stages during the
fluid flow.

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 Figure 6.1: Pressure Loss of a Fluidized Layer

If the bed is whirled up by gas instead of by water, essentially the same conditions are created as
described for water. Unlike water, gas fluidized beds end to form bubbles much earlier. No
homogeneous fluidized bed will form. An essential difference to the water fluidized bed, if only
of a quantitative nature, is that the air fluidized layers have a greater tendency to jerking. This
becomes manifest, among other things, in that the phase boundary between the fluidized layer
and the substance above that layer is not very well defined and varies in height.

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 FFB
Experiment 11: Effect of flowrate and packing height on solid-gas fluidized bed system

OBJECTIVE
1. To determine the minimum fluidization velocity thus recognizing the point where the
packed bed is said to start fluidizing
2. To measure the pressure drop across a packing material when a fluid is passed through it
(fluidization takes place)
3. To observe the effects of different pack height on the fluidization behavior of a solid

FLUIDIZATION

Not every particle can be fluidized. The behavior of solid particles in fluidized beds

depends mostly on their size and density. The characteristics of the four different powder types

were categorized as follows (Geldart, 1973, 1978):

i. Group A is designated as ‘aeratable’ particles. These materials have small mean particle size

(dp < 30 µm) and low particle density (<1.4 g/cm3). Fluid cracking catalysts typically are in

this category. These solids fluidize easily, with smooth fluidization at low gas velocities

without the formation of bubbles.

ii. Group B is called ‘sand-like’ particles and some call it bubbly particles. Most particles of this

group have size 150 µm to 500 µm and density from 1.4 to 4 g/cm 3. For these particles, once

the minimum fluidization velocity is exceeded, the excess gas appears in the form of bubbles.

Bubbles in a bed of group B particles can grow to a large size. Typically used group B

materials are glass beads (ballotini) and coarse sand.

iii. Group C materials are ‘cohesive’, or very fine powders. Their sizes are usually less than 30

µm, and they are extremely difficult to fluidize because inter-particle forces are relatively

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 large, compared to those resulting from the action of gas. In small diameter beds, group C

particles easily give rise to channeling. Examples of group C materials are talc, flour and

starch.

iv. Group D is called ‘spoutable’ and the materials are either very large or very dense. They are

difficult to fluidize in deep beds. As velocity increases, a jet can be formed in the bed and

material may then be blown out with the jet in a spouting motion. If the gas distribution is

uneven, spouting behavior and severe channeling can be expected. Roasting coffee beans,

lead shot and some roasting metal ores are examples of group D materials.

The nature of particles slightly influences temperatures distributions in the fluidized bed.

This research was performed with non-soluble, non-porous and spherical model glass beads

which are characterized as Geldart’s group B materials. It was found that the temperature

gradients within the fluidized bed are lower when using porous particles due to higher specific

surface area favoring heat transfer. (Smith and Nienow, 1982).

When particles are fluidized by a gas, the frictional force between gas and particles

counterbalances the weight of the particles. Because of the viscous drag on the particles, a

pressure drop across the bed occurs and is proportional to the weight of the bed. When the

pressure drop is equal to the gravitational force acting on the particles, the bed is just fluidized

and the gas velocity is called minimum fluidization velocity, Umf. It can be determined from

measurements of the pressure drop across the bed as a function of the superficial gas velocity.

The value of Umf coincides with the elbow in the plot of the pressure drop across the bed versus

the gas superficial velocity as shown in Figure 7.1

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 p(bar )

Umf
v (cm / s )

Figure 7.1: Example of a Fluidization Plot

Besides that, the minimum fluidizing velocity can also be calculated by using Wen and

Yu.

N Re,mf 
U mf 
D p  N2 (1)

where

(2)
D p  N2   p   N2  g 
1
 3 2

  33.7   0.0408
2
N Re,mf   33.7
 2 

where N Re, mf is Reynolds number, D p is particle diameter,  N is gas density,  p is density

2

of the packing material and  is the viscosity of the fluid.

The minimum fluidization velocity is a function of the square of the particle diameter. It

is also a function of the difference between particle density and gas or air density. As a result, the

quantity of air required for minimum fluidization changes as the product's particle size or density

16
changes. At gas flow rates above the point of minimum fluidization, a fluidized bed appears

much like a vigorously boiling liquid. Bubbles of gas rise rapidly and burst on the surface, and

the emulsion phase is thoroughly agitated. The bubbles form very near the bottom of the bed and

very close to the distributor plate. As a result the design of the distributor plate has a significant

effect on fluidized-bed characteristics (Siegell, 1984).

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