ECI Digital Archives

Title

The effect of gas extraction through vertical membranes on the bubble hydrodynamics in a fluidized bed reactor

Authors

Solomon A. Wassie, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Trondheim, Norway ; Chemical Process Intensification Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven, NetherlandsFollow
Martin van Sint Annaland, Chemical Process Intensification Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Fausto Gallucci, Chemical Process Intensification Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Shahriar Amini, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Flow Technology Department ; Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Trondheim, Norway
Abdelghafour Zaabout, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Flow Technology Department, Trondheim, Norway
Schalk Cloete, SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Flow Technology Department, Trondheim, Norway

Conference Dates

May 22-27, 2016

Abstract

Recently membrane-assisted fluidized bed reactors (MAFBRs) have emerged as a cutting-edge technology for intensification of a number of industrially important chemical processes. Such reactors combine the benefits of excellent separation properties of membranes and the excellent heat and mass transport characteristics of fluidized beds. Hydrogen production from methane reforming is one of the main applications of MAFBRs where H2 perm-selective membranes are employed to extract ultra-pure hydrogen and increase product yield.

Understanding the effect of inserted membranes on the hydrodynamic behaviour of the fluidized bed reactor is of high importance for the design and optimization of MAFBRs. In particular, bubble properties (size, number and velocity) strongly influence the performance of fluidized bed reactors as they play a major role in heat and mass transfer phenomena. This work presents the experimental results of the effect of gas extraction via vertical membranes on the bubble properties using a Digital Image Analysis (DIA) technique. A pseudo 2D experimental setup (

Fig. 1) with a multi-chamber porous plate mounted at the bottom of the back plate is used to simulate vertical membranes. This setup allows for gas extraction in specific locations from the back of the column. Thus the effects of vertical membranes (gas extraction rates and locations) on the bubble properties for different particle sizes and fluidization velocities are studied in great detail. Results showed that variation of gas extraction rates (

Fig. 2a) and locations (

Fig. 2b) significantly influences bubble properties.

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract.

Recommended Citation

Solomon A. Wassie, Martin van Sint Annaland, Fausto Gallucci, Shahriar Amini, Abdelghafour Zaabout, and Schalk Cloete, "The effect of gas extraction through vertical membranes on the bubble hydrodynamics in a fluidized bed reactor" in "Fluidization XV", Jamal Chaouki, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada Franco Berruti, Wewstern University, Canada Xiaotao Bi, UBC, Canada Ray Cocco, PSRI Inc. USA Eds, ECI Symposium Series, (2016). https://dc.engconfintl.org/fluidization_xv/110