| This dissertation involves the study of various important aspects of gas-solid fluidized bed operations, including mathematical modeling of isothermal catalytic fluidized bed reactors, mathematical modeling of fluidized bed filters, and an experimental investigation of particle ejections into the freeboard region of a fluidized bed.;The freeboard region is experimentally investigated using an image carrying fiber optic probe to scan bubble eruptions at the surface of the fluidized bed. High speed motion pictures revealed that the ejected particles come from the dome of an erupting bubble. However, the particles which make up the dome may come from beneath the surface. A mathematical model is proposed to describe the distribution of particle ejection velocities.;In general, the model solutions show good agreement to previously reported experimental results under both reactive and non-reactive conditions in the fluidized bed. Because of their lack of adjustable constants and more realistic descriptions of the gas flow patterns, the models developed are believed to be useful in the design and gas-solid fluidized bed operations. |
