Numerical studies of mass transfer performance in fluidized beds of binary mixture

Abstract The steam absorption process in a fluidized bed of binary mixture is investigated to study the mass transfer performance of active particles surrounding inert particles by means of CFD approaches. A bubble-based drag model is incorporated to the multi-fluid model to account for the bubble effect on mixing and segregation behaviors of binary mixture in a fluidized bed system. The predictions using different drag models are compared with experimental results. The effect of mixing and segregation behaviors of inert particles and active particles on mass transfer performance is evaluated. The sensitivity of mass transfer process to operating conditions is also analyzed. The results reveal that the bubble-based drag model can give a better prediction with measured data. The enhancement of mixing degree of inert particles and active particles can promote the mass transfer performance, which will be restricted with the increase of operating velocity.