Yes / The purpose of granulation is to improve the flowability of powders, whilst reducing the dustiness and potential of segregation. The focus of this project is to understand the effects of the process parameters of fluidized bed granulation on the granule size distribution of the final product using gFP simulation software (Siemens PSE, UK). The wet granulation process has become predominant and important in the pharmaceutical industry, due to its cost-effectiveness and its robustness in product formulation. The process parameters that were subject of this study include the air flow rate of 20, 40 and 60 m3/hr., the binder concentration of 6, 9 and 12 wt.%, and the binder spray rate of 7.14, 14.28 and 21.42 ml/min. The results show that binder spray rate has the most impact on the granule size distribution, where an increase in binder spray rate is associated with a higher incidence of larger granules in the product. The air flow rate and the binder concentration have a negligible impact on the granule size distribution when agglomeration and consolidation models are not implemented in the simulation. / My sincere gratitude goes to Ghana Scholarship Secretariat for sponsoring this research and Siemens PSE UK for providing the software resource force this research.

The gasification of carbonaceous fuel materials offers significant potential for the production of both energy and chemical products. Advancement of gasification technologies may be expedited through the use of computational fluid dynamics, as virtual reactor design offers a low cost method for system prototyping. To that end, a series of numerical studies were conducted to identify a computational modeling strategy for the simulation of coal gasification in fluidized bed reactors. The efforts set forth by this work first involved the development of a validatable hydrodynamic modeling strategy for the simulation of sand and coal fluidization. Those fluidization models were then applied to systems at elevated temperatures and polydisperse systems that featured a complex material injection geometry, for which no experimental data exists. A method for establishing similitude between 2-D and 3-D multiphase systems that feature non-symmetric material injection were then delineated and numerically tested. Following the development of the hydrodynamic modeling strategy, simulations of coal gasification were conducted using three different chemistry models. Simulated results were compared to experimental outcomes in an effort to assess the validity of each gasification chemistry model. The chemistry model that exhibited the highest degree of agreement with the experimental findings was then further analyzed identify areas of potential improvement. / Ph. D. / Efficient utilization of coal is critical to ensuring stable domestic energy supplies while mitigating human impact on climate change. This idea may be realized through the use of gasification systems technologies. The design and planning of next-generation coal gasification reactors can benefit from the use of computational simulations to reduce both development time and cost. This treatise presents several studies where computational fluid dynamics was applied to the problem of coal gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor with focuses on accurate tracking of solid material locations and modeling of chemical reactions.

Ceramic candle filters were subjected to 500 hour high temperature/ high pressure (HTHP) exposure tests to examine their extended durability in simulated coal pressurized-fluidized bed combustion (PFBC) environments. The candle filter materials analyzed included two SiC filters, one with clay binder and one with a minimal amount of clay binder, a cordierite filter, a mullite candle filter and an aluminosilicate refractory concrete filter. Exposure testing conditions included a range of temperature from 700-850°C and a pressure ranging from 1.7-1.8 MPa. The HTHP tests included exposing the ceramic filter materials to steam and steam-alkali environments. The presence of alkali significantly accelerated the deterioration of the filters. The results of the analysis show that significant crushing strength losses were exhibited by the SiC filters after exposure to HTHP alkali-steam conditions at temperatures as low as 700°C. The expansive and destructive cristobalite phase developed in the SiC filters after most of the treatments. The cordierite candle filter showed a decrease in crushing strength associated with grain growth after each high temperature exposure but few other signs of deterioration were detected. The mullite candle filter and the refractory concrete candle filter showed the least amount of change in crushing strength and overall the most candle stability. / Master of Science

Yes / The fluidized bed coating system is a conventional process of particles coating in various industries. In this work, an experimental investigation was conducted using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to optimize the coating mass of particles in a top-spray fluidized bed coating. The design of experiments (DOEs) is a useful tool for controlling and optimization of products in industry. Thus, DOE was conducted using MINITAB software, version 16. This process used a sodium silicate solution for coating the sodium percarbonate particles. The effect of the fluidization air flow rate, atomization air flow rate and liquid flow rate on the coating mass in the top-spray fluidized bed coating was investigated. The experimental results indicated that the coating mass of particles is directly proportional to the liquid flow rate of the coating solution and inversely proportional to the air flow rate. It was demonstrated that the flow rate of the coating solution had the greatest influence on the coating efficiency. / Metallic Material Processing Research Group, ACECR, Branch of Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.

Particulate beds which are mobilized and expanded by the application of mechanical vibrations are called vibrated beds. These beds are generally defined as shallow, if the depth-to-width ratio is less than unity. The dynamics of shallow vibrated beds and the heat transfer from immersed tubes to such beds are investigated using a vibrational frequency of 25 Hz. The vibration equipment is designed to minimize distortions in the applied displacement waveform. Transducers used are of a sufficiently high frequency response to accurately follow the variation of bed properties over a vibrational cycle. An electronic circuit is designed to exactly phase-match data collected by a transducer with the vibrational displacement. The circuit may also be used to trigger a strobe lamp at any phase angle, thus permitting an accurate examination of the evolution of bed characteristics over a cycle. Measurements of floor pressures beneath the bed, indicate cyclic characteristics, caused by the bed motion. Horizontal floor-pressure gradients cause the bed to pile up or bunker within the vessel. In bunkered beds, particle motion is determined by horizontal gas flows, and a compaction wave which propagates diagonally through the bed during the bed-vessel collision. In non-bunkered beds, particle motion is driven largely by wall friction. The observed instant of bed-vessel separation lags the theoretical prediction by several degrees, most likely because of bed expansion associated with the bed lift-off. Different "states" of shallow vibrated beds are identified, each with a unique set of characteristics. One state which exists in ultra-shallow beds of depths between 6 and 15 particle diameters is characterized by a high porosity and good gas-solid interaction, making it potentially useful for studies of reaction kinetics. Surface-to-bed heat-transfer coefficients are measured for Master Beads and glass beads, and found to vary with particle size and vibrational intensity. Heat-transfer coefficients as high as 484 W/m²-K are obtained. Heat transfer depends on particle circulation and the formation of air gaps which periodically surround the heater surface. A simplified theoretical formulation for the heat-transfer coefficient appears to qualitatively predict observed trends in heat transfer. / Ph. D.

No

The heat transfer coefficient between a horizontal tube and a shallow fluidized bed of alumina particles (335-1261 micron) was measured, and the effects of the tube elevation (10-40 mm), static bed height (10-40 mm), and the design of the distributor were investigated. The cloud zone effect i.e. a sudden increase of the heat transfer coefficient when the tube was located right above the static bed height, has been verified as a feature of shallow bed systems; furthermore, the jet region has shown a dominant effect on the behavior of the shallow bed heat transfer. The results showed that the heat transfer coefficient increased monotonically with increasing air velocity when the tube was located in the jet region, and the heat transfer coefficient increased when a distributor which induced a deeper jet penetration was used. However, the erosion problem and the relatively high pressure drop across the distributor still need to be solved in further studies, so that the greatest economic value of a shallow bed can be achieved. / M. S.

Foi realizado um estudo sobre o efeito das concentrações de SO2 na sua absorção por calcários em fornalhas de leito fluidizado. Para observar a influência do SO2 sobre os diferentes parâmetros físicos e químicos do processo, foram criadas atmosferas compostas por quatro concentrações diferentes de SO2, que foram de 500, 1.000, 2.000 e 4.000 ppm. Utilizou-se ainda dois tipos de calcários, o Dolomítico-DP e o Calcítico-CI. O leito fluidizado borbulhante utilizado, possuía 160 mm de diâmetro interno e foi fluidizado com ar à temperatura de 850ºC, contendo SO2 na concentração desejada. Como material do leito foi utilizada areia de quartzo (99,9%), com diâmetro de 385 &#956m e aproximadamente 3,0 Kg de massa. O calcário foi adicionado em bateladas de 50 g com o reator já pré-aquecido, enquanto as variações das concentrações dos gases SO2, CO2, CO e O2 e suas descargas foram monitoradas continuamente na saída do ciclone que era utilizado para retenção do particulado fino. Para adquirir esses dados foi desenvolvido um programa em LabView. O modelo matemático escolhido possibilitou a determinação da conversão, da taxa de conversão e do coeficiente global de taxa de reação para todas as condições testadas. / A study of the effect of the concentrations of SO2 in its absorption by limestones in fluidized bed furnaces was conducted. For the determination of the SO2 influence on the different physical and chemical parameters of process, such as calcinations and sulfatation four different atmospheres were used in the reator with concentrations of SO2 of 500, 1.000, 2.000 and 4.000 ppm. Two types of limestones were used : Dolomitico-DP and Calcitico-CI. The bench scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor had a 160 mm internal diameter and was fluidized with air at 850ºC containing the required concentration of SO2. Bed material was quartz sand (99,9%), with 385 &#956m diameter and approximately 3 Kg of mass. The limestone was introduced in samples of 50 g, in the reactor previously stabilized, and the concentration of the gases SO2, CO2, CO and O2 and their discharges in the reactor exit were continually monitored. For the recording of this parameters a data acquisition program in LabView was developed. A mathematical model was used to allow the determination of the conversion, the conversion rate and the global coefficient of reaction rate for all the tested conditions.

No description available.

Carbon capture and storage technologies are necessary to start lowering greenhouse gas emissions while continuing to utilize existing thermal power generation infrastructure. Calcium looping is a promising technology based on cyclic calcination/carbonation reactions which utilizes limestone as a sorbent. Steam is present in combustion flue gas and in the calciner used for sorbent regeneration. The effect of steam during calcination on sorbent performance has not been extensively studied in the literature. Here, experiments were conducted using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and subsequently a dual-fluidized bed pilot plant to determine the effect of steam injection during calcination on sorbent reactivity during carbonation. In a TGA, various levels of steam (0-40% vol.) were injected during sorbent regeneration throughout 15 calcination/carbonation cycles. All concentrations of steam were found to increase sorbent reactivity during carbonation. A level of 15% steam during calcination had the largest impact. Steam changes the morphology of the sorbent during calcination, likely by shifting the pore volume to larger pores, resulting in a structure which has an increased carrying capacity. This effect was then examined at the pilot scale to determine if the phase contacting patterns and solids heat-up rates in a fluidized bed were factors. Three levels of steam (0%, 15%, 65%) were injected during sorbent regeneration throughout 5 hours of steady state operation. Again, all levels of steam were found to increase sorbent reactivity and reduce the required sorbent make-up rate with the best performance seen at 65% steam.