CHE 321 UNIT OPERATIONS 1

MODULE 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Course Organisation
Contents: Stokes’s and Newton’s, flow in particle
beds. Characteristics of packed columns.
Estimation of Fluidization point and bed expansion.
Regions of Fluidization. Pressure drop, heat and
mass transfer in fluidized beds. Sedimentation,
Flocculation, Particle properties, Filtration,
Screening and Classification, Grinding, Centrifuging
and Electrostatic Precipitation.
METHOD OF GRADING
Tutorials, Assignment(s) & Quiz 30 %
Mid- Semester Test
Omega Semester Exam. 70 %
TOTAL = 100mark

UNIT OPERATIONS 1

The five key components thumb rules of chemical

engineering are : material balance, energy balance,
momentum balance, equilibria relations or rate
equations, and cost equations or economy
equations. All chemical engineering problems and
calculations fall under 5 categories. Chemical
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engineering operations used to be classified as 1.
Unit operations, 2. Unit processes. In unit
operations, there is no chemical reaction but only
physical change. Examples include filtration,
drying, evaporation etc. In unit process, there is
chemical reaction. Examples include; oxidation,
hydrogenation and halogenation etc. In chemical
engineering and related fields, a unit operation is a
basic step in a process. For example in milk
processing, homogenization, pasteurization, chilling,
and packaging are each unit operations which are
connected to create the overall process. A process
may have many unit operations to obtain the
desired product. Historically, the different
chemical industries were regarded as different
industrial processes and with different principles.
In 1923 William H. Walker, Warren K. Lewis and
William H. McAdams wrote the book The Principles
of Chemical Engineering and explained the variety
of chemical industries have processes which follow
the same physical laws. They summed-up these
similar processes into unit operations. Each unit
operation follows the same physical laws and may
be used in all chemical industries. The unit
operations form the fundamental principles of
chemical engineering.
2
Chemical engineering unit operations consist of
five classes:

1. Fluid flow processes, including fluids

transportation, filtration, solids fluidization
etc.
2. Heat transfer processes, including
evaporation, condensation etc.
3. Mass transfer processes, including gas
absorption, distillation, extraction, adsorption,
drying etc.
4. Thermodynamic processes, including gas
liquefaction, refrigeration etc.
5. Mechanical processes, including solids
transportation, crushing and pulverization,
screening and sieving etc.

Chemical engineering unit operations and chemical

engineering unit processing form the main
principles of all kinds of chemical industries and
are the foundation of designs of chemical plants,
factories, and equipment used.

1.2 Chemical Process perspectives:

This course focuses on Solid processing as an
important part of industrial operations. In the
process industries there are many physical
operations that are common to a number of the
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individual industries, these operations are
regarded as UNIT OPERATIONS. Thus the
separation of liquids by distillation, the separation
of solids from a suspension by filtration, the
removal of water by evaporation and drying are
typical operations of this kind.
In the chemical process industry roughly 60% of
the products that at some intermediate steps are
particulate (Solid Particles) form, then 80 to 90%
of all processes used in industry require application
of solids processing directly or indirectly.
The chemical process industry makes heavy use of
solid material handling equipment and separations

SOME INDUSTRIES THAT USE

FLUID/PARTICLE PROCESSES
Water conditioning, Coal chemicals, industrial
carbon, environmental clean up, glass industry,
phosphorus production, ceramics, potassium
production, paints, nuclear industries, explosives &
propellants, food and food processing, agriculture,
sugar and starch, fermentation, wood chemicals,
pulp & paper, plastics, synthetic fibers, rubber
industry, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals.
Solid processing also covers particle size &
shaping, flocculation, pastes, packing and
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compaction, adsorption/desorption, mixing,
Brownian motion, leaching, rheological applications,
crushing/grinding, particle classification,
separation by size, caking, crystallization,
separations, fluidization,
filtration, slurry flow, catalytic reactors, settling,
agglomeration, drying, floatation, surface
phenomena, ion exchange, packed beds.

SOME EQUIPMENT USED FOR PARTICULATE

HANDLING
Crushing & Screening, conveyor, vibrating feeders,
floatation cells, thickeners, dryers, grinding mills,
rotary kiln, classifiers, screw conveyor, digesters,
four brinier, oven bin, storage bins, slurry mixers,
dust collectors, cyclone separator, cake washing,
crystallizers, beaters.
All these operations have in common the handling
and processing of particulate solids.

MODULE 2 PARTICLE SIZES & SHAPES

Before we can discuss operations for handling and
separating fluid/particle systems we must
understand the properties of the particles.
2.1 PARTICLE CHARACTERISTICS: The way
particles are characterized depends largely on the
5
technique used to measure them. The way that we
measure a particle size is as important as the value
of the measured size. Measurement techniques
such as circumference, diameter, and length of a
particle are important. These measurement
techniques make the particle size typically related
to equivalent sphere diameter by;
a. The sphere of the same volume of the particle.
b. The sphere of the same surface area as the
particle.
c. The sphere of the same surface area per unit
volume.
d. The sphere of the same area when projected on
a plane normal to the direction of motion.
e. The sphere of the same projected area as
viewed from above when lying in a position of
maximum stability (as with a microscope).
f. The sphere which will just pass through the
same size of square aperture as the particle (as on
a screen).
g. The sphere with the same settling velocity as
the particle in a specified fluid. There are two
other methods that are known for sizing particles
that are not based upon comparison to a standard
(sphere) shape.

6
 a. The first method is to fit the particle area
projected shape to a polynomial type of relation.
The values of the polynomial coefficients
characterize the particle shape.
b. The second method is through the use of
Fractals. A fractal length can be determined which
characterizes the size of the particle and its
dimensionality somewhere between linear and two-
dimensional.
THE EQUIVALENT SHPERE
There is only one shape that can be described by
one unique number and that is the sphere. If we
say that we have a 50μ sphere, this describes it
exactly. We cannot do the same even for a cube
where 50μ may refer to an edge or to a diagonal.
With a matchbox (it has 3-Dimensions), for
example, there are a number of properties of it
that can be described by one number. For example
the weight is a single unique number as is the
volume and surface area. So if we have a technique
that measures the weight of the matchbox, we can
then convert this weight into the weight of a
sphere, remembering that… (Weight = Volume of
sphere x density of particle)

7
and calculate one unique number (2r) for the
diameter of the sphere of the same weight as our
matchbox. This is the equivalent sphere theory.
We measure some property of our particle and
assume that this refers to a sphere, hence
deriving our one unique number (the diameter of
this sphere) to describe our particle.
This ensures that we do not have to describe our
3-D particles with three
or more numbers(e.g. for the matchbox instead of
say 15x5x2mm, you cannot correctly say the
matchbox is 15mm, as this is only one aspect of the
size, as a result it is not possible to describe the
3-D matchbox with one unique number) which
although more accurate is inconvenient for
management purposes. We can see that this can
produce some interesting effects depending on the
shape of the object and this is illustrated by the
example of equivalent spheres of cylinders;

FIGURE 1: Equivalent Spheres of

Cylinders

8
Equivalent spherical diameter of Cylinder 100 x
20μm
Imagine a cylinder of diameter D1 = 20μm (i.e.
r=10μm) and height 100μm.
There is a sphere of diameter, D2 which has an
equivalent volume to the cylinder. We can calculate
this diameter as follows:
Volume of cylinder =

The volume equivalent spherical diameter for a

cylinder of 100μm height and 20μm in diameter is
around 40μm. The table below indicates equivalent
spherical diameters of cylinders of various ratios.
The last line may be typical of a large clay particle
which is disc shaped. It would appear to be

9
20μm in diameter, but as it is only 0.2μm in
thickness; normally we would not consider this
dimension. On an instrument which measures the
volume of the particle we would get an answer
around 5μm. Hence the possibility for disputing
answers that different technique give! Note also
that all these cylinders will appear the same size
to a sieve, of say 25μm where it will be stated that
"all material is smaller than 25μm". With laser
diffraction these ‘cylinders’ will be seen to be
different because they possess different values.

FIGURE 1: Equivalent Spherical diameters of

Cylinder of various ratios.

10
Figure 1: Sizes of common materials

11
Probably among the earliest forms of particle
classification (sizing) to be developed is sieving.
Several sieve standards exist which classify
particles according to the size hole through which
the particles can pass.

SIZES OF SOME GRAINS OFSAND(what size

would you choose to describe it?)

STANDARD MESH SIZE

Tyler US mm Inches
4 4 4.70 0.185
6 6 3.33 0.131
8 8 2.36 0.094
10 12 1.65 0.065

10
 12 14 1.40 0.056
14 16 1.17 0.047
16 18 0.991 0.039
20 20 0.833 0.033
24 25 0.701 0.028
28 30 0.589 0.023
32 35 0.495 0.020
35 40 0.417 0.016
42 45 0.351 0.014
48 50 0.295 0.012
60 60 0.246 0.0097
80 80 0.175 0.0069
100 100 0.147 0.0058
150 140 0.104 0.0041
200 200 0.074 0.0029
250 230 0.061 0.0024
325 325 0.043 0.0017
400 400 0.038 0.0015

TABLE 1 : Tyler & the U.S. Standard Mesh Nominal

sizes and the screen opening sizes in mm and Inches

Except for the extreme case of long thin fibers, the

particles mean size will be of the same order of

11
magnitude of the dimensions of the particle no
matter which method is used.
There are a number of properties of particles that
are of interest besides its size and shape. Particles
can repel or attract each other due to static charge
build up, they are affected by van der Waals forces
(when they are small enough), they can stick,
agglomerate, break up, bounce off of each other,
chemically react with each other, and they are
effected by the surrounding fluid phase due to drag
an buoyant forces.
2.2 METHODS OF MEASURING PARTICLES SIZES
& SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS
There are a number of methods for measuring
particle sizes and size distributions. Many of these
techniques are shown in Table 2 & Table 3
Some of these methods depend upon calibration with
known particle sizes. A number of suppliers sell small
spherical particles of nearly uniform size
distributions for calibration purposes.
Some of the more advanced methods of particle size
measurement not only measure the particle sizes but
they will also provide the size distributions of the
particles.

12
TABLE 2: Definitions of Equivalent & Statistical
Diameters
13
TABLE 3: Laboratory methods of particle size
measurements.

14
One of the better known instruments for this is the
Coulter Counter. A brief description of the
electronic particle counter principle is given in Figure
2.
ELECTRONIC PARTICLE COUNTER
The electronic particle counters can measure particle
sizes ranging from 0.4 to 1200 micrometers. This
method requires the particles to be placed in a
stirred electrolyte solution. The resistance to the
flow of electrical current through a small aperture is
calibrated to the change in resistance depending
upon the particle size.

FIGURE 2: Basic components of the Coulter Counter.

15
As the particles pass through the aperture opening,
they bend the current flux lines around the
particles, thus causing a longer length for the
current to pass and thus a higher resistance to the
current ( see Figure 3). Voltage and current are
measured to quantify the resistance using Ohm’s
Law: V = IR.

FIGURE 3: Particles in the aperture bend the

electrical current flux lines.

For a given material, there are four types of particle

size distributions that are possible: (1) by number,
(2) by length, (3) by surface, and (4) by mass (or
volume).
Distributions can be reported either in terms of
frequency (differential form) or by cumulative
(integral form) as shown below.
To explain how we mathematically represent the
distribution data, let’s suppose that you measure the
mass of particles by size by some unspecified
16
process. As an example your measured data may be
plotted as shown in Figure 4. You can normalize the
plot by dividing the masses of each size by the total
mass, to obtain the mass fractions as shown in Figure
5.
Finally, if we add the mass fractions cumulatively we
get the Cumulative Mass Fraction plot, shown in
Figure 6.

FIGURE 4: Mass quantities of an imaginary sample of

particles.

17
FIGURE 5: Mass fraction from data in Figure 3.

FIGURE 6: Cumulative mass fraction plot of data

from figure 3.
18
From these Figures we see that the cumulative mass
fraction can be written mathematically as

...1

th
as a function of the n particle size. Furthermore,
we can write the increment in the cumulative mass,

...2

Where is the slope of the curve on the

cumulative mass fraction plot. We define this slope
to be the frequency distribution of the mass
fraction, where

…3
Hence, we can relate the cumulative mass fraction to
the frequency distribution by

19
 …4
Let the fractional amount of particles of size x be
for any type of measurement (by mass, number, area,
etc.) be represented as

…5

If the particle size distribution is determined as the

number fraction then the number frequency
distribution is given by

…6
Where
, is the differential range above and below size x
that the number count represents. If the particle
size distribution is determined on a microscope by
measuring projected areas or by laser attenuation
then the surface fraction or frequency distribution
based on surface area is

20
 …7
, is a fractional amount, then integrating over
all particle sizes gives the whole, or

…8
and if we integrate over only the range from zero to
some size x we get the cumulative fraction, F(x),

…9
which is the area under the f(x) curve from 0 to x.
Plots of F and f have the general form shown in
Figure 7. Where f and F are also related by

…10

21
FIGURE 7: Typical f(x) and F(x) curves.

…11
Where k1, k2, k3 are geometric shape factors,

22
Similarly, the cumulative distributions can be related
by

…12
Often, experimental data are reported in discrete
form (such as from a sieve analysis). For these data
it is easier to work with discrete forms of the
integral equations.

…13

With fs(x) = k2x2fN(x), upon rearrangement

23
There are several equations that are typically fitted
to the distribution. The most widely used function is
called the log-normal distribution. It is a two-
parameter function that gives a curve, which is
skewed to the left compared to the familiar bell
curve. This function is normally used because in most
cases there are many more measured fine particles
than larger particles.
The lognormal function is best described first by
considering the normal distribution of the Gaussian
(bell shaped) curve shown in Figure 8a:

FIGURE 8a: Normal Gaussian curve

24
FIGURE 8b: Log – normal curve

…14
where F is the cumulative undersize fraction of
particles, x is the particle size, σ is the standard
deviation, and x is the mean particle size.
To fit Eq.14 to experimental data (such as from a
sieve analysis) first make any adjustment necessary
for left or right bias (that is, use the diameters
associated with the center of each bin and not the
left or right edges). The average diameter and
standard deviations are determined from

and …15

…16

25
To obtain the log-normal distribution, Figure 8b, we
substitute ln(x) for x and
ln (σg) for σ. This gives

…17
where xg is the geometric mean and is equal to the
median size (where 50% of the particles are greater
in size and 50% are smaller in size).
To fit eq. 17, use the following expressions

…18

…19
Rearranging equation 17 and then applying the
substitution

…20
We get the more convenient form given by

…21

26
in which xm represents the mode because it is the
size at which dF/dx has its maximum (recall f(x) =
dF/dx, hence f is maximum at its mode, at xm).
Svarovsky (L. Svarovsky, Powder Technology, 7, 351-
352, 1973) recommends writing Eq. 21 as

…22

to simplify the calculations.

EXAMPLE 1
A sample of peanuts are weighed as listed in Table 4
below. Using an average density of 1.23 grams per
cubic centimeter, the average candy diameter
(assuming spherical shape) is calculated. Plot the
frequency distribution and the cumulative frequency
distribution of the average diameter of the candies.
Table 4.

27
Using the formulas

in Eqs.11 and 12, the frequency and cumulative

frequency distributions are calculated. The particle
sizes are added up in Δx increments of 0.05 cm. The
size ranges start with 1.45 to 1.50 cm. All sizes less
than 1.50 are counted in the first increment, all sizes
between 1.5 and 1.55 are in the second increment,
and so on.. The values for njs are determined by

28
counting the number of peanuts that fall in a given
size increment and are assigned to the average size
in the increment.
For example, there are 7 numbers of peanuts in the
size increment range of 1.5 to 1.55 cm and are
assigned to the average size of 1.525 cm.
fdx is determined by 7/21=0.33333, f is
0.33333/0.05 = 6.66667. F is determined by
cumulative summing the values fdx.
The results of the summation are plotted in figure 9
Frequency Distribution of the peanuts

FIGURE 9: Plot of Frequency and Cumulative

Frequency

CHOICE OF MEAN PARTICLE SIZE

As shown in previous discussions, there is a
bewildering number of different definitions of

29
"mean" size for a particle. The choice of the most
appropriate mean is vital in most applications.
As can be seen in Figure 10, two different size
distributions may have the same arithmetic mean,
but all of the other means may be different.
The mode is the x value at which f(x) is a maximum.
The median is the x value at which F(x) = 0.50.
The various means are defined by:

…22
or by the equivalent expressions in eq. 23

30
FIGURE 10: Comparison of size distributions

…23
could be given in any of the form in table below
For example, suppose we want the cubic mean of a
set of particles for which we know the number
distribution. The mean is defined such that,

31
hence,

Table 5: Values of g(x) and their mean

representations

Suppose you have the mass distribution frequency of

a set of particles and you want the geometric mean.
How would you calculate the geometric mean from
the given mass distribution frequency?

32
Hence

The mean particle size is rarely quoted in isolation.

It is usually related to some measurement technique
and application and used as a single number to
represent the full size distribution. The mean
represents the particle size distribution by some
property which is vital to the application or process
under study. If two size distributions have the same
mean (as measured using the same methods) then the
behavior of the two materials are likely to behave in
the process in the same way.
It is the application therefore which governs the
selection of the most appropriate mean. Usually
enough is known about a process to identify some
fundamentals, which can be used as a starting point.
The fundamental relations may be overly simple to
describe the process fully, but it is better than
randomly selecting mean definition.

EXAMPLE 2: Comparison of mass versus number

count.
Consider measuring the size distribution by sieving.
The results of a sieve analysis may give the size

33
distribution as shown in the table below, with
calculations already made to generate other data.
Sieve analysis of a sample of particles. Mass, number,
and area fractions are calculated.

The mass fraction is found simply by dividing the

sample masses (sieve mass) by the sum of the
masses. Dividing the sample mass by the particle
3
intrinsic density (assumed here to be 2.6 g/cm )
gives the volume of the particles in the sample.
Dividing the sample volume by the volume of one
particle 4  R where R is the sieve size opening, gives
3

3
the number of particles for that sample. The total
surface area of the particles of a given size is
obtained by multiplying the number of particles times
the surface area of one particle (4  R2). The number
and area fractions are found by dividing the sample
values by the totals.
34
The plot in Figure 10 shows that the modes of the
three distributions vary widely. The number
distribution and surface area distribution are skewed
greatly to the small particle size. This shows that a
small mass of the fines contains a large number of
particles.
A property such as turbidity is sensitive to the total
number of particles; hence the large number of fines
will cause the fluid to be cloudy. A process such as
filtration is sensitive to the total surface area of the
particles due to the drag (to be treated later)
resistance to flow across the surface.

35
FIGURE 11: Comparison of the fractional
distributions of the particle size distributions.

EXAMPLE 3: APPLICATION; cake filtration, cake

washing, dewatering, flow through packed beds and
porous media.
If the particle size distribution is known, what
definition of the mean should be used?
In flows through a packed bed we can consider the
pores to be conduits. We can apply the concept of a
friction factor and a Reynolds number. Since the
geometry of an arbitrary pore is not cylindrical, we
apply the hydraulic radius, Rh.

…24
where ε is the bed porosity and a is a surface area.
This surface area is related to the specific surface

36
area, as, of the solids (total particle surface/volume
of particles) by
…25
The specific surface area in turn is related to the
mean particle diameter (assuming the particle can be
represented by a sphere)

…26
For spheres the total volume of particles is given by

…27
and the total surface area of the particles is given
by

Hence, we get the mean particle diameter to be

…28
where the latter expression is the analytical
formulation.

37
This latter expression defines the mean to be the
arithmetic mean,
see eq.22 of the distribution by surface.
Next, we must relate this to a size distribution by
mass (the usual way of measurement). The surface
distributions by surface and mass can be related by

…29
where k is a constant that accounts for the
geometric shape of the particles. It is assumed here
that k is independent of x.
Since the mean size is given in eq. 28 then combining
eqs. 28 & 29, we get

…30
where the integral is unity.
Integrating eq. 29

…31
or, since k is not a function of x,

38
The RHS of this equation is the definition for the
Harmonic mean,

, of the mass distribution given by eq. 23.

Hence this shows that the surface arithmetic mean
is equal to the mass harmonic mean,
Therefore, for flow through packed
beds, filter cakes, etc.; the appropriate mean
particle size definition is the arithmetic average of
the surface distribution. This is shown to be
equivalent to the mass distribution harmonic mean.

MODULE 3: FORCES ON SPHERICAL & NON-

SPHERICAL PARTICLES
The most important force acting on particles in fluid-
particle medium is the DRAG FORCE. It has two
components (1.Skin drag, 2. Form drag). The Skin
drag is due to exchanges with the boundary layer ( a
Tangential stress on the body arising from the
boundary layer). The form drag is the summation of
the effect on the body of acceleration and
deceleration in the streamlines as a fluid flows pass a
body. Theoretically, the drag force can be derived
for only the simplest of the case i. e, Laminar flow
around a sphere, all other cases are derived

39
empirically. This is due to the relative motion
between the fluid and the particles. Summarized
version of this force is given here;
From a free body diagram, Figure 12, we can write a
balance of forces acting on a spherical particle. The
balance of forces shows that the accelerating force
acting on the particle is given by
…32

FIGURE 12: Free body diagram on particle of

diameter R
Initially, when a particle falls through a fluid the
particle velocity accelerates. After a short distance
the particle reaches its terminal velocity and its

40
acceleration goes to zero. This means that the force
of acceleration, Fa is zero.
Hence, at terminal velocity the kinetic force acting
on the particle is given by

…33
The TERMINAL VELOCITY can be defined as “Final
Constant Speed of a Falling Object”(or The
Terminal velocity of a body is the velocity attainment
at the end of its acceleration or deceleration) ; that
is, the constant speed that a falling object reaches
when the downward gravitational force equals the
frictional resistance of the medium through which it
is falling.
mp is the mass of the particle and mf is the mass of
the displaced fluid with the same volume as that of
the particle. These masses are equal to the volume of
the particle times the respective particle or fluid
densities. The kinetic force becomes

…34
We define the Drag Coefficient, Cd, by the
expression
…35
where A is the projected area normal to the flow and
KE is the characteristic kinetic energy. When we
41
substitute in the projected area of a sphere, πR2,
and the kinetic energy, 1/2 ρu2, into eq. 35
then we can derive a working equation for
determining the drag coefficient as

…36
In order to use this expression to determine values
for CD we must run experiments. The experiments
may be in the laboratory or they may be thought
experiments for limiting case of creeping flow
around the sphere(This operation is discussed in
some detail by Bird et.al. (1960)). Let’s consider the
limiting case of creeping flow( flow at very low
velocities relative to the sphere) around the sphere
CD behaviour can be divided into four regions (e. g.
for spheres). For other Shapes different from the
sphere, can be gotten in Perry, 5th edition Fig 5-70.
Recall that shapes other than sphere like disc,
cylinder are defined as the nearest shape, the shape
factor for the nearest shape has to be used as the
shape factor.
The most accepted way to show the relation between
drag force and velocity is by two dimensionless
groups.
1. Particle Reynolds number
42
 2. The Friction factor, its dimensionless, it’s a ratio
of 2 forces
shearstress
f 
K .E ./ unitVolume

f  ……..37
 2
Note Drag coefficient is analogous to friction factor.
While drag coefficient is for immersed solid, friction
factor is for fluid flow only.
CD = shear stress/ K.E. per unit volume
Shear stress = (Drag force, FD/Frontal area,
Af)/K. E. per unit Volume
Shear stress = CD ……………38

Therefore C  f N ,  D ( shape factor or

RE

Sphericity)
Insertion of Newton’s Law of viscosity(    du ),
dy

du/dy is known as rate of shear or velocity gradient

for the stress tensor in Eq.34 and substitution of
the velocity profiles in Eqs.(32) and (33) yields the
kinetic force as
……39
This expression is known as Stoke's Law. Defining
the Reynold's number as
uDp 
NRE 

Where D is the particle diameter, we seek a
p

correlation to relate the drag force to the Reynold's

43
number. A correlation would allow us to extend our
applications to flow conditions in which the creeping
flow solution does not apply.
REGIONS OF DRAG COEFFICIENT FOR SPHERES
REGION 1
This is the creep flow or stoke’s law region which is
usually NRE < 1
Also in this region the CD is inversely proportional to
the NRE. Recall that for this region FD which is same
as Fk( the Drag force or the kinetic force)
FD  Fk  3v D  6VR
Viscous force is important here.

Then from equ. 38

D 2
………40
4
D 2
For a sphere the frontal area = R 2 or
4
For a cylinder A  LD , L = Length of Cylinder
p p

Equ. 40 becomes
24  24
C 
D  ……….41
DV  NRE

Then we can say that in this region

24
CD  …......42
NRE

Note that FD is directly proportional to Viscocity, 

REGION 2
44
This is the transition region then
1< NRE < 500
At this region C  18.5
D
NRE 3 / 5

……43
Here the accelerative forces become important. The
boundary layer becomes turbulent.
REGION 3
This is the region of turbulent flow in boundary layer
and in the mainstream. The CD is shown to be flat i. e.
remain constant.
For spheres
CD = 0.44
……….44
which is a constant. This region usually lies
500 < NRE < 200,000.
This is called the Newton’s law region. Here it is the
accelerative forces that are more important.
FD   2
REGION 4
This is a region of high(Extreme) turbulence coupled
with flow separation. The flow separation is
responsible for the drop in the graph(see Fig 3.4,
Coulson & Richardson, Vol. 2). Some of the CD here is
constant relative to the NRE.

45
CD = 0.10 ; NRE > 200,000
……..45
See the figure below for the regions.

Figure 13 Drag coefficient for spheres versus

Reynolds number. Three approximate curves are
overlayed onto the experimental curve. The
approximate curves are, from left to right,
CD=24/NRE (Stoke’s Law range for NRE<1),
CD=18.5/(NRE)3.5 (Intermediate range for 1<NRE<1000)
and CD=044. (Newton’s Law range 1000<NRE<100,000).

For liquid droplets moving in other liquid we can also

consider it as a case of particle in a fluid. When NRE
is very low ( NRE <10 ), the particles behave like a
solid form. For NRE > 10, Oscillation comes in as well
46
as Viscosity and surface tension. Movement of gases
in liquids can also occur. Liquid viscosity, interfacial
surface tensions also come in as well as the ones we
have in the liquid droplets. Using equations 43,
44,and 45 the drag forces can be computed.

Region FD
1 3 DU
2 2.13  D
0.6 0.4
U 1.4
1.4

3 0.055D U 2 2

4 0.025D U 2 2

TERMINAL VELOCITY
CASE 1: 1-Dimensional Motion of particles through a
fluid
Here the forces acting are External
forces(gravitational, electrostatic, magnetic). The
line of action of all forces acting on the particle are
arranged in linear order.

47
Fig.14
FE

FD FB

The drag force, FD, appears whenever there is

relative motion between the particle & the fluid. It
acts to oppose the motion and acts parallel with the
direction of movement but in the opposite direction.
FB, the buoyancy force acts parallel with the
external force but opposite direction, it also acts
opposite direction to the motion of the particle. FE,
is the External force.
Summing up the forces according to Newton’s law
FNET= m du ………….46
d
U=Velocity,  = time
FB is defined by Achimede’s principle to be

48
FB  f Vp aE  aE is gravitational., VP Vol. of
particles
aE  g
FE  maE
.
From the definition of Drag force,
C
F 
D A U
D
PAP = frontal area(area projected)
2

2
…………47

 massP 
FB  fluid   aE
 P 

FB  f maE
p

Substituting into equ. 47

C  du
ma  E  A u  ma  m
D
f p and rearranging
2 f
E
2 p d
  CD f Apu
2
du 
 aE  1  f   ………..48
d  p  2m

Equ. 48, is the general equation for the total force

on the body in the force field. When the force field
is gravitational it is accelerative. That is
a g
E for gravitational force field
a  r  for centrifugal force field
E
2

a 
E for electrostatic force field
 angular velocity of the particle (rad/sec)

r radius of the path

49
 du
When u  ut , = 0 , this is by definition of terminal
d
velocity.
Therefore by this definition, for gravitational force
field;
Ut 2 

2 g  p  f m  ………………………..49
 p f CDAp
 Dp 2  Dp 3
For Sphere, the frontal area  , m  p
4 6
Substituting these two values into equ. 49
Ut 

4 g  p  f Dp  ……………………….50
3 CD
Equation 50 is the general equation for the terminal
velocity of a body moving in a gravitational field.
Region 1
CD 
24
Therefore, Ut 
 
g  p  f Dp 2
NRE 18f

……………………….51
Equation 51 is the general stoke’s law expression for
terminal velocity within the laminar flow region.

Region 2: Intermediate range

 
0.71
0.153 g 0.71  p  f Dp 1.14
Ut 
 0.29  0.43
Region 3: Newton’s range

50
Ut  1.75

gDp  p  f 


APPLICATIONS
1. In the industries, the terminal velocity
experiment can be used to know the viscosity of
unknown things (Solution and Particles)
It can be used in the spray drier ( for making
dry(milk) powder) by the use of nebulizers or
atomizers.
2. To find size distribution in a slurry.
Here the particles settle down a column according to
the decrease in their sizes. For example because of
their high terminal velocity (i.e. big particles) settle
first at the bottom of the column followed by the
next size.

Example a.
A laboratory Viscometer consist of a steel ball. The
ball is 0.005m in diameter and the index mark = 0.2m.
The viscosity of the steel oil syrup of density =
1300kg/m is to be determined. The measured time
interval is 8secs. What is the viscosity of the syrup.
The specific gravity of the steel ball = 7.9

Solution: 0.005m
51
Considering the flow to be laminar, using equ. 51

Ut 
 
g  p  f Dp 2
 p  7900kg / m 3 ; f  1300kg / m 3
18f

0.2m
0.2m
Ut   0.025m / s
8sec s

18x 0.025m / s
=
9.80m / s (7900  1300)kg / m 3x (0.005)2 m 2
2

18x 0.025x 105 m .m 3 .s 2 .1

 .( )
9.80x 6600x 2.5 s .kg .m .m 2
45, 000  ms 
    0.278293135ms / kg
161700  kg 

The unit of Viscosity in SI unit is kg/ms

Therefore
1 kg
  3.59
0.278293135 ms

CRITERION FOR SETTLING REGIME

In identifying the range in which the motion of a
particle lies, the velocity term in Reynolds number
has to be substituted with the terminal velocity,
For example in the stokes’s law range,

52
NRE 
DpUt 


Dp 3 g   p    …………..52
 18 2

If stoke’s law will apply, NRE must be less than 1.0

In general a convenient system is adopted, a
criterion K is defined as
1

K  Dp 

 g f  p  f  3
 …………..53
 2 
1 3
From equ. 52, NRE= K
18
…………..54
If the size of the particle is known, K can be
calculated. If K so calculated is less than 2.6, stokes
law applies. (If you substitute NRE = 1, K=2.6)
For Newton’s law range K is greater than 68.9 but
less than 2,360. For values greater than 2,360, the
drag coefficient may change abruptly with small
changes in fluid velocity.
Under these conditions, as well at the intermediate
range (2.6<K<68.9), the terminal velocity is calculated
from equation 50, using the value of CD found by trial
and error from the graph of CD Vs NRE.
Example b
Estimate the terminal velocity for 115-mesh to 150-
mesh particles of limestone (particle
density=2800kg/m3) falling in water at 30oC

53
From Tyler std. screen scale 115 mesh = 0.124mm,
150mesh = 0.104mm.
 at 86 F = 0.801cP, also at this temperature,
o

density is 62.16Ib/ft3 or 995.7kg/m3.

From the mesh sizes, the Average diameter Dp =
0.114mm. To find the range that applies here;
1
 3
3  9.80x 995.7  2800  995.7  
K  0.114x 10

  0.801 x 10 
3 2 

= 3.44
This is slightly above the stoke’s law range.
Let assume NRE = 4; then from CD Vs NRE graph CD
 16 and substituting into equation 50

Ut 
 
4 g  p  f Dp
3 CD

1
 4x 9.80 2800  995.7   0.114x 10 3   2
 
 3x 16x 995.7 

= 0.0130m/s
ASIDE; Viscosity data are generally reported in
millipascal.seconds or
centipoises. 1cP = 0.01P
= 1mPa.seconds
In SI units  = kg/ms or Pascal second.
In cgs, =g/cm.s(otherwise called poise(P)).
In general case, the direction of movement of
the particle relative to the fluid may not be parallel
54
with the direction of the FE and FB, as a result FD
makes an angle with the other two. In this situation,
which is called two – dimensional motion, the drag
must be resolved into two components( 1.
Horizontal,2, Gravitational)
Fx, Ux

FD, U, This is the net drag force

for body with velocity u
Fy, Uy

The METHOD OF INCREMENTAL

APPROXIMATION is used in solving this approach.
(This approach will not be covered in our case, but
students are advised to read up or be familiar with
this)

These expressions for Terminal Velocity and Drag

Force hold with the following assumptions;
a. The settling is not affected by the presence of
other particles in the fluid. This condition is known
as ‘free settling’; when the interference of other

55
particles is appreciable, the process is known as
‘Hindered Settling’
b. That the wall of the containing vessel do not
exert an appreciable retarding effect.
c. That the fluid can be considered as a continuous
medium, that is the particle is large compared with
the mean free part of the molecules of the fluid,
otherwise the particles may occasionally “slip”( move
smoothly with sliding motion, moving away from the
desired position) between the molecules and thus
attain a velocity higher than the calculated one.

HINDERED SETTLING
The settling of particles under crowded
(concentrated) conditions is referred to as Hindered
Settling. The Drag coefficient in hindered settling is
greater than in free settling. Hindered settling could
be caused by;
a. Particle – Particle; Particle – Wall collision.
b. The particles also constitute part of the medium
and impact to the medium a higher effective 
and  .
c. Liquid displaced upward is greater, flow area is
less.
What happens when particles settle in concentrated
solutions?
56
As each particles falls it displaces fluid which in turn
must move upward. In a concentrated system this
causes an upward fluid motion which interferes with
the motion of other particles. The net effect is a
slower, hindered, settling rate for the group of
particles as compared to the free settling terminal
velocity of one particle by itself. See figure below;
In this phenomenon, the particles are sufficiently
close together to cause the velocity gradient
surrounding each particle to be affected by the
presence of the neighbouring units. The particles in
settling therefore displace liquids and generate an
appreciable upward velocity. The velocity of the
liquid is then greater with respect to the particle
than with respect to the vessel.

57
 Figure 15 :Hindered settling: as a particle falls its
displaced fluid moves upward and slows the observed
settling rate of neighboring particles.

Coe and Clevenger (Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Met. Eng.

55, 356, 1916) observed that during a batch settling
operation, the sedimenting fluids develop several
“zones” (See Figure below). In zone A the particles
are in low concentration and settle at their terminal
velocity. In zones B and C the particles are in
hindered settling. In zone D the sediment has
particles in contact with each other; the particles
are no longer settling though the sediment may
compact due to the weight of the overburden. The
58
concentration of the particles in zone D near the C -
D interface is approximately that of “loose packing”
as given by the correlation in Figure 17 below. Not all
four zones are present in all settling processes.

Figure 16. Zones of settling observed by Coe &

Clevenger.

59
Figure 17. Porosity as a function of sphericity and
packing structure. Loose packed materials are ones
that have not had much time to settle due to
vibrations. A normal packed material is one that may
have sat for several days or weeks. Dense packed
materials are ones that have sat for a year or more
and have had ample time to settle and vibrate into its
most densely packed structure under force of
gravity.

Maude & Whitmore (Br. J. Appl. Phy. 9, 477-482,

1958) modeled the hindered settling process as a

60
power law in the concentration (volume fraction of
the liquid phase)
………………55
ε is Porosity, Us is Terminal velocity of suspension
where for dilute solutions ε→1 and . Here Ut is
calculated as before for a single particle falling
through a clear fluid and accounts for the hindered
settling effects. The parameter n (is an Emperical
factor) is determined experimentally. Unfortunately
n is not a constant but varies as a function of the
particle geometry and the Reynolds number. Perry’s
Handbook (6th edition, pg 5-68) shows that n varies
from 2.3 to 4.5(See also McCabe & Smith fig. 7.7)
for spherical particles and has a dramatic effect on
the calculated values for the hindered settling
velocity.
n = 4.65 for low NRE,; and n = 2.33 for high NRE
A rational approach to hindered settling is described
in which the particle settles through the slurry
instead of the clear fluid. This approach is a
preferred alternative to the Maude & Whitmore
approach.
If particles of a given size are falling through a
suspension of much finer solids, the terminal velocity
of the larger particles should be calculated using the
61
density and viscosity of the fine suspension. Equ. 55
may then be used to estimate the settling velocity
with the porosity taken as the volume fraction of the
fine suspension, not the total void fraction.
Suspensions of very fine sand in water are used in
separating coal from heavy minerals, and the density
of the suspension is adjusted to a value slightly
greater than that of coal to make the coal particles
rise to the surface, while the mineral particles sink
to the bottom.

Drag Force on Non-Spherical Particles

The shape and orientation of the particle has an
important effect on the flow profiles around the
particle. McCabe and Smith (Unit Operations of
th
Chemical Engineering, 6 ed, McGraw-Hill, N.Y.,
2001), Figure 7.3, and Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s
th
Handbook, (6 ed., McGraw-Hill, N.Y., 1984) Figure
5-76) show the correlation for the drag coefficients
for spheres, disks, and cylinders.
It is not practical to try to derive correlations for all
particle shapes and orientations, especially when in
the chemical process industry particles in settling
operations tumble and rotate.
Kunii and Levenspeil studied this problem and
developed a correlation based upon sphericity (1966).
62
Sphericity is a measure of how close a particle is to
being a sphere defined as

……………5
6

Sphericity of Some Common Materials (McCabe &

th th
Smith, 6 ed, 158 Perry’s Handbook 6 ed, pg 5-54).

PARTICLE MATERIAL SPHERICITY

Sphere 1.0
Cube 0.81
Short Cylinder 0.87
(Length=Diameter)
Berl saddles 0.3
Raschig rings 0.3
Coal dust, natural (up to 0.65
3/8 inch)
Glass, crushed 0.65
Mica flakes 0.28
Sand
Average for various types 0.75
Flint sand, jagged 0.65
Sand, rounded 0.83
Wilcox sand, jagged 0.6
63
Most crushed materials 0.6 to 0.8

Kunii and Levenspiel (Fluidization Engineering, John

Wiley, N.Y. 1969, pg 77) took data from Brown (G.G.
Brown et.al., Unit Operations, John Wiley, N.Y.,
1950) and calculated the relationships plotted in
Figure 18, relating CD to NRE.
It turns out that the product CDNRE2 is independent
of velocity, which makes it convenient for
calculations. Using Eq.36 and the definition of the
Reynold’s Number we get equ. 57

64
Figure 18 Drag coefficient – Reynolds number
relationship for non-spherical particles. The particle
diameter is the volume equivalent diameter, xv, of
the sphere with the same volume as the particle.

……………….
57
65
The last equation is known as Galileo Number.
With this chart and the correlation in Eq. 57 (line 2)
the terminal velocity can be calculated from the
material properties and the sphericity.
Haider and Levenspeil (Powder Technology, 58, 63,
1989) also found a useful relationship for direct
evaluation of terminal velocity of particles. The
correlation is shown in Figure 19 below where a curve
fit of the plot gives

………………….58
and the dimensionless velocity and particle diameter
are defined as

…………………59
Figure 19 below shows Plot of data taken from Kunii
and Levenspiel, Fluidization Engineering, 2nd edition,
Butterworth, Boston, 1991. Dimensionless terminal
velocity and particle diameter are defined in equation
58.
66
More on Sphericity:
We represent a bed of non-spherical particles by a
bed of spheres of diameter Deff such that a bed of
spheres and a bed of non-spheres have ;
• The same total surface area, a , in a
given volume of the bed
• The same fractional voidage,
This representation ensures almost the same flow
resistance in both beds.
In typical use of the Ergun Equation (McCabe &
Smith), the effective diameter of the particle is

67
replaced with the sphericity times the defined
diameter based on sphericity;

The specific surface area of particles in either bed

is found to be

……….60
For the whole bed

………61
Since there is no general relationship between Def
and dp (particle diameter corresponding to a sphere
of the same volume), the best we can do without
running experiments is as follows:
• For irregular particles with no seemingly longer
or shorter dimensions (hence isotropic in
irregular shape)
…………..
62
• For irregular particles with one longer
direction , but with a length ratio not greater
than 2:1 (eggs for example)
68
 …………………63
• For irregular particles with one dimension
shorter, but with a length ratio not less than 1:2
(peanut, for example)

………………….64

• For very flat or needlelike particles, estimate
the relationship between Deff and from Φ
values for corresponding disks and cylinders.

BULK PROPERTIES OF POWDERS AND SLURRIES

In the process industries economics usually requires
us to handle and process many particles at a time
rather than individually. Because of this we must
have a working knowledge of the collective or “bulk”
properties of these materials.
The “collective” properties are the measurable
properties of groups of particles. Some of these
properties are analogous to properties that are
measured on individual particles while other
properties may not be defined for individual
properties.
Some important examples are discussed here,
but the list is not complete.
69
Brief Overview of Some Bulk Properties
ANGLE OF REPOSE
The angle of repose is a characteristic of solids
which characterizes the piling or stacking nature of
the particles. The way that particles stack when
poured into a pile is a function of the size/shape,
particle intrinsic density, surface forces (stickiness,
electrostatic), and roughness of the particles. Many
factors can influence the way particles stack hence
it is difficult to predict; normally a simple
measurement can be made to determine the angle of
repose.

Figure 20. Angle of repose,  , of (a) a pile of powder,

(b) powder in a container, and (c) powder in a rolling
drum.
The angle of repose is considered to be mostly a
measure of the internal friction between the
particles as a whole, but not between individual
particles. It is a rapid method of assessing the
behaviour of a particulate mass. It is used in a

70
number of correlations and estimates for the
behavior properties of the bulk solids. One example
given in Coulson and Richardson’s text relates the
angle of repose to the height of the longest movable
plug in a piston. The angle of repose may is often
incorrectly be used to estimate the angle required
for the bottom of a hopper to ensure proper
discharge.

Angle of repose vary from about 20o with free

flowing solids, to about 60o with solids with poor flow
characteristics. In extreme cases of highly
agglomerated solids, angles of repose up to nearly
90o can be obtained. Generally, materials which
contains no particles smaller than 100micronmeter
has a low angle of repose. Powders with low angles of
repose tend to pack rapidly to give a high packing
density almost immediately. If the repose is large, a
loose structure is formed initially and the material
subsequently consolidates if subjected to vibration.
The best use of the angle of repose is to determine
the size of a pile of powder or granular materials,
either volume or ground area that such a pile will
occupy.
POROSITY (VOLUME FRACTION)
71
Porosity is the fraction of volume space that is NOT
occupied by the solid particles. It is also called
fractional voidage, or voidage. If you have a two
phase system of solids and liquid, you can add the
respective volumes to obtain the total volume of your
mixed system.

Figure 21. Addition of phase volumes yields the total

volume.
The porosity is defined as the volume fraction of the
fluid phase:

……………..65

Figure 22 Porosity as a function of sphericity and

packing structure.

72
Loose packed materials are ones that have not had
much time to settle due to vibrations. A normal
packed material is one that may have sat for several
days or weeks. Dense packed materials are ones that
have sat for a year or more and have had ample time
to settle and vibrate into its most densely packed
structure under force of gravity.
Since porosity is defined as a fraction it must have a
value between 0 and 1 inclusive. ε is the fluid phase
volume fraction. (1-ε) is the solid phase volume
fraction. Their sum is 1 (See figure 22 ).

BULK DENSITY
Bulk density is the effective density of a powder or
particulate solid taking into account the volume
occupied by both the solid and fluid phases. The bulk
density is calculated from the porosity and the
intrinsic densities of the fluid and solid phases:
…………….66
EXAMPLE: An example of applying bulk density is
determining the weight of sand in a bucket. The
intrinsic density of one sand particle is about the
3
same as that of glass, 2.6 g/cm . If sand packs with a
porosity of 0.4, how much will a twenty five liter
bucket filled level to the top with dry sand weigh?

73
The mass of sand in the bucket is given by

……………….67
Applying Eq.(4-2), neglecting mass of the air (air
density is about 1/2600 that of the sand), we get

4.2 Momentum Transport Properties

There are several properties of dispersed multiphase
mixtures that are important to predicting handling
and transporting properties. These include bulk
viscosity, coefficient of friction, Janssen’s
Coefficient, and permeability.

BULK (SLURRY) VISCOSITY

Slurries, which are mixtures of fluids and solids,
display a number of interesting properties including
Bingham Plastic, Power Law, Dilatent, and time
dependent behaviors.
Bingham Plastic (Yield Stress) flow occurs when
particles in the slurry resist motion between each
other and with the pipe or container wall. The shear
stress must exceed a certain value (the yield value)
before the fluid will flow. (see Patel, R.D., "Non-
74
Newtonian Flow," in Handbook of Fluids in Motion,
N.P. Cheremisinoff and R. Gupta eds., Chapter 6; Ann
Arbor Science, 135-178, 1983).
Shear thickening and/or shear thinning behavior can
occur in slurries made up of fibrous or granular
materials, respectively. Thickening occurs when the
particles become interlocked. Thinning occurs when
the particle separate to allow movement of the
slurry.
For viscosity, assuming that other effects are
negligible, can we predict how the slurry’s effective
bulk viscosity changes with solids concentration (or
equivalently, porosity)?
Einstein (Ann. Phys., 19, 289, 1906; 34, 591, 1911)
derived the theory for dilute suspensions of rigid
spheres. He shows that the slurry bulk viscosity is
related to the liquid viscosity by

……………..68
in the low concentration limit as ε→1.
Thomas (Ind. Eng. Chem., 45, 87A, 1953) extended
Einstein’s relation empirically to higher
concentrations of solids (on the order of ε→0.95

75
 ………………69

which offers a reasonable fit.

For highly concentrated slurries, near a critical void
fraction at which the particles are in contact
forming a structural bed, εc, the bulk viscosity may
be
approximated by (Art Etchels, personal
communication, DuPont, Delaware, 1994)

……………..70
which says that the closer the porosity gets to the
critical porosity ε→ εc the more the slurry behaves
like a solid structure.
To estimate the values of εc one can use the porosity
of a loosely packed bed. Foust, Appendix B, gives a
correlation between sphericity and porosity and
Loose, Normal, and Dense packing,figure 22 (A.S.
Foust, L.A. Wenzel, C.W. Clump, L. Maus, and L.B.
Andersen, Principles of Unit Operations, Wiley, New
York, 1960
The plot in Figure 22 is obtained by curve fitting
data. The loose packed porosity is a function of
sphericity given by
76
All three curves are generated by defining a packing
parameter, λ, such that

and the porosity is given by

………..71
PERMEABILITY
Darcy’s law relates the pressure drop to flow
through a packed bed with the permeability
coefficient, k; Darcy’s showed that the average
velocity, as measured over the whole area of the bed,
was directly proportional to the driving pressure and
inversely proportional to the thickness of the bed.
Given the packed bed shown in Figure 23, the
permeability is defined by
 1   dv  k  P 
uc     
 A   dt  L

………72a

……..72b
Typical permeability values for some common
materials are listed in Table below Also, Coulson &
77
 th
Richardson (Chemical Engineeering, Volume 2, 4 ed,
Pergamon, Oxford, 1991, Table 4.1, page 133) has
permeability values for common shapes given as B
where k=B/μ. The data reported by Coulson &
Richardson show that the permeability depends
significantly upon porosity and specific surface area
of contact between the fluid and solid phases.

Figure 23. Typical Packed Bed.

Permeabilities of typical materials

78
The Darcy’s law expression provides a means of
estimating the flow rate for a given pressure drop of
fluid. The permeability coefficient must be
determined from experiment.
A few correlations are available for predicting the
permeability. One of the more common correlations
is Ergun’s equation (Bird et.al., Transport Phenomena,
Wiley, New York, 1960),

……………..73
where ΔP is the pressure drop (pressure at inlet
minus pressure at outlet),
L is the height (or depth) of the bed,
Vo is the approach velocity( or the average
velocity of flow of the fluid), flow rate

79
 divided by the cross sectional area of the
bedQ/A, and
gc is the gravity conversion factor 32174.ft lbm/lbf s2
in FPS units or 1kg m/N s2 in MKS units.
Ergun’s equation relates the pressure drop to a
quadratic expression in the superficial velocity
(equivalent to) as a function of the particle size and
the bed porosity. One could make a comparison
between Darcy’s Law and Ergun’s equation to get a
relation for the permeability as a first order
function of the superficial velocity. Q/A
MacDonald et.al. ("Flow Through Porous Media-The
Ergun Equation Revisited," Ind. Chem. Fundam., 18(3)
199-207, 1979) studied data on a wider range of
particles and concluded that the 150 coefficient in
Ergun Equation should be replaced with 180 and the
1.75 coefficient should be replaced with 1.80 for
smooth particles. For rough particles the 1.75 should
be replaced with 4.0.
This gives

…………..74
Lets define the Reynolds number and packed bed
friction factor as

80
 ……………75
then the Ergun equation can be written as

……………76
The next expression is useful for estimating
permeability for a powder of a particular size, or
estimating particle size from pressure drop – flow
rate data.

…………….77
If the particles are approximately spherical the
sphericity is 1.0, and assuming normal packing the
porosity is about 0.38 (from Figure 4-5). For small
Reynolds number the 180 term dominates the
denominator this equation reduces to

…………….78
EXAMPLE 4-2
As an example, very slow flow of water (1
liters/minute per square meter) through a 10 cm
thick packed bed of spherical Lucite particles
81
produces a pressure drop of 10kPa. What is the
approximate size of the Lucite particles?
SOLUTION:
Solving Darcy’s Law;

Substitute this value for permeability into

and solving for dp gives

or the average particle size is about 15 microns.

Check the Reynolds number, to make sure the low
Reynolds number assumption holds:

Since Rep is much smaller than 1 then the assumption

in deriving
holds.

FLUIDIZATION
• Packed beds, fluidized beds, pressure drop in
fluidized beds, heat & mass transfer in
fluidized beds.
82
Regions of Fluidization
When a fluid is passed upwards through a bed of
particles the pressure loss in the fluid due to
frictional resistance increases with increasing fluid
flow. A point is reached when the upward drag force
exerted by the fluid on the particles is equal to the
apparent weight of particles in the bed. At this point
the particles are lifted by the fluid, the separation
of the particles increases, and the bed becomes
fluidized. The force balance across the fluidized bed
dictates that the fluid pressure loss across the bed
of particles is equal to the apparent weight of the
particles per unit area of the bed. Thus:

weight of particles - upthrust on

particles
Pressure drop = ---------------------------------------
----
bed cross sectional area

For a bed of particles of density p, fluidized by a

fluid of density f to form a bed of depth H and

83
voidage in a vessel of cross sectional area A:

A plot of fluid pressure loss across the bed versus

superficial fluid velocity through the bed would have
the appearance of.
The straight line region OA is the packed bed region.
Here the solid particles do not move relative to one
another and their separation is constant. The
pressure loss versus fluid velocity relationship in this
region is described in general by the Ergun equation,
Equation 3. (That is this is the equation for pressure
loss in a packed bed

84
Figure 1: Pressure drop versus fluid velocity for
packed and fluidized beds

The region BC is the fluidized bed region where

Equation 1 applies. At point A it will be noticed that
the pressure loss rises above the value predicted by
Equation 1. This rise is more marked in powders
which have been compacted to some extent before
the test and is associated with the extra force
required to overcome interparticle attractive forces.
The superficial gas velocity at which the packed bed
becomes a fluidized bed is known as the minimum

85
fluidization velocity, Umf. This is also sometimes
referred to as the velocity at incipient fluidization
("incipient" means "about to begin"). Umf increases
with particle size and particle density and is
affected by fluid properties. It is possible to derive
an expression for Umf by equating the expression for
pressure loss in a fluidized bed (Equation 2) with the
expression for pressure loss across a packed bed.
Thus substituting the expression for (- p) for a
fluidized bed from Equation 2 into the expression
for (- p) for a packed bed from Equation 3:

And

86
where Ar is the dimensionless number known as the
Archimedes number and Remf is the Reynolds number
at incipient fluidization,

In order to obtain a value of Umf from Equation 7 we

need to know the voidage of the bed at incipient
fluidization, = mf. Taking mf as the voidage of the
packed bed, we can obtain a crude Umf. However, in
practice voidage at the onset of fluidization may be
considerably greater than the packed bed voidage. A
typical often used value of mf is 0.4. Using this value,
Equation 7 becomes:

Wen and Yu (1966) produced an empirical correlation

for Umf with a form similar to Equation 8: (Eq. 10 is
an alternate expression.)

The Wen and Yu correlation is valid for spheres in

the range
0.01 < Remf < 1000.
87
For gas fluidization the Wen and Yu correlation is
often taken as being most suitable for particles
larger than 100 m, whereas the correlation of
Baeyens (1974) , shown below in Equation 11, is best
for particles less than 100 m

The correct density for use in fluidization equations

is the particle density, defined as the mass of a
particle divided by its hydrodynamic volume. This is
the volume "seen" by the fluid in its fluid dynamic
interaction with the particle and includes the volume
of all the open and closed pores (see Figure).

Figure 2: Hydrodynamic volume of a particle

mass of particle
Particle density = -------------------------------
hydrodynamic volume of particle

88
For non-porous solids, this is easily measured by a
gas pycnometer or specific gravity bottle, but these
devices should not be used for porous solids since
they give the true or absolute density, abs , of the
material of which the particle is made and this is not
appropriate where interaction with fluid flow is
concerned.

mass of particle
Absolute density = --------------------------------------
----------
volume of solids material making
up the particle

For porous particles, the particle density p (also

called apparent or envelope density) is not easy to
measure directly although several methods are given
in Geldart (1990). Bed density is another term used
in connection with fluidized beds; bed density is
defined as:

mass of particles in a bed

Bed density = --------------------------------------------
-----------
volume occupied by particles and the
voids between them
89
For example, 600 kg of powder is fluidized in a vessel
of cross-sectional area 1 m2 and achieves a bed
height of 0.5 m. What is the bed density?

Mass of particles in the bed = 600 kg.

Volume occupied by particles and voids = 1 x 0.5 = 0.5
m3
Hence, bed density = 600/0.5 = 1200 kg/m3
If the particle density of these solids is 2700 kg/m3,
what is the bed voidage? Bed density B is related to
particle density p and bed voidage by Equation 12:

B = (1 - ) p . . . . (Eq. 12)

Hence, voidage = 1 - (1200/2700) = 0.555

Another density often used when dealing with

powders is the bulk density: it is defined in a similar
way to fluid bed density:

mass of particles
Bulk density = --------------------------------------
--------
volume occupied by particles and
the voids between them

90
The most appropriate particle size to use in
equations relating to fluid-particle interactions is a
hydrodynamic diameter; ie. an equivalent sphere
diameter derived from a measurement technique
involving hydrodynamic interaction between the
particle and fluid. In practice, however, in most
industrial applications sizing is done using sieving and
correlations use either sieve diameter, xp or volume
diameter, xv. For spherical or near spherical particles
xv is equal to xp. For angular particles, xv 1.13 xp.

For use in fluidization applications, starting from a

sieve analysis the mean size of the powder is often
calculated from:

mean xp = 1 / (mi/xi) . . . . . . (Eq. 13)

where xi is the arithmetic mean of adjacent sieves

between which a mass fraction mi is collected. This is
the harmonic mean of the mass distribution, which is
equivalent to arithmetic mean of a surface
distribution.

Bubbling and non-bubbling fluidization

Beyond the minimum fluidization velocity bubbles or

particle-free voids may appear in the fluidized bed.

91
An equipment “Two - dimensional fluidized bed” ,a
favourite for researchers looking at bubble
behaviour consists of a vessel with a rectangular
cross – section, whose shortest dimension ( in the
direction being viewed is usually only 1cm or so. The
equipment can reveal the effect of gas flow on
bubbles in powder either at (1) lower gas velocity (2)
higher gas velocity

At superficial velocities above the minimum

fluidization velocity, fluidization may in general be
either bubbling or non-bubbling. Some combinations
of fluid and particles give rise to only bubbling
fluidization and some combinations give only non-
bubbling fluidization. Most liquid-fluidized systems,
except those involving very dense particles, do not
give rise to bubbling. A bed of glass spheres
fluidized by water can exhibit non-bubbling fluidized
bed behaviour.

92
Figure 4: Expansion of a liquid-fluidized bed. (i) just
above Umf, (ii) liquid velocity several times Umf. Note
the uniform increase in void fraction

Gas-fluidized systems, however, give either only

bubbling fluidization or non-bubbling fluidization
beginning at Umf , followed by bubbling fluidization as
fluidizing velocity increases. Non-bubbling
fluidization is also known as particulate or
homogeneous fluidization and bubbling fluidization is
often referred to as aggregative or heterogeneous
fluidization.

Classification of Powders

93
Geldart (1973) classified powders into four groups
according to their fluidization properties at ambient
conditions. The Geldart Classification of Powders is
now used widely in all fields of powder technology(
see figure 6).

Group A powders, when fluidized by air at ambient

conditions, give a region of non-bubbling fluidization
beginning at Umf , followed by bubbling fluidization as
fluidizing velocity increases .

Group B powders give only bubbling fluidization

under these conditions.

Geldart identified two further groups:

Group C powders - very fine, cohesive powders which
are incapable of fluidization in the strict sense.

Group D powders are large particles that are

distinguished by their ability to produce deep
spouting beds. Figure 6 shows how the group
classifications are related to the particle and gas
properties.

The fluidization properties of a powder in air may be

predicted by establishing in which group it lies. It is
important to note that at operating temperature and
pressures above ambient a powder may appear in a
94
different group from that which it occupies at
ambient conditions. This is due to the effect of gas
properties on the grouping and may have serious
implications as far as the operation of the fluidized
bed is concerned. Table 1 presents a summary of the
typical properties of the different powder classes

Figure 6: Geldart's classification of powders

Since the range of gas velocities over which non-

bubbling fluidization occurs in Group A powders is
small, bubbling fluidization is the type most
commonly encountered in gas-fluidized systems in
commercial use. The superficial gas velocity at which
95
bubbles first appear is known as the minimum
bubbling velocity Umb. Premature bubbling can be
caused by poor distributor design or protuberances
inside the bed. Abrahamsen and Geldart (1980)
correlated the maximum values of Umb with gas and
particle properties using the following correlation:

where F is the fraction of powder less than 45 m.

Expansion of a Fluidized Bed

Non-bubbling fluidization

In a non-bubbling fluidized bed beyond Umf the

particle separation increases with increasing fluid
superficial velocity whilst the pressure loss across
the bed remains constant. This increase in bed
voidage with fluidizing velocity is referred to as bed
expansion (see Figure on Expansion of a liquid –
fluidized bed).

96
The relationship between fluid velocity and bed
voidage may be determined by recalling the analysis
of multiple particle systems (see Rhodes, 1998,
Chapter 2). For a particle suspension settling in a
fluid under force balance conditions the relative
velocity between particles and fluid, Urel is given by:

97
where Up and Uf are the actual downward vertical
velocities of the particles and the fluid, and UT is the
single particle terminal velocity in the fluid. In the
case of a fluidized bed the time-averaged actual
vertical particle velocity is zero (Up = 0) and so:

where Ufs is the downward volumetric fluid flux. In

common with fluidization practice, we will use the
term superficial velocity (U) rather than volumetric
fluid flux. Since the upward superficial fluid velocity
(U) is equal to the upward volumetric fluid flux (-Ufs),
and Ufs = Uf , then:

Richardson and Zaki (1954) found the function f( )

which applied to both hindered settling and to non-
bubbling fluidization. They found that in general, f( )
= n where the exponent n was independent of particle
Reynolds number at very low Reynolds numbers, when
the drag force is independent of fluid density, and at
high Reynolds number, when the drag force is
independent of fluid viscosity. ie.

98
Khan and Richardson (1989) suggested the
correlation given below, which permits the
determination of the exponent n at intermediate
values of Reynolds number (although it is expressed
in terms of the Archimedes number Ar there is a
direct relationship between Rep and Ar). This
correlation also incorporates the effect of the
vessel diameter on the exponent.

Thus Equations, 21, 22 and 23 in conjunction with the

correlation of Khan and Richardson above, permit
calculation of the variation in bed voidage with fluid
velocity beyond Umf. Knowledge of the bed voidage
allows calculation of the fluidized bed height as
illustrated below:

mass of particles in the bed = MB = (1 - ) p AH.....

(Eq.24)

99
If packed bed depth (H1) and voidage ( 1) are known
then if the mass remains constant the bed depth at
any voidage can be determined:

Bubbling Fluidization
The simplest description of the expansion of a
bubbling fluidized bed is derived from the Two-Phase
Theory of fluidization of Toomey and Johnstone
(1952). This theory considers the bubbling fluidized
bed to be composed of two phases; the bubbling
phase (the gas bubbles) and the particulate phase
(the fluidized solids around the bubbles). The
particulate phase is also referred to as the emulsion
phase. The theory states that any gas in excess of
that required at incipient fluidization will pass
through the bed as bubbles. Thus, in bubbling
fluidization, bed expansion at velocities beyond
minimum bubbling velocity is due to the presence of
bubbles. Thus, referring to Figure below,

100
Q is the actual gas flow rate to the fluid bed and Qmf
is the gas flow rate at incipient fluidization, then

gas passing through the bed as bubbles = Q - Qmf =

(U - Umf) A . . . (Eq. 26)

gas passing through the emulsion phase

= Qmf = Umf A . . . . . (Eq.27)

Expressing the bed expansion in terms of the

fraction of the bed occupied by bubbles, B:

where H is the bed height at U and Hmf is the bed

height at Umf and UB is the mean rise velocity of a
bubble in the bed (obtained from correlations -- see
101
below). The voidage of the emulsion phase is taken to
be that at minimum fluidization mf. The mean bed
voidage is then given by:

In practice, the elegant Two-Phase Theory

overestimates the volume of gas passing through the
bed as bubbles (the visible bubble flow rate) and
better estimates of bed expansion may be obtained
by replacing (Q - Qmf) in Eq.28 with

visible bubble flow rate, QB = Y A (U - Umf) . . . . .

(Eq.30)

where for Group A powders 0.8 < Y < 1.0

for Group B powders 0.6 < Y < 0.8
for Group D powders 0.25 < Y < 0.6

The above analysis requires a knowledge of the

bubble rise velocity UB, which depends on the bubble
size dBv and bed diameter D. The bubble diameter at
a given height above the distributor depends on the
orifice density in the distributor N, the distance
above the distributor L and the excess gas velocity
(U - Umf).

For Group B powders:

102
For Group A powders: bubbles reach a maximum
stable size which may be estimated from:

Entrainment

The term entrainment will be used here to describe

the ejection of particles from the surface of a
bubbling bed and their removal from the vessel in
the fluidizing gas. In the literature on the subject
other terms such as carryover, and elutriation are
often used to describe the same process. Here we
are going to study the factors affecting the rate of
entrainment of solids from a fluidized bed and
develop a simple approach to the estimation of the
entrainment rate and the size distribution of
entrained solids.

103
Consider a single particle falling under gravity in a
static gas in the absence of any solids boundaries.
We know that this particle will reach a terminal
velocity when the forces of gravity, buoyancy and
drag are balanced (see Rhodes, 1998, Chapter 1). If
the gas of infinite extent is now considered to be
moving upwards at a velocity equal to the terminal
velocity of the particle, the particle will be
stationary. If the gas is moving upwards in a pipe at a
superficial velocity equal to the particle's terminal
velocity then:

• (a) in laminar flow: the particle may move up or

down depending on its radial position because of
the parabolic velocity profile of the gas in the
pipe.
• (b) in turbulent flow: the particle may move up or
down depending on its radial position. In addition
the random velocity fluctuations superimposed
on the time-averaged velocity profile make the
actual particle motion less predictable.

If we now introduce into the moving gas stream a

number of particles with a range of particle size,
some particles may fall and some may rise depending
on their size and their radial position. Thus the

104
entrainment of particles in an upward-flowing gas
stream is a complex process. We can see that the
rate of entrainment and the size distribution of
entrained particles will in general depend on particle
size and density, gas properties, gas velocity, gas
flow regime - radial velocity profile and fluctuations
and vessel diameter. In addition

• (i) the mechanisms by which the particles are

ejected into the gas stream from the fluidized
bed are dependent on the characteristics of the
bed - in particular bubble size and velocity at
the surface,
• (ii) the gas velocity profile immediately above
the bed surface is distorted by the bursting
bubbles. It is not surprising then that prediction
of entrainment from first principles is not
possible and in practice an empirical approach
must be adopted.

This empirical approach defines coarse particles as

particles whose terminal velocity is greater than the
superficial gas velocity (UT > U) and fine particles as
those for which UT < U and considers the region
above the fluidized bed surface to be composed of
several zones shown in Figure below:

105
Fig. Particle distribution image and rotated plot of
particle density vs height showing the zones in the
freeboard of a fluidized bed.

• Freeboard: the entire region between the bed

surface and the gas outlet.
• Splash zone: the region just above the bed
surface, in which coarse particles fall back down.
• Disengagement zone: the region above the
splash zone, in which both the upward flux and

106
 the suspension concentration of fine particles
decreases with increasing height.
• Dilute-phase transport zone: region above the
disengagement zone, in which all particles are
carried upwards; particle flux and suspension
concentration are constant with height.

Note that, although in general fine particles will be

entrained and leave the system and coarse particles
will remain, in practice fine particles may stay in the
system at velocities several times their terminal
velocity and coarse particles may be entrained. The
height from the bed surface to the top of the
disengagement zone is known as the transport
disengagement height (TDH). Above TDH the
entrainment flux and concentration of particles is
constant. Thus, from the design point of view, in
order to gain maximum benefit from the effect of
gravity in the freeboard, the gas exit should be
placed above the TDH. Many empirical correlations
for TDH are available in the literature (e.g. Zenz,
1983, Horio 1980). We will use that of Horio, which
is presented in Equation 37.

107
(dBvs = equivalent volume diameter of a bubble at the
surface).

The empirical estimation of entrainment rates from

fluidized beds is based on the following rather
intuitive equation:

where elutriation rate constant (the entrainment

flux at height h above the bed surface for the solids
of size xi, when mBi = 1.0).
MB = total mass of solids in the bed
A = area of bed surface
mBi = fraction of the bed mass with size xi at
time t.

For continuous operation, mBi and MB are constant

and so:

and total rate of entrainment,

108
The solids loading of particles of size xi in the off-
gases is i = Ri / (U A) and the total solids loading
leaving the freeboard is T = i.

For batch operation, the rates of entrainment of

each size range, the total entrainment rate and the
particle size distribution of the bed change with
time. The problem can best be solved by writing
Equation Eq.38 in finite increment form:

where (mBi MB) is the mass of solids in size range i

entrained in time increment t.

Then total mass entrained in time

(for k size ranges) and mass of solids remaining in

the bed at time

(where subscript t refers to the value at time t.) Bed

composition at time

109
Solution to a batch entrainment problem is by
sequential application of Equations 41 to 44 for the
required time period.

The elutriation rate constant K*ih cannot be

predicted from first principles and so it is necessary
to rely on the available correlations which differ
significantly in their predictions. Correlations are
usually in terms of the carryover rate above TDH, .
Two of the more reliable correlations are given
below:

For particles > 100 m and U > 1.2 m/s Geldart et al.
(1979) give

For particles < 100 m and U < 1.2 m/s Zenz and Weil
(1958) give

Heat Transfer in Fluidized Beds

110
The transfer of heat between fluidized solids, gas
and internal surfaces of equipment is very good. This
makes for uniform temperatures and ease of control
of bed temperature.

Gas-Particle Heat Transfer

Gas to particle heat transfer coefficients are
typically small, of the order of 5 - 20 W/m2K.
However, because of the very large heat transfer
surface area provided by a mass of small particles (1
m3 of 100 m particles has a surface area of 30,000
m2), the heat transfer between gas and particles is
rarely limiting in fluid bed heat transfer. One of the
most commonly used correlations for gas-particle
heat transfer coefficient is that of Kunii and
Levenspiel (1969):

where Nu = Nusselt number [hgpx / kg] and the single

particle Reynolds number is based on the relative
velocity between fluid and particle as usual.

Gas to particle heat transfer is relevant where a hot

fluidized bed is fluidized by cold gas. The fact that
particle-to-gas heat transfer presents little
resistance in bubbling fluidized beds can be
demonstrated by the following example:
111
Consider a fluidized bed of solids held at a constant
temperature Ts. Hot fluidizing gas at temperature
Tg0 enters the bed. At what distance above the
distributor is the difference between the inlet gas
temperature and the bed solids temperature reduced
to half its original value?

Consider an element of the bed of height L at a

distance L above the distributor (Figure below).

Fig Analysis of gas-particle heat transfer in an

element of a fluidized bed

Let the temperature of the gas entering this

element be Tg and the change in gas temperature
across the element be Tg. The particle temperature
in the element is Ts.

112
The energy balance across the element gives:

where
a = surface area of solids per unit volume of
bed
Cg = specific heat capacity of the gas
g = gas density

hgp = particle-to-gas heat transfer

coefficient
U = superficial gas velocity

Integrating with the boundary condition Tg = Tg0 at L

= 0,

The distance over which the temperature distance is

reduced to half its initial value, L0.5 is then:

113
For a bed of spherical particles of diameter x, the
surface area per unit volume of bed, a = 6 (1 - ) / x
where is the bed voidage. Using the correlation for
hgp in Eq. 47, then

As an example we will take a bed of particles of mean

size 100 m, particle density 2500 kg/m3 fluidized
by air of density 1.2 kg/m3, viscosity 1.84 x 10-5 Pas,
conductivity 0.0262 W/mK and specific heat capacity
1005 J/ (kg K).

Using the Baeyens equation for Umf (Equation 11), Umf

= 9.3 x 10-3 m/s. The relative velocity between
particles and gas under fluidized conditions can be
approximated as Umf / under these conditions.

Hence, assuming a fluidized bed voidage of 0.47, Urel

= 0.02 m/s.

Substituting these values in Equation 51, we find L0.5

= 0.95 mm. So, within 1 mm of entering the bed the
difference in temperature between the gas and the
bed will be reduced by half. Typically for particles
less than 1 mm in diameter the temperature

114
difference between hot bed and cold fluidizing gas
would be reduced by half within the first 5 mm of
the bed depth.

Bed-to-surface heat transfer

In a bubbling fluidized bed the coefficient of heat
transfer between bed and immersed surfaces
(vertical bed walls or tubes) can be considered to be
made up of three components which are
approximately additive (Botterill,1975):
h = hpc + hgc + hr

hpc is the particle convective heat transfer

coefficient and describes the heat transfer due to
the motion of packets of solids carrying heat to and
from the surface. hgc is the gas convective heat
transfer coefficient describing the transfer of heat
by motion of the gas between the particles. hr is the
radiant heat transfer coefficient. Figure below,
after Botterill (1986) gives an indication of the range
of bed-surface heat transfer coefficients and the
effect of particle size on the dominant heat transfer
mechanism.

115
Figure: Range of fluidized bed-to-surface heat
transfer coefficients

Particle convective heat transfer: On a volumetric

basis the solids in the fluidized bed have about one
thousand times the heat capacity of the gas and so,
since the solids are continuously circulating within
the bed, they transport the heat around the bed. For
heat transfer between the bed and a surface the
limiting factor is the gas conductivity, since all the
heat must be transferred through a gas film
116
between the particles and the surface (Figure
below).

Figure 13: Heat transfer from bed particles to an

immersed surface

The particle-to-surface contact area is too small to

allow significant heat transfer. Factors affecting the
gas film thickness or the gas conductivity will
therefore influence the heat transfer under particle
convective conditions. Decreasing particle size, for
example, decreases the mean gas film thickness and
117
so improves hpc. However, reducing particle size into
the Group C range will reduce particle mobility and so
reduce particle convective heat transfer. Increasing
gas temperature increases gas conductivity and so
improves hpc.

Particle convective heat transfer is dominant in

Group A and B powders. Increasing gas velocity
beyond minimum fluidization improves particle
circulation and so increases particle convective heat
transfer. The heat transfer coefficient increases
with fluidizing velocity up to a broad maximum hmax
and then declines as the heat transfer surface
becomes blanketed by bubbles. This is shown in
Figure below for powders in Groups A, B and D.

118
Figure: Effect of fluidizing gas velocity on bed-
surface heat transfer coefficient in a fluidized bed.

The maximum in hpc occurs relatively closer to Umf

for Group B and D powders since these powders give
rise to bubbles at Umf and the size of these bubbles
increase with increasing gas velocity. Group A
powders exhibit a non-bubbling fluidization between
Umf and Umb and achieve a maximum stable bubble
size. Botterill (1986) recommends the Zabrodsky
(1966) correlation for hmax for Group B powders:

and the correlation of Khan et al. (1978) for Group A

powders:

Botterill (1986) recommends the correlations of

Baskakov and Suprun (1972) for hgc:

119
where Um is the superficial velocity corresponding to
the maximum overall bed heat transfer coefficient.

For temperatures beyond 600oC radiative heat

transfer plays an increasing role and must be
accounted for in calculations. For more readings see
Botterill (1986) or Kunii and Levenspiel (1990) for
treatment of radiative heat transfer or for a more
detailed look at heat transfer in fluidized beds.

Application of Fluidized Beds

Physical Processes
Physical processes which use fluidized beds include
drying, mixing, granulation, coating, heating and
cooling. All these processes take advantage of the
excellent mixing capabilities of the fluid bed. Good
solids mixing gives rise to good heat transfer,
temperature uniformity and ease of process control.
One of the most important applications of the
fluidized bed is to the drying of solids. Fluidized
beds are currently used commercially for drying such
materials as crushed minerals, sand, polymers,
pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and crystalline products.
The reasons for the popularity of fluidized bed
drying are:

120
 • the dryers are compact, simple in construction
and of relatively low capital cost.
• the absence of moving parts, other than the
feeding and discharge devices, leads to reliable
operation and low maintenance.
• the thermal efficiency of these dryers is
relatively high.
• fluidized bed dryers are gentle in the handling
of powders -this is useful when dealing with
friable materials.

Fluidized beds are often used to cool particulate

solids following a reaction. Cooling may be by
fluidizing air alone or by the use of cooling water
passing through tubes immersed in the bed (see
Figure below for example).

121
Figure: A fluidized bed solids cooler

Fluidized beds are used for coating particles in the

pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Metal
components may be plastic coated by dipping them
hot into an air-fluidized bed of powdered
thermosetting plastic.

Chemical Processes
The gas fluidized bed is a good medium in which to
carry out a chemical reaction involving a gas and a
solid. Advantages of the fluidized bed for chemical
reaction include:
122
 • The gas-solids contacting is generally good.
• The excellent solids circulation with the bed
promotes good heat transfer between bed
particles and the fluidizing gas and between the
bed and heat transfer surfaces immersed in the
bed.
• This gives rise to near isothermal conditions
even when reactions are strongly exothermic or
endothermic.
• The good heat transfer also gives rise to ease of
control of the reaction.
• The fluidity of the bed makes for ease of
removal of solids from the reactor.

However, it is far from ideal; the main problems

arise from the two phase (bubbles and fluidized
solids) nature of such systems. This problem is
particularly acute where the bed solids are the
catalyst for a gas-phase reaction. In such a case the
ideal fluidized bed chemical reactor would have
excellent gas-solid contacting, no gas by-passing and
no backmixing of the gas against the main direction
of flow. In a bubbling fluidized bed the gas by-
passes the solids by passing through the bed as
bubbles. This means that unreacted reactants appear
in the product. Also, gas circulation patterns within a
123
bubbling fluidized bed are such that products are
back-mixed and may undergo undesirable secondary
reactions.

These problems lead to serious practical difficulties

particularly in the scaling-up of a new fluidized bed
process from pilot plant to full industrial scale. This
subject is dealt with in more detail in references:
Kunii and Levenspiel (1990), Geldart (1986), Davidson
and Harrison (1971).

124
Figure 16: Kellogg's Model A Orthoflow FCC Unit

This figure is a schematic diagram of one type of

fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit - a celebrated
example of fluidized bed technology -- for breaking
down large molecules in crude oil to small molecules
suitable for gasoline etc. Other examples of the
application of fluidized bed technology to different
kinds of chemical reaction are shown in Table 2.

125
FILTRATION

Filtration is the removal of solid particles from a

fluid by passing the fluid through a filtering medium
(A FILTER), or septum, on which the solids are
deposited. Depending on the application, the solid,
the fluid, or both may be isolated. Examples of
filtration include a coffee filter which separates the
coffee grounds from the brewed coffee; the use of
consumer water filters to improve the taste or
appearance of municipal water; and the use of HEPA
filters in air conditioning to remove particles from
air. To separate a mixture of chemical compounds, a
solvent is chosen which dissolves one component,
while not dissolving the other. By dissolving the
mixture in the chosen solvent, one component will go
into the solution and pass through the filter, while
the other will be retained. This is one of the most
important techniques used by chemists to purify
compounds.

Fluid flows through a filter medium by virtue of a

pressure differential across the medium. They are
also classified into those that operate with a
pressure above atmospheric on the upstream side of
126
the filter medium & those that operate with
atmospheric pressure on the upstream side and a
vaccum on the downstream side. The simplest method
of filtration is to pass a solution of a solid and fluid
through a porous interface so that the solid is
trapped, while the fluid passes through. This
principle relies upon the size difference between the
particles making up the fluid, and the particles
making up the solid. In the laboratory, a Büchner
funnel is often used, with a filter paper serving as
the porous barrier.

Figure: showing a simple filtration process

Most industrial filters are pressure filters, vaccum

filters, and centrifugal separators. They are either
continuous (discharge of both solids & fluid is
interrupted as long as the equipment is in operation)
or discontinuous(The flow of fluid through the devise
is continuous, but it must be interrupted periodically
to permit discharging the accumulated solids),
127
depending on whether the discharge of filtered
solids is steady or intermittent.

Filters are divided into three main groups: cake

filters, clarifying filters, and cross flow filters. Cake
filters separate relatively large amounts of solids as
a cake of crystal or sludge. They often include
provisions for washing the cake and for removing
some of the liquid from the solids before discharge.
Clarifying filters remove small amounts of solids to
produce a clean gas or sparkling clear liquids such as
beverages. The solid particles are trapped inside the
filter medium or on its external surfaces. Clarifying
filters differ from screens in that the pores of the
filter medium are much larger in diameter than the
particles to be removed. In Cross flow Filter the
feed suspension flows under pressure at a fairly high
velocity across the filter medium. A thin layer of
solids may form on the surface of the medium, but
the high liquid velocity keeps the layer from building
up. The medium could be ceramic, metal, or polymer
membrane with pores small enough to exclude most
of the suspended particles. Some of the liquid passes
through the medium as clear filtrate, leaving a more
concentrated suspension behind. Ultra filtration is a
cross flow type containing a membrane with
128
extremely small openings, used for the separation
and concentration of colloidal particles and large
molecules.

EXAMPLES OF FILTERS

DISCONTINUOUS PRESSURE FILTERS( Pressure

filters apply a large pressure differential across the
septum to give economically rapid filtration with
viscous liquids or fine solids, most pressure filters
are discontinuous): Filter press (pg 304, Coulson &
Richardson, Vol 2), Shell – and – leaf filters,
Automatic belt filter

VACUUM FILTERS( They are usually continuous,

though a discontinuous vacuum filter is a useful tool.
The pressure difference across the septum in a
continuous vacuum filter is not high). Example of
Continuous type is the Rotary – drum filter( e.g. in a
Zinc leaching operation). Where vacuum filtration
cannot be used, other means of separation, such as
continuous centrifugal filters, should be considered.

CENTRIFUGAL FILTERS; The main types of

filtering centrifuges are suspended batch machines,
which are discontinuous in their operations:

129
automatic short – cycle batch machines; and
continuous conveyor centrifuges.

The most important factors on which the rate of

filtration depends will be

1. The drop in pressure from the feed to the

far side of the filter medium.
2. The area of the filtering surface.
3. The viscosity of the filtrate.
4. the resistance of the filter cake.
5. The resistance of the filter medium and
initial layers of cake

To increase flow rate( Consider Darcy’s law), it is

favoured by; Increase pressure, Increase area,
Change media( more permeable), change fluid(less
viscous), thinner media. The Septum must also ; 1.
Retain the solids to be filtered, with a reasonably
clear filtrate. 2. Must not plug or blind. 3. Must be
resistant chemically and strong enough physically to
withstand the process conditions. 4. Must permit the
cake formed to discharge cleanly & completely. 5.
Must not be prohibitively expensive.

Filter Aids : Very fine solids moving across the

medium often plug any medium that is fine to retain
130
them. So, it is required that the porosity of such
material be increased to permit passage of the liquor
at a reasonable rate. This is done by adding a filter
aid. Examples are; diatomaceous silica, perlite,
purified wood cellulose to the slurry before
filtration. The aid subsequently may be separated
from the filter cake by dissolving away the solids or
by burning out the filter aid. Another way of using a
filter aid is by precoating, that is, depositing a layer
of it on the filter medium before filtration. In batch
filter it is thin, in a continuous precoat filter, the
layer of precoat is thick. Precoats prevent gelatinous
solids from plugging the filter medium and give a
clearer filtrate. The precoat is part of the medium
not that of the cake.

Filter cakes can be divided into two classes,

incompressible cakes and compressible cakes. For
incompressible cake, the resistance to flow of a given
volume of cake is not appreciably affected either by
the pressure difference across the cake or by the
rate of deposition of material. On the other hand,
with a compressible cake, increase of the pressure
difference or of the rate of flow causes the
formation of a denser cake with a higher resistance.
In filtration, the complete cycle is made up of; a.
131
The filtration process, b. Washing; c.
Dismantling/reassembly. In all, the filtration time is
evaluated by considering the incompressible cake and
the compressible cake.

FILTRATION THEORY

Filtration is a special example of flow through porous

media. As the flow increase with time the medium
becomes clogged or a filter cake builds up. The
quantities of interest are the flow rate through the
filter and the pressure drop across the unit. As time
goes on in the operation, either the flow rate
diminishes or the pressure drop rises. In Constant-
pressure filtration the pressure drop is held
constant and the flow rate allowed to fall with
time; less commonly, the pressure drop is gradually
increased to give a constant-rate filtration. In cake
filtration, two resistances are available, the cake and
that of the filter medium. The overall pressure drop
at any time is the sum of the pressure drops over
medium and cake.

PRINCIPLES OF CAKE FILTRATION

Overall material balance based on a unit area in a

filtration operation is given as
132
Mass of slurry = Mass of Cake + Mass of Filtrate
w w
c
  v
c
………….1
s sc

wc = total mass of dry–cake solids per unit area m 

 
A 
v = Filtrate volume per unit area
s = mass fraction of solids in the slurry
sc= average mass fractions of solids in the cake
 = density of filtrate.
s
From equ. 1 w 
s
v  cv
c ………..2
1
sc
s
Where c 
s
1
sc

C = concentration expressed by mass of dry cake per

unit volume of filtrate.
w
From 2, c  , if the mass of solids in the cake
c

v
can be obtained. However, draining the slurry can
often lead to difficulties in accurate determination
of cake mass. An alternative approach is to
consider the cake thickness. The cake thickness is
given as L, this can be related to the cake mass wc
by
wc  s 1   av  L
m
wc   s 1   av  L ………3
A
m  s 1   av  AL

s =true density of the solid; m = mass of solids in

layer
133
1   av  AL = Volume of solids in the layer;  av = average
porosity of the cake.
wc  cv  s 1   av  L
c
Combining 2 & 3 L v
s 1   av 
L
L  cLv ;cL 
v
cL is the ratio of cake thickness L per unit filtrate
volume, v. The thickness L is in fact the primary
parameter related to filter design.
PRESSURE DROP THROUGH FILTER CAKE
A typical diagram showing a section through a filter
cake and the filter medium at a definite time t, from
the start of the flow of filtrate reveals that in the
bed the velocity is sufficiently low to ensure laminar
flow. Accordingly, as a starting point for treating the
pressure drop through the cake, an equation of the
form
2
p 150vo  1   
 …………..4
L s 2Dp 2 3

Equation 4 is known as Kozeng – Carman equation and

is applicable for flow through beds at particle
Reynolds numbers up to about 1.0
If we designate the superficial velocity of the
filtrate as u , equation 4 becomes
2
dp 150 u 1   
 …………5
 
2
dL  s Dp  3

134
Expressing as a function of surface – volume ratio
2
2  sp 
4.17 u 1     
instead of particle size dp
 vp 
dL 2
……….6
Sp = surface area of single particle ; vp = vol. of single
particle
 = viscosity of filtrate ; u = linear velocity of

filtrate, based on filter area

dp
= pressure gradient at thickness L
dL
dv / dt
The linear velocity u  ……..7
A
V = volume of filtrate collected from the start of
filtration to time t
dm   1    AdL
s …….8
Eliminating dL from 6 & 8 gives us
 
2
k1 u s p /v p 1   
dp  dm ………9
s A 3
K1 replaces the coefficient 4.17. If FPS units are
used, Newton law proportionality factor gc must be
included in the denominator of equation 9.
Integrating equation 9 with limits p1  pa and 0  mc
 
2
k1 u s p /v p 1    mc
pc  …….10
s A 3
pc = pressure drop over cake = pa – p1
Filter cake that equation 10 applies is said to be
incompressible
135
For use in equation 9, we define specific cake
resistance 
pc A
  ……..10
umc
 
2
k1 s p /v p 1   
Where  …….11
s  3
The cake resistance  may also be expressed in
terms of the particle size Dp, with a new coefficient
K2
k 1   
 2
…..12
 D 
2
s p s  3

For incompressible cakes  is independent of the

pressure drop and of position in the cake.  is the
resistance of a cake that gives a unit pressure drop
when ,u , and m all equal 1.0, Equation 12 shows that 
c

A
is influenced solely by the physical properties of the
cake, especially the particle size Dp and the porosity
.
For Compressible filter cake equation 10 does not
precisely apply. In a compressible cake,  varies with
distance from the septum, since the cake nearest
the septum is subject to the greatest compressive
force and has the lowest void fraction.

FILTER MEDIUM RESISTANCE

136
A filter medium resistance , can be defined by
0

p
analogy with the cake resistance  . R  p  m
m
m
u
Pressure drop over medium = p  p 1 b

The filter medium resistance R may vary with the

m

pressure drop, since the higher liquid velocity caused

by a large pressure drop may force additional
particles of solid into the filter medium. R also varies m

with the age and cleanliness of the filter medium;

p  pc  pm
um c
  Rm u
A
m dv / dt Q
P  u  c  Rm  ;u   ………..13
 A  A A
Q m
P    c  Rm  , Q = Volumetric flow rate
A A 
mc
 wc  cv
A

 mc  ACV
dv  Acv  
p   2 
 Rm 
dt .A  A 
dv  cv
13 becomes    Rm 
dt .A  A 
dt   cv
   Rm 
dv A p  A 
dt   cv
   Rm  ……….14
dv Ap  A 
dv   cv
Or p  .   Rm 
dt A  A 

137
CONSTANT – PRESSURE FILTRATION
At constant pressure, the variables that vary are
v,and t.
When t=0, v=0 and p  p , hence m

R  dt  1
m
  ………15
Ap  dv 0 q0
dt 1 1
14 becomes   kcv  ……….16
dv q q0
c
Where kc  ………..17
A 2 p

Integrating equation 16 between limits (0,0) & (t,v),

results as
t v v
1
0 dt  kc 0vdv  q 0 dv
0

v2 v
t  kc 
2 q0
 v 1 
t  v  kc  
 2 q
 0 
t  kc  1
  v 
v 2 q0
y  mx  c

So the plot of t/v versus v will be linear, with a slope

equal to kc/2 and the intercept of 1/q0. from this
graph and using equ. 15 & 17 , R &  may be m

evaluated.

138
 t/v
Slope=kc/2

Intercept=1/q0

A centrifugal pump will deliver a constant

head(Pressure)

EMPERICAL EQUATIONS FOR CAKE RESISTANCE

Conducting constant – pressure experiments at
varying p 's ,  variation with p can be found. If  is
independent of p , the cake is incompressible.
Ordinarily  is expected to increase with p ,at least
to some extent most cakes are incompressible. For
highly compressible cakes  increases rapidly with p .
The empirical equation is given as
    p 
0
s
…………….18
, 
0 are empirical constants, s = compressibility
coefficient of the cake. s=0 for incompressible
cakes. S= positive for compressible cakes. It usually
ranges from 0.2 and 0.8
PRACTICE QUESTION: Question 29.3 page 1059.
McCabe & Smith

139
CONSTANT RATE FILTRATION
For constant rate filtrate flow, the linear velocity is
constant, from equ.7,
v
u  …………19
At
, substituting mc  cv and equation 19 into 10
P A
  c
umc
2
Pc c  v 
   …………20
 t A 
If  is known as a function of P and values of p
c m

can be evaluated, equation 20 can be used to relate

the overall pressure p to time when the flow rate of
filtrate is constant. To achieve constant rate
filtration, a positive displacement pump is used.

140