Particle and Gas Velocities in a Vortex Driven Externally Recirculated Fluidized Bed

The ever demanding need for lower capital costs requires the development of new contactors that can potentially utilize some hydrodynamic feature to enhance heat and mass transfer and thereby achieve process intensification. One such concept being explored at NETL is for a vortexing circulating fluidized bed. In this reactor concept, the gas enters tangentially, the rotating gas flow establishes a pressure gradient between the wall and center of the reactor. The geometry of the riser design exploits this gradient to generate a recirculating flow of solids from the top outer wall of the reactor to the bottom center. Barracuda computational findings and experimental results from a test reactor will be compared to assess the capabilities, and potential of the system. Specifically, gas and solids velocities will be compared between the simulation and the experimental results as well as comparing the pressure profiles.