A study on fluidization of activated carbon particles in gas-solid fluidized bed

In this paper, the minimum fluidisation velocity ( $u_{mf}$) of activated carbon particles in a gas–solid fluidised bed was experimentally determined using dry air as the fluidising medium. The effect of particle size and temperature on the minimum fluidisation velocity of the fluidised activated carbon particles was analysed. The particle sizes 212, 425, and 710 µm and bed temperatures of 30°C, 100°C, 200°C, and 300°C were studied. From the experimental results, it was found that the $u_{mf}$ decreased with a decrease in particle size of the activated carbon particles and decreased with an increase in the temperature. Based on the experimental results, a new correlation was developed to predict $u_{mf}$ at higher temperatures, since at higher temperatures, the deviation of experimental $u_{mf}$ values was higher when compared with the values estimated using previously published correlations. The present study will be useful for the design of an experimental system to study the continuous adsorption and desorption of organic vapours at higher temperatures in the fluidised bed of activated carbon particles. The details of the experimental study and analysis of results are discussed in this paper.