Agglomerate Behaviour in Fluidized Beds

Fluidized bed agglomeration is used to stabilize particulate mixtures and reduce dust emissions. Agglomerates and granules that do not conform to size and shape specifications may create problems in downstream processes such as tableting, thus compromising process efficiency and product quality. The objective of the present study was to determine the critical agglomerate liquid content at which the rates of agglomerate growth and shrinkage are balanced when artificial agglomerates made from glass beads and water are introduced into a fluidized bed. This study investigated the effects of agglomerate size and fluidizing gas velocity on the critical initial liquid content. It was found that small agglomerates displayed higher critical initial moisture contents. The study also found that as the superficial gas velocity increased, the agglomerates started to break, rather than erode