Experimental study on the temperature distribution in fluidised beds

Heat management problems often prevail in reactors when highly exothermic chemical reactions occur. In these situations, fluidised bed reactors are often preferred due to their excellent heat transfer capabilities. However, the design, scale-up and operation of these reactors is still challenging due to the complex hydrodynamics. To gain a better understanding on the heat transport in these reactors, the degree of temperature non-uniformity for several fluidisation regimes in a pseudo-2D fluidised bed was quantified using Infra-Red Thermography. The Probability Density Functions were obtained from the whole-field temperature data, which were quantified using the standard deviation, i.e. the width of the distribution, and skewness, i.e. the dominant temperatures in the distribution. Based on the heat loss data and bubble frequencies, the standard deviation and skewness are good indicators for the solids mixing behaviour for the studied fluidisation regimes. In addition, the effect of spout velocity on the thermal characteristics was studied.