ENERGY TRANS FER/ CONVERSION

Recover Heat
from Hot Solids

Considerable energy can be recovered

from hot particulate solids. Here's a
KAMAL ADHAM, rundown of the equipment that can be
HATCH ASSOCIATES
used and the factors to consider in
selection and design.

T he chemical process industries

(CPI) often require the cooling of
solids, for example, following a
dryer, calciner, roaster, or combus-
tor. Such cooling can be done in various types
of equipment. Selection and design of the ap-
propriate system for each application depends
on the operating temperature, the solids' proper-
ties, chemical environment, heat-transfer rates,
and energy recovery potential.
This article describes several different kinds
of solids cooling technologies, discusses their
applicability and limitations, and compares how
each could or could not be used in three hypo-
thetical examples.
Process options
Cooling is often done by air or water, so this
discussion is limited to those two coolants.
Solid/solid heat transfer and the use of other
liquids and gases are not covered here.
Cooling basically involves direct contact or
indirect heat transfer between the solids and air
or water. Air can be blown at the solids, water
can be sprayed on them, or either air or water
can flow through cooling tubes or plates to indi-
rectly cool the solids. The solids can be moved
by gravity, mechanical means, or fluidization.
Thus, cooling processes can be categorized
based on two key characteristics: the type of
solids/coolant contact, and the means for pro-
viding solids flow.
Solids/coolant contact. Hot solids can be
contacted with air or water directly or indirectly.
In direct-contact cooling, the solids mix with the
coolant and reach thermal equilibrium. Normal-
ly, the solids and the coolant must be separated
in or after the cooler. This type of cooler usually
has a simpler design than an indirect cooler. Di-
rect air cooling can be used for energy recovery.
In indirect heat transfer, the solids and the
coolant are separated by a heat-transfer surface
(such as a tube wall). Provisions must be made
for the tube bundles, plates, etc.
Indirect cooling is usually done with water,
because it has a much higher heat capacity per
volume (requiring less flow) and it provides a
higher heat-transfer coefficient (requiring less
heat-transfer area). Energy recovery normally
involves vaporizing the water and using the
steam for power generation or process heating.
If no energy recovery is intended, hot water can
be sent to a cooling tower or pond for reuse.
Solids movement through the cooler. There
are several types of coolers that use different
means to introduce, convey, and discharge solids:
• stationary coolers;
• rotary coolers;
• fluidized beds; and
• conveyor coolers.

Chemical Engineering Progress August 2000 37

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 Stationary particulate solids have a ■ Figure 1.
Hot Stationary cooler with
low thermal conductivity. Most cool- Solids In
ing schemes, therefore, try to cause water-cooled plates.
some mixing and agitation it1 the
solid phase.
Solids agitation can produce high-
er heat-transfer coefficients, which
reduces the size of the cooler- and,
thus, the capital cost. However, solids
agitation requires mechanical work
and increases the power consumption
Cooling
and operating cost. Water Out
One notable exception is the sta-
tionary cooler, which makes use of
the gravity flow of solids between
closely packed cooling tubes or
plates. The close spacing of the cool-
ing elements reduces the heat con- Cooling
Water In
duction length and compensates for
the low thermal conductivity of the
packed solids.
Basis of comparison. Cooling op-
tions can be compared based on the
following considerations:
• physical and chemical properties
of the solid;
• energy efficiency and heat recov-
Cooled
ery requirements; Solids Out
• heat-transfer rate;
• equipment size and cost;
• auxiliary equipment required;
• operating cost for energy and Table 1. Definition of the examples.
maintenance; and
• control and operability. Inlet Outlet Particle Cooling
Temperature, °C Temperature, °C Size Duty, Meal/II
Three examples (Table 1) are pre-
sented here to compare different cool- Case 1 1,000 150 0.1 to 1.0 mm 2,100
ing schemes. Each involves cooling Case 2 300 70 5to50µm 575
10 t/h of particulate solids. The solids Case 3 600 100 0.1 to 50 mm 1,250
are assumed to have a heat capacity
(er) of 0.25 kcal/kg•°C, a thermal
conductivity (k) of 1.0 kcal/h•m•°C, is not suitable for wet, very fine, or flow, so there is a temperature gradi-
and a bulk density (p) of 1,000 kg/m3• sticky material. ent from the top to the bottom of the
It is also assumed that cooling water The spacing between the cooling cooler. Near the top, the material tem-
at 25°C or ambient air at 30°C can be plates limits the upper size of the ma- perature is close to the inlet tempera-
used as the cooling medium. terial that can flow through the cool- ture of the solids. If the solids are
er. However, increasing the plate very hot, the cooler shell and internal
Stationary coolers spacing to provide a wider flow chan- supports must be able to withstand
A stationary solids cooler can be nel has two negative impacts: the those high temperatures. Therefore,
as simple as a bin with internal cool- overall heat-transfer rate from the stationary coolers are normally used
ing surfaces (Figure 1) (J ). Solid par- plates to the bulk solids is reduced, for solids with moderate inlet temper-
ticles travel by gravity, are cooled be- and a bigger housing for the same atures of 400°C or less.
tween the heat exchanger plates, and cooling surface area is required. Stationary coolers have the fol-
discharged from the bottom of the Another limitation of a stationary lowing important advantages:
unit. This type of indirect cooler can cooler is the maximum solids inlet • compact design;
be used for free-flowing solids, but it temperature. Solids travel in plug • minimum auxiliary equipment;

38 August 2000 Chemical Engineering Progress

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 • little or no off-gas; and
• simple operation.
Sizing and design. Stationary
coolers have moderate heat-transfer
coefficients, which depend on the
thermal properties of the solids and
the cooling plate spacing. On the
other hand, the solids' near plug flow
maximizes the average temperature
differential between the solids and the
cooling plates.
Heat-conducting particles (such as
metal powders) can be cooled more
quickly than low-conductivity materi-
als. A smaller cooling plate spacing
results in faster heat transfer from the
solids. The cooling plate spacing is
usually dictated by the mechanical
design requirements and is typically
about 2-5 cm.
Figure 2 illustrates the temperature
profile between two cooler plates
with a slow-moving mass of solids
between them (2). The solids motion
is assumed to be so slow that a practi-
cally stagnant block of material is
cooled only by conduction to the two
side plates. When the material first
enters the cooler, the temperature pro-
file is flat, except near the walls
where it drops linearly to a value
close to the cooling medium tempera-
ture. As the material travels down the
cooler, the average material tempera-
ture drops. The material residence
time is chosen so that, at the bottom
of the cooler, the average material
temperature is equal to the specified
product temperature.
The unsteady-state heat transfer
from an infinite solid slab is covered
in various heat-transfer textbooks.
Ref. 2 presents the following equa-
tion (Eq. 1) for the average solid tem-
perature (Tavg) after the solid, which
is initially at T0 , is suddenly cooled at
its outer surfaces to T 1• In Eq. 1, a=
thermal diffusivity= klpcP (m2/h), b =
half of the solid thickness (m), and t
= cooling time (h).
L~ (
2 )2
n=O n +0.5 n 2 b
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Temperature
Cooling
Water
Metallic
Cooling
Surface
Travel Time
2b
Equation ) "is vai"10 when ine con-
vective heat-transfer coefficient of
the cooling water and the thermal
conductivity of the plate metal are
much larger than the thermal conduc-
tivity of the particulate solids. That is
often the case in industrial applica-
tions where nonmetallic particulates
are cooled with fast-flowing cooling
water inside thin-walled steel plates.
The exponential series in Eq. 1 con-
verges rapidly, and for all but very
small cooling times, the first four or
five terms are adequate for finding the
average solids temperature.
Examples. A stationary cooler is
not suitable for Case 1 because of its
high feed temperature (1,000°C).
Case 3 is also not a candidate for this
type of cooler because of the large
top size of the material (50 mm),
which makes a stationary cooler sus-
ceptible to frequent blockage.
The inlet temperature of the solids
in Case 2 is only 300°C. Such a low
inlet temperature and low solids rate
(10 t/h) seldom justify a heat recov-
ery system. Thus, only indirect cool-
ing with water and without heat re-
covery will be considered. The in-
coming cooling water is at 25°C, and
the temperature of the return cooling
water (as dictated by the cooling
2
exp ( - { n + 0.5 )2n
- 2a- t ) (1)
Chemical Engineering Progress
■ Figure 2.
Cross-sectional
temperature profile in
a stationary cooler.
lower ctes1gn anct material ol con-
struction) is 40°C. A cooling plate
side-to-side spacing (2b) of 4 cm is
assumed.
When material enters the cooler,
the surface of the 300°C solids is sud-
denly cooled to 40°C (the cooling
water return temperature). For eco-
nomic reasons, excessively low solids
temperatures should not be specified
unless they are truly required due to
the process or to material handling
conditions.
To achieve the 70°C target temper-
ature, 0.08 h (about 5 min) of cooling
time is required. For 10,000 kg/h
solids flow, this translates into 800 kg
or 0.8 m3 solids holdup in the cooling
section.
Feed distribution at the inlet and
uniform product withdrawal at the
exit are very important for utilizing
the full volume of the cooler. A
solids flow area of 0.5 m2 with a 0.7
m x 0.7 m cooling plate cross-section
is chosen. For the 0.8 m3 holdup, the
cooling height should be at least 1.6
m. For 4-cm side-to-side plate spac-
ing and about 2-cm cooling plate
thickness, this design requires 15
cooling plates with a total area of
about 33.6 m2.
Rotary coolers
· Rotary coolers can be used as di-
rect or indirect coolers with or with-
out energy recovery. They are versa-
tile and can handle different types of
August 2000 39
 solids with a wide range of physical
Hot
properties and particle-size distribu- Solids In
tion. They can also provide enhanced
heat transfer through the mechanical
agitation provided by the lifting and t Hot
dropping of the solids. Cooling Water In Off-gas
Several designs are available for
indirect cooling with water, which /
can use outer-shell water sprays or in-
side-shell tube banks (3). Figure 3
shows a generic rotary cooler with
provisions for both a water spray in
the shell and direct air cooling.
Indirectly cooled rotary coolers
require little off-gas treatment and
can be used for heat recovery in the
form of steam or hot water. Rotary
coolers with direct air/solid contact
require off-gas treatment; the hot off-
gas can subsequently be used for
steam generation or process heating.
In direct air cooling applications, air
Cold
Air In L Cooling Water Out

and solids can travel in a countercur-

rent fashion, which increases the
thermal efficiency.
The most important advantage of
rotary coolers is their simple design,
which enables them to handle a wide
range of solids. For coarse particles,
the rotary cooler is usually a good
choice. However, for free-flowing
material, it faces competition from
the other technologies (i.e., station-
ary, fluidized-bed, and conveyor
coolers).
Sizing and design. Rotary coolers
have been discussed in the literature
(3 ). Only the two more common
types of rotary coolers are considered
here - direct air coolers and indirect
water coolers.
The following parameters deter-
mine the sizing and design:
• heat balance and required air or
cooling water flow;
• required contact and heat-trans-
fer area;
• maximum allowable air velocity
for a direct cooler; and
• length-to-diameter (UD) ratio for
the cooler shell.
Rotary coolers commonly use an
UD ratio between 4 and 10. If the
UD ratio is too small, short-circuiting
can occur and some of the solids can
Cooled
Solids Out
■ Figure 3. Rotary cooler with both direct air and indirect water cooling.
leave the rotary chamber without suf-
ficient heat transfer. On the other
hand, a large aspect ratio increases
the cooler footprint and capital cost.
It is good practice to keep the
cooler diameter below 3 m for ease of
fabrication and transportation. Larg-
er-diameter coolers can be fabricated
on-site, although at an additional
cost.
All the solid particles should have
a chance to contact the cooling air or
the water-cooled shell. Bypassing can
occur if the feed material travels
quickly from the inlet to the dis-
charge. This requirement limits the
depth of material inside the cooler.
Normally, a solids fill fraction of
5-15% is used to prevent material by-
passing and to avoid excessive load
on the mechanical drives (3). This
corresponds to a charge depth of
30-40% of the rotary chamber radius.
In direct air coolers, solids are
cooled by direct contact with air, usu-
ally in a countercurrent fashion. Sub-
stantial heat recovery can be achieved
if the heated air can be used else-
where in the plant.
Thermal design of a direct air ro-
tary cooler begins with the overall
heat and mass balance. The required
flow of cooling air can be calculated
based on a chosen approach to equi-
librium. Normally, when the heated
air is used elsewhere in the process,
the consuming operation sets the re-
quired air temperature.
Next, a maximum air velocity is
selected based on the dusting prop-
erties of the material, and this veloc-
ity then sets the cooler diameter.
The cooler length is determined
from standard heat-transfer calcula-
tions and should be sufficient to
allow the required heat transfer from
the solids to the air. The following
approach (adapted from the proce-
dure for the design of rotary dryers
(4)) can be used in the absence of
specific design information for the
rotary cooler.

40 August 2000 Chemical Engineering Progress

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 First calculate the rotary chamber
length:
Table 2. Rotary cooler example - design parameters for
direct air cooled systems.
(2)
Parameter Case 1 Case2 Case 3
where L = rotary chamber length (m), Solids Rate, kg/h 10,000 10,000 10,000
N, = number of transfer units, and H 1
Solids Temperature, °C 1,000 to 150 300 to 70 600 to 150
= height of a transfer unit (m). The
Solids Size 0.1 to 1.0 mm 5to 50µm 0.1 to 50 mm
number of transfer units is given by
Air Outlet Temperature, °C 600 150 400
N, = f:..ta!LMTD ; Ma = Ta,ow - Ta.;,.
Air Flow, kg/h 14,900 19,200 12,200
and LMTD = [(Ts,;,. - Ta,0 11 ,) - (Ts,0 ,, , -
Ta,;,.)]/ln[(Ts,;,. - Ta,our)/(Ts,our - Ta, ;,,)]. Maximum Velocity, m/s 1.5 2
The ideal range for N 1 is 1.5 to 2.5. Number of Transfer Units 2.45 1.4 2.36
The height of a transfer unit is given Rotary Diameter, m 2.9 2.8 2.0
by H 1 = Gc,J(Ua) ; where Ua = the Rotary Length, m 27 17 21
overall volumetric heat-transfer coef-
ficient= 237G0 -67/D. For these calcu-
lations, Ta,in• Ta,out' TS,in' and Ts,out are Table 3. Rotary cooler example - design parameters for
the inlet and outlet temperatures of indirect water cooled systems.
the gas and solids, respectively ( C), 0

G = gas mass-flow rate per unit area

Parameter Case 1 Case 2 Case 3
(kg/m2•s), cP = gas heat capacity
0
(J/kg• C) , and D = rotary chamber in- Solids Rate, kg/h 10,000 10,000 10,000
side diameter (m). Solids Temperature, °C 1,000 to 150 300 to 70 600 to 150
Several indirect water cooler de- Water Return Temperature, °C 40 40 40
signs are possible. Here, a simple Water Flow, m3/h 142 38 75
water-cooled-shell design is consid- Rotary Diameter, m 1.7 1.7 1.5
ered. There is no heat recovery with
Rotary Length, m 12 12 10
this kind of cooler, but its size and
capital cost are less than those of the
In the absence of spec ific equipment information, an UD aspect ration of 7 and an overall heat-transfer
direct air cooled system because of
coefficient of 85 kcal/h•m 1•'C have been assumed .
the better heat-transfer characteristics
of water.
Process design of the water-cooled
rotary cooler is based on: Table 4. Rotary cooler example - comparison between
• water flow rate, which depends direct air and indirect water cooling.
on the cooling duty and the maximum
water return temperature; Case 1 Case 3
• cooling area, which depends on Parameter Air Water Air Water
the overall heat-transfer coefficient
for the rotary cooler and can vary be- Rotary Size, m 2.9 X 27 1.7 X 12 2.0 x 21 1.5 X 10
tween 50 to 100 kcal/h•m 2•°C; and Energy Recovery, Mcal/h 1,700 760
• diameter and length, which de- Natural Gas Saving, Nm 3/h 200 90
pend on the selected aspect ratio of CO 2 Abatement, kg/h 390 180
the rotary chamber.
Examples. A direct air rotary
cooler is not a good choice for Case
2, because a larger chamber would be tary cooler is promising for Cases 1 cooled and indirect water-cooled ro-
required to achieve the same duty as and 3, because high-temperature out- tary coolers, respectively, for the
a much smaller stationary cooler, let air streams are generated. More- three case studies.)
Also, the heated air is going to be over, the Case 3 solids are very The choice between a direct air
very dusty, and with a temperature of coarse and cannot be easily pro- cooler and an indirect water cooler
only 150°C, it is unlikely to be useful cessed in other types of coolers. (Ta- should be made based on economic
elsewhere in the plant. bles 2 and 3 show the design parame- and environmental considerations. If
On the other hand, a direct air ro- ters for countercurrent direct air- the hot air generated can be used for

Chemical Engineering Progress August 2000 41

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 .
ENERGY TRAN SEER /CoNYERS10N
drying or combustion, the direct air
cooler becomes more attractive.
(Table 4 compares the air and water
rotary coolers for Cases 1 and 3.)
Fluidized-bed coolers
Small particulate solids become
fluidized when the gas flow passing
through the bed of solids is sufficient.
A bubbling fluidized bed behaves
much like a pool of liquid, with ex-
cellent heat transfer between the
solids and the fluidizing gas or the
vessel walls and internals (5 ). There
are practical limits on the particle size
of solids that can be fluidized -
coarse material (larger than 2 cm) is
difficult to fluidize, and very fine
powders (smaller than 10 microns)
resist smooth fluidization.
The fluidized bed is a well-mixed
medium with uniform material tem-
perature. It is equivalent to a single-
stage heat-transfer operation. To im-
prove thermal efficiency, staging is
necessary to gain the benefit of
countercurrent or cascade opera-
tions. Figure 4 illustrates a three-
stage fluidized bed with indirect
water cooling.
Energy can be recovered in two
ways. Hot air can be generated by
maximizing the fluidizing air flow
through the solids. Alternatively, the
air flow can be kept close to the mini-
mum required for uniform fluidiza-
tion and steam generated in the tube
bundles.
If heat recovery is not required,
the continuous state of agitation in a
fluidized-bed makes water spray
cooling possible (Figure 5). The agi-
tation eliminates the risk of local
wetting.
When spray cooling is utilized, the
fluidizing air velocity is maintained at
several times the minimum fluidiza-
tion velocity to maintain a well-agi-
tated bed. Spray water is normally
supplied from several nozzles just
above or below the bed level. To pre-
vent solids wetting and defluidiza-
tion, the bed temperature is usually
maintained at about 150°C. The most
important advantage of a fluidized-
42 August 2000 Chemical Engineering Progress
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Hot
Solids In - - ~
Cooling
Water
In/Out
Fluidizing Air Distribution Plate
Air In
■ Figure 4. Three-stage fluidized-bed coo ler with indirect water cooling
bed spray cooler is its compact design
due to the high heat-transfer rate of
direct water vaporization.
The main characteristics of flu-
idized-bed coolers can be summa-
rized as follows:
• They can handle free-flowing,
fine, and nonsticky material.
• Energy efficiency and heat re-
covery are best .achieved in multiple-
stage units.
• Excellent heat-transfer rates
make for compact equipment.
• They need auxiliary equipment,
including an air blower and off-gas
treatment.
• They are easy to control and
have no maintenance-intensive mov-
ing parts.
Sizing and design. The feed and
product backmixing in fluidized beds
creates a flat temperature profile, in
effect equal to the product tempera-
ture. Therefore, the thermal driving
force for heat transfer is limited to the
temperature difference between the
final product and the coolant. This
problem can be solved by staging. In-
creasing the number of stages brings
Hot Off-gas
Cooled
Solids Out
the temperature profile closer to plug-
flow operation, but practical consid-
erations normally limit the maximum
number of stages to three to five.
On the other hand, the solids mix-
ing in a fluidized bed allows one to
avoid operating at the high inlet
solids temperatures. Therefore, in the
case of a direct spray cooler process-
ing a l ,000°C feed, the bed tempera-
ture can be maintained at as low as
150°C, which can considerably re-
duce the equipment cost.
A realistic assumption for the de-
sign of a direct air-cooled fluidized-
bed cooler is that the fluidizing air
and the solids reach thermal equilibri-
um at each stage of the cooler. First,
the number of stages and the temper-
ature profile are assumed. Then, the
air flow rate to each stage is calculat-
ed based on the heat balance. Next,
the maximum allowable air velocity
to each stage is determined based on
the fluidization characteristics of the
solids. The maximum air velocity
then determines the cross-sectional
area of the unit.
In a spray cooler the bulk of the
 ■ Figure 5. perature profile. Heat balances for
Off-gas Fluidized-bed spray each stage yield the required heat
cooler.
transfer to the coolant. Then, the
cooling surface area can be found
based on an overall heat-transfer co-
efficient. Finally, the type and size of
the cooling surfaces sets the dimen-
sions of each fluidized-bed stage.
Examples. In Case 3, the solids
Free board are too coarse (0.1 to 50 mm) to be
conveniently processed in a fluidized
Spray bed. Spray cooling cannot be readily
Water used for Case 2 due to the low tem-
perature (70°C) of the product; also,
Hot the low material temperature and
Feed~ ~ ~ cooling duty of Case 2 prevent suc-
cessful heat recovery. For Case 1, all
Ruidized Bed three types of cooling are possible.
Let's first consider an air-cooled
three-stage fluidized bed for Case 1.
~ Neglecting heat losses, the tempera-
Cooled
Distributor ture profile among the three stages is
Solids
set so that a 300°C hot air stream is
produced. This hot air can be used for
t
Fluidizing Ai r
drying or as preheated combustion
air.
A fluidizing velocity of 1.5 mis is
selected to keep the largest particles
(1 mm) well-fluidized without caus-
cooling is done by vaporization of the lated based on the total gas-flow rate ing excessive solids entertainment.
water. The amount of spray water is and the desired fluidizing velocity. This velocity results in a 9.5 m 2
calculated from the overall heat bal- Indirect water cooling can be done cross-sectional area, which can be
ance. The spray water is vaporized with energy recovery through steam about 1.6 m wide x 6 m long. A shal-
and mixed with the fluidizing air be- generation, or without energy recov- low bed of no more than 0.5 m can
fore leaving as off-gas. The required ery by using cooling water. Both pro- be used for this operation, but 3--4 m
air/water ratio dictates the amount of cesses can use immersed tube bun- of freeboard height is normally re-
fluidizing air and is set to prevent dles or cooling plates inside the flu- quired for disengaging the solids
condensation in the off-gas system. idized bed. Design begins by choos- from the off-gas (5). (Table 5 gives
The bed cross-sectional area is calcu- ing the number of stages and the tern- further details.)
For Case 2, cooling from 300°C to
70°C can be done in a single-stage
Table 5. Fluidized-bed cooler example - direct air cool- fluidized-bed unit. Neglecting heat
ing in a three-stage fluidized bed for Case 1. losses, 57,500 kg/h of 30°C ambient
air will be required. However, the
Parameter Overall Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 solids are very fine and can be readily
entrained by the fluidizing air flow.
Solids Flow, kg/h 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 Therefore, instead of a small fluidiz-
Solids Inlet Temperature, c 0
1,000 1,000 666 332 ing velocity and a large and expen-
Solids Outlet Temperature, c 0
150 666 332 150 sive unit, a high-velocity transport
Ai r Flow, kg/h 31,500 5,200 11,100 15,200 fluid bed (Figure 6) can be used.
Air Outlet Temperature, 0
c 300 666 332 150 The transport fluid bed (TFB)
Air Flow Rate, m3/h 51,000 13,900 18,900 18,200 works like a dense-phase pneumatic
Maximum Velocity, m/s 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 conveyor that both cools and lifts the
Bed Area, m2 9.5 2.14 2.60 5.23 particulate solids. A conveying gas
velocity of 5-10 mis and a gas/solids

Chemical Engineering Progress August 2000 43

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 ENERGY TRANSFER /CoNvER51DN.

Off-gas
Table 6. Fluidized-bed cooler example - spray water
cooler for Case 1.
Parameter Solids Air Water

High Inlet Temperature, °C 1,000 30 25

Efficiency Outlet Temperature, °C 150 150 150
Cyclone Flow Rate, kg/h 10,000 5,081 3,154
Heat Capacity, kca l/kg °C 0.25 0.25 1
Transport Latent Heat, kcal/kg 505
Fluid Bed Off-Gas Flow Rate, m3/h 6,081 6,081

Hot Cooled
Solids system. This air flow rate is also cold makeup water. The overall tem-
Feed
enough to provide uniform fluidiza- perature profile is set to provide
tion (u1 = 0.75 mis) even without the enough preheated makeup water in
spray water flow. (More information Stage 3 for steam generation in the
appears in Table 6.) first two stages_
Indirect cooling with steam gener- The overall heat-transfer coeffi-
Fluidizing Air ation can be used for energy recovery cient CU) between the fluidized bed
for Case 1. However, in Case 2, the and the cooling surfaces is a function
■ Figure 6. Transport fluid bed (TFB) with
solids temperature is too low for of the properties of the solids and the
direct air cool ing. steam generation, so heat transfer to a fluidizing conditions. Normally, U is
cooling water source should be used about 200-300 kcal/h•m 2•°C, with
for energy recovery there. higher U values the result of radiation
mass ratio between 1: 1 and 2: 1 is In Case 1, for energy-efficient at temperatures above 600°C (5).
normally used. With a gas velocity of steam generation, a three-stage flu- For typical tube bundles, the heat-
10 mis, the TFB inside diameter is idized bed is considered. It is as- transfer area in a 1-2 m deep flu-
1.4 m. Heat transfer between the gas sumed that low-pressure steam at 4 idized bed is 10-15 m2 per square
and the dispersed solid particles is atm and 150°C can be used for heat- meter of the bed cross-sectional area.
very fast and no more than a second ing in the plant. Considering the final A fluidizing velocity of 0.5 mis is
of contact time is normally required. solids temperature (150°C), cooling chosen for the indirect cooler to mini-
Therefore, assuming a negligible slip in the last stage should be done by the mize the tube bundle erosion and off-
velocity between the fine (5 to 50
µm) solids and the gas, a 10-m-high
TFB should be sufficient for heat Table 7. Fluidized-bed cooler example - heat recovery
transfer. via steam generation for Case 1.
Direct spray water in a fluidized
bed can only be used for Case 1. With
Parameter Overall Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3
a fluidizing velocity (u} of 1.5 mis,
this spray cooler only requires about Solids Inlet Temperature, °C 1,000 1,000 505 290
2.2 m2 of bed cross-sectional area. Solids Outlet Temperature, 0 c 150 505 290 150
This is considerably less than the 9.5 Inlet Water Temperature, °C 25 115 115 25
m2 that was required for direct air Outlet Water/Steam Temperature, °C 150 150 150 115
cooling with heat recovery to the hot Water/Steam Flow Rate, kg/h 3,000 2,150 3,000
850
off-gas. The higher capital cost of the
Overall U, kcal/h/m2/°C 200 200 200
direct air cooler should be offset by
Heat-Transfer Area , m2 47 15 15 17
the energy savings obtained by using
Bed Cross-Sectional Area, m2 4.7 1.5 1.5 1.7
the hot off-gas.
The air/water ratio in the spray Volumetric air flow, Nm 3/h 4,250 950 1,350 1,950
cooler is set by the allowed off-gas Off-Gas Temperature, °C 275 505 290 150
dew point. For an 80°C dew point, a Fraction of Cooling by Air 16% 12% 21 % 22%
1: 1 air/water volumetric ratio is used
to prevent condensation in the off-gas

44 August 2000 Chemical Engineering Progress

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
 gas volume. The hot off-gas at about
275°C carries 16% of the recovered
energy and can also be used as a heat
source in the plant. (See Table 7 for
additional details.)
For the Case 2 design, cooling
water is considered to enter the in-
bed tube bundles at 25°C and leave at
40°C. A two-stage cooler is used to
increase the heat-transfer efficiency
and reduce the equipment size. The
solids temperature profile between
the two stages is set in order to have
two identical stages. (Table 8 shows
the results of this approximate calcu-
lation for the Case 2 indirect cooler.)
A fluidized-bed indirect water
cooler can also be used for Case 1.
There is no energy recovery in the
form of steam, but for a three-stage
unit, the total heat-transfer area can
be reduced from 47 m2 to 29 m2 •
Conveyor coolers
There are practically as many con-
veyor coolers as there are conveyors.
Several important types include: ver-
tical spiral coolers, moving grate
coolers, vibrating pan coolers, and
screw conveyor coolers (3). Only the
screw conveyor cooler (Figure 7), the
most common type, is covered here.
The screw conveyor cooler is nor-
mally used for the indirect cooling of
solids with water. Water can flow
through the conveyor shell, the hol-
low shaft, and the flights of the
Table 8. Fluidized-bed cooler example - indirect cooler
, for Case 2
Parameter Overall
Solids Inlet Temperature, °C 300
Solids Outlet Temperature, °C 70
Cooling Water Flow Rate, m3/h 31 .5
Overall U, kcal/h/m2/°C
Heat-Transfer Area, m2 34
Bed Cross-sectional Area, m2 3.4
Vol umetric Air Flow, Nm 3/h 4,600
Off-Gas Temperature, °C 99
Fraction of Cooling by Air 18%
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
■ Figure 7.
Double screw
conveyor with indirect
Solids
water cooling.
In
Water - - - , , -~p;--,
In
Solids
Out
~ - - ~ - - -- Wate r
Out
screw. Energy recovery is limited to Sizing and design. The main de-
the production of warm water. Mate- sign parameters for screw conveyor
rial flow is close to plug flow, and the coolers are the required heat-trans-
overall heat-transfer coefficient is fer area and the solids conveying
moderate due to the gentle motion of capacity.
solids between the flights. For large Screw conveyor coolers can have
cooling loads, multiple units are single or multiple screws, but their
used. Auxiliary equipment (a motor maximum length is typically 8.5 m
and drive for the screw) is required, and each unit typically has no more
but no off-gas treatment system is than 150 m2 of heat-transfer area (6).
needed. Preliminary designs can be prepared
Screw conveyors can cool, carry, by calculating the required heat-trans-
and control solids flow over a wide fer load. The overall heat-transfer co-
range of temperatures. However, efficient depends on the exact design
coarse material (larger than 12 mm) and the properties of the solids, but U
and very hot solids (above 1,200°C) values of about 40 kcal/h•m 2•°C can
cannot be easily processed in screw be expected. The temperature driving
coolers. Screw conveyor coolers are force is similar to that for stationary
advantageous when both material coolers, and a logarithmic mean tem-
cooling and conveying are desired. perature driving force (LMTD) as de-
scribed in Eq. 2 should be used for
the calculations.
Examples. For both Case 1 and
Case 2, indirect water cooling can be
employed. However, in Case 3 the
solids are too coarse (0.1 to 50 mm)
Stage 1 Stage 2 to be handled in a screw conveyor
300 135 cooler.
135 70 Comparable heat-transfer areas are
23.0 8.5
required for Cases 1 and 2. Although
the cooling load in Case 2 is consid-
200 200
erably less than that in Case 1, its
17 17
temperature driving force is also cor-
1.7 1.7
respondingly lower. It requires more
2,100 2,500 heat-transfer area to cool the solids to
135 70 low temperatures and, therefore, a
17% 20% low final temperature should not be
specified for the cooler, unless it is
Chemical Engineering Progress August 2000 45
 ENERGY TRAN5Ern/CaNvrnswN

Table 9. Conveyor cooler example - indirect water Literature Cited

> cooling for Cases 1 and 2
Parameter
Solids Inlet Temperature, 0
c 1,000
Solids Outlet Temperature, °C
Cooling Water return Temperature, °C
Cooling Water Flow Rate, mJ/h
Overall U, kcal/h/m 1/C
Heat-Transfer Area, m1
Number of Units in Series
Screw Diameter, m
Length of One Unit, m
strictly required. (The design details
are provided in Table 9.)
The detailed design of screw con-
veyor coolers often requires testing
and input from the equipment suppli-
er. Double screws are used to in-
crease the heat-transfer area of the
units. Two double-screw units (in se-
ries) are specified for both applica-
tions, except a shorter cooler is used
for Case 2. Also, the Case 2 equip-
ment cost will be less than Case 1 be-
cause of the lower Case 2 operating
temperature.
1. Mueller, M. M., "Method and Appa-
ratus for Cooling Particulate Solids,"
Case 1 Case 2 U.S. Patent No. 5,167,274 (Dec. I,
1992).
300 2. Bird, R. B., W. E. Stewart, and E. N.
150 70 Lightfoot, "Transport Phenomena,"
40 40 Wiley, New York, pp. 354-357 and p.
373 (1960).
142 38
3. Perry, R. H., and D. W. Green,
40 40 "Perry's Chemical Engineers' Hand-
130 120 book," 7th ed., Sections 10 and 11,
2 2 McGraw-Hill, New York (1997).
0.6 0.6 4. Treybal, R. E., "Mass Transfer Oper-
ations," 3rd ed., Chapter 12, McGraw-
7.5 6.0
Hill, New York (1980).
5. Kunii, D., and 0. Levenspiel, "Flu-
idization Engineering," 2nd ed., But-
terworth-Heinemann, Boston, MA, pp.
Final thoughts
313-323 (1991).
Considerable amounts of energy 6. Svedala Pumps and Process, "Basic
can be recovered from hot particulate Selection Guide for Process Equip-
solids in the CPI. However, not all of ment," 4th ed., Section 8, Svedala
the hot solids' energy can be effi- Pumps and Process, Colorado Springs,
ciently recovered, especially when co (1996).
the incoming solids temperature is
low.
Different types of equipment can In each case, the final equip-
be used for heat transfer from the ment selection and design should
solids. To illustrate some of the selec- be done based on the exact process
tion and design issues, the results of application, capital vs. operating
the examples are summarized in cost evaluation and environmental
Table 10. considerations. Wll

Table 10. Summary of the case study results.

Cooler Case1 Case 2 Case3 Coolant K. ADHAM is a specialist and supervising
engineer in Hatch Associates,
Stationary Too Hot 1X1X2H Too Coarse Indirect Water Mississauga, ONT (Phone: (905) 403-
3877; Fax: (905) 855-8270; E-mail:
Rotary 2.9 D x 27 L 2.8 D x 17 L 2.0 D x 21 L Direct Air kadham@hatch.ca), where his
1.70 X 12L 1.7D x 12L 1.5 D x 10 L Indirect Water responsibilities include equipment design,
process development and optimization,
Fluid Bed 1.6 W x 6 L x 4 H 1.4 D x 10 H Too Coarse Direct Air feasibility studies, pilot programs, and
plant troubleshooting. Recently, he
1.7D x 5H Low Temperature Too Coarse Direct Water
worked on the detailed design and
1 W x 4.7 L x 4 H Low Temperature Too Coarse Indirect Steam implementation of several high-
1 W x 2.9 L x 4 H 1 W x 3.4 L x 4 H Too Coarse Indirect Water temperature processes for particulate
solids. He has specialized in two-phase
Screw 2 units each 2 units each Too Coarse Indirect Water flow systems, especially for gas/solid and
gas/liquid applications. He holds a BS
1.2W x 7.5L 1.2 W x 6 L
from Isfahan Univ. ofTechnology, an MS
from Tehran Univ. of Technology, and a
Preferred Fluid Bed Stationary Rotary
PhD from the Univ. of Toronto, all in
Options Screw Fluid Bed chemical engineering. He is a registered
professional engineer in the province of
Ontario and a member of AIChE.
Note: Dimensions for diameter ID), length (L), and height (H) are given in meters.

46 August 2000 Chemical Engineering Progress

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.