1726 P. Basu, J.

Butler / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 1723–1731

Fig. 4. Loop-seal setup with finite passage length as used in current work. It also shows the spread angle (a) and the angle of repose (b).

2. Experimentation QH by the vertical cross-section area of the passage, AH. The solid
velocity through the passage is computed from the solid volume
Experiments were conducted in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) flux and the voidage at minimum fluidization. Fluid drag, which
test rig consisting of a riser, two gas/solid separators (a cyclone and is proportional to the gas–solid slip velocity, is an important con-
a U-beam separator), a standpipe connected to a butterfly valve tributor to the motion of solids through the horizontal passage.
and a loop-seal operated at room temperature (Fig. 1). A bag filter The gas–solid relative velocity, U H;rel in the horizontal passage
is also installed to capture solid particles that escape the cyclone. was computed by subtracting this solid velocity from the superfi-
The riser is made of Plexiglas for clear visibility, and has an internal cial air velocity, through it.
diameter of 0.152 m and height of 5.181 m. More details of the The solid inventory in the CFB was held constant in each set of
experimental setup are given by Butler [3]. experiments. The solid flow rate was measured by closing a butter-
fly valve at the top of the standpipe and measuring the time it took
2.1. Solids recirculation for the solids to fill a known volume. Mass flux was calculated by
dividing the measured flow rate of the solids by the cross-sectional
The recycle system includes a standpipe (71 mm  80 mm area of the horizontal passage.
cross-section and 3355 mm high) connected to a loop-seal as
shown in Fig. 1. The supply (101 mm  101 mm) and recycle 2.2. Measurement of minimum fluidization velocity
chambers (101 mm  101 mm) are connected by a horizontal sec-
tion of variable length, L (Fig. 4). The height of the passage, H is Minimum fluidization velocity is an important property of gran-
82 mm, and its width passage 101 mm. It was made up of multiple ular solids. It affects how the solids flow through a loop-seal. So,
vertical slices of the passage cross-section for easy adjustment of this property of the solids was also studied in the present research.
its length, L. Thus the length of the horizontal section, L could be Several correlations are available in published literature including
varied easily within 176–246 mm by adjusting the number of ver- one for spherical and non-spherical particles given by Grace [11]
tical slices. The recycle chamber is 400 mm high, but one of its given below.
walls is only 200 mm high to serve as the overflow weir. Solids
l h 2 i
flow over this weir to drop into the recycle pipe connecting to U mf ¼ ðC 1 þ C 2 ArÞ0:5  C 1 ð1Þ
dp qg
the riser.
Equal amounts of air were fed under the supply and recycle q ðq q Þgd3
where C1 = 27.2; C2 = 0.0408, and Ar ¼ g p l2 g p .
chambers of the loop-seal, with no aeration below the horizontal These correlations are based on the Ergun equation of pressure
passage. The fluidizing velocity in the riser was kept constant at drop across granular solids, which is an empirical relation with
5.86 m/s as the bottom aeration of the loop-seal was varied be- large error band. The Ergun equation, given below is for a non-
tween 0 and 0.0063 m3/s. Airflow rate in the riser was measured spherical particle.
using a duct-type flow meter. For the loop-seal aeration, three
2
rotameters were used, one measuring and controlling the total DP ð1  eÞ2 lU ð1  eÞ qg U
flow rate feeding the two. Two other rotameters measured the flow ¼ 150 þ 1:75 ð2Þ
Ls e3
ðUs dp Þ 2 e ðUs dp Þ
3
through individual chambers. Aeration in the horizontal passage is
expressed as UH that is the superficial horizontal air velocity where us is the sphericity of the particle, and e the voidage within
through the passage. It is calculated by dividing the airflow rate, the particle packing.