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Article
Digital X-ray Imaging Technique to Study the Horizontal Injection of Gas-Liquid Jets into Fluidized Beds
International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering (2012)
  • Siva Ariyapadi, University of Western Ontario
  • David W. Holdsworth, Robarts Research Institute
  • Chris J.D. Norley, Robarts Research Institute
  • Franco Berruti, University of Western Ontario
  • Cedric Briens, University of Western Ontario
Abstract

Gas-liquid jets injected into fluidized beds of particles/catalyst find applications in many industrial processes. The effective distribution and mixing of the feed droplets with the entrained bed particles is vital in improving the process efficiency. The present study utilizes a sophisticated digital X-ray imaging system to study the internal flow structure of jets injected into fluidized beds. The system is equipped with an X-ray image intensifier (XRII) and optical detectors, which convert the transmitted X-ray photons into digital images of up to 60 frames s-1. The imaging technique provides useful information such as the jet expansion angle and the penetration distance. These are functional quantities in optimizing the performance of feed nozzles, and in modeling the jet-fluidized bed interactions.

In this work, the horizontal injection of gas, gas-liquid, and liquid jets into fluidized beds is investigated. The results indicate that the jet expansion (half-angle) is considerably reduced for a gas-liquid jet (5-7 degrees) when compared to that of a gas jet (10-15 degrees). The gas-liquid jet also appears to penetrate more than a gas jet with the same momentum. When a liquid feed is introduced into a fluidized bed of particles, the particles may agglomerate if they are wet-enough to form liquid bridges. Improper feed distribution may be a direct contributor to enhanced agglomeration. In this regard, radio-opaque tracers mixed with the feed liquid are injected to track the formation and the movement of agglomerates. The tracer experiments show that the agglomerates are generated at the end of the jet region, close to its maximum penetration distance. A brief discussion on the modifications required to achieve improved contrast for the acquired images, and the effect of some important X-ray parameters are also included in the present study.

Keywords
  • Fluidized bed,
  • gas-liquid jet,
  • half-angle,
  • jet penetration distance,
  • radio-opaque tracer,
  • X-ray imaging
Publication Date
March 2, 2012
Citation Information
Siva Ariyapadi, David W. Holdsworth, Chris J.D. Norley, Franco Berruti, et al.. "Digital X-ray Imaging Technique to Study the Horizontal Injection of Gas-Liquid Jets into Fluidized Beds" International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Vol. 1 (2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/cedric_briens/11/