Hydrodynamic performance of spouted beds with different types of draft tubes

Hydrodynamic performance of spouted beds with four different types of draft tubes has been investigated experimentally. In this work, irregular and angular particles were used as the spouting solids and the results were compared with those of the previous work in which regular and round particles had been used. It was found that the conical cylindrical porous draft tube was the best option for solid gas contact and solids circulation as in the case of round particles. Moreover, by using conical cylindrical porous draft tube, the gas flow rate through the annulus reached 65-70%, equal to the level of a conventional spouted bed. (C) 2013 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.