Experimental study on fluidization, mixing and separation characteristics of binary mixtures of particles in a cold fluidized bed for biomass fast pyrolysis

To guarantee the uniform mixing of biomass and inert particles in the fluidized bed reactor for the full and complete reaction during the biomass fast pyrolysis process, a visualized cold fluidized bed experimental apparatus was set up to investigate the effects of static bed height, moisture content and particle diameter on the fluidization quality of single component particles, and the mixed volume ratio on the fluidization characteristics of binary mixtures. The results showed that the appropriate static bed height was significant for the stability of the fluidized bed. As the moisture content increased, the minimum fluidization velocity increased rapidly while the fluidization index continued to decrease. In addition, the fluidization performed on binary mixtures of larch/quartz sand-2 indicated that the same minimum fluidization velocity was the key parameter for the two kinds of particles to be fully fluidized simultaneously, avoiding the semi-fluidization phenomenon. The mixed volume ratio of larch (M = 10.3%)/quartz sand-2 and superficial gas velocity range were also the important factors affecting fluidization and mixing quality, and the optimal value were 1: 3 and 3-5 u(mf), respectively.