Recent advances in studies of wet particle fluidization characteristics

Wet particle fluidization is commonly applied in some industries such as catalytic cracking, pharmaceutical manufacturing, mineral processing, food drying, etc. Understanding the within fluidization characteristics is important for the scale-up, design and optimization of industrial process. This article reviews the recent studies on fluidization characteristics of wet particles in fluidized beds and spouted beds. Both physical experiment and numerical simulation results are included. For physical experiments, the focus is on the development of new measurement methods and the resulting findings. For numerical simulations, the focus is especially on the development of the discrete element method (DEM) which can lead to new insights for wet particle fluidization at particle scale. Finally, challenges and needs for future research on wet particle fluidization are discussed.

Automated summary

This article reviews the recent studies on the fluidization characteristics of wet particles in fluidized beds and spouted beds, including physical experiments and numerical simulations. The findings of these studies are important for the industrial applications of wet particle fluidization, aiding in the scale-up, design, and optimization of processes. The focus of the physical experiments is on the development of new measurement methods and related findings, while the focus of the numerical simulations is on the development of discrete element method (DEM) to provide new insights into wet particle fluidization at the particle scale. The challenges and needs for future research on wet particle fluidization are also discussed.