AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY OF AXIAL-DISPERSION IN A COUNTERCURRENT MAGNETICALLY STABILIZED FLUIDIZED-BED

The Magnetically Stabilized Fluidized Bed (MSFB) represents the adaptation of continuous counter-current separation technology to a fluidized gas-solid or liquid-solid adsorptive separation. The results of this experimental study demonstrate recent advances in the efficiency of this separation technology. This study focused on the axial dispersion in an MSFB and methods for its reduction; axial dispersion accounts for up to 95% of the height equivalent to a theoretical plate (HETP) of an MSFB. For uniform magnetic field operation, axial dispersion is minimized by operating at the minimum fluidizing flow rate with the magnetic field at the lowest strength that is capable of stabilizing the bed. The lowest dispersion, D = 0.0245 cm2/s, occurred at 20 G and minimum fluidization velocity. The use of a magnetic field that is applied intermittently instead of a continuous magnetic field to stabilize a magnetically susceptible fluidized bed has demonstrated an axial dispersion reduction of 79% relative to the optimum operation at a low stabilizing magnetic field strength of 40 G.