Circulating fluidized bed reactors – Experimental optimization of loopseal aeration and parametric study using CPFD simulations

Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology has diverse applications from process industry to energy generation. Experimental studies were performed in a CFB to analyse the effect of loopseal aeration for the rate of particle circulation, which is a crucial process parameter. The experimental data were used to re-evaluate the performance of optimized particle modeling parameters in computational particle fluid dynamic (CPFD) simulations. Two sand particle sizes of 850–1000 μm and 1000–1180 μm were used in the experiments with varying loopseal aeration. The experiments could conclude that the rate of circulation is possible to improve greatly by slight reduction of the particle size. The aeration at the standpipe of the loopseal showed a higher contribution for the circulation than bottom aeration. CPFD simulations could capture exact rate of particle circulation and the core-annulus structure in the riser section. Subsequently, the duly validated CPFD model was used to analyse the particle residence time, effects of particle inventory and the riser aeration. Particle hydrodynamics in the loopseal and the riser exit. [Display omitted] •Rate of particle circulation in circulating fluidized beds is greatly affected by the riser aeration and the particle size.•Computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD) is an efficient tool in parameter optimization.•CPFD model revalidation in varying boundary conditions and particle properties improves the model's reproducibility.