Process intensification in micro-fluidized bed systems: A review

•Hydrodynamic properties of MFB are reviewed and summarized.•Good mixing and transfer rate make MFB widely used for solid processing.•MFB presents huge potential in CO2 capture, wastewater treatment and bioprocessing.•Current bottlenecks of MFB for process intensification are summarized. Micro-fluidized bed (MFB) is a novel technology for engineering processing and screening application due to its good mixing, high mass/heat transfer, reduced reaction time and cost, but issues that remain unresolved are the low fluidization quality and scalability. In this review paper, fundamental and characteristic studies are reviewed to gain an understanding of the miniaturized fluidized bed system for rapid processing and screening. Subsequently, recent progresses of the MFB applications are evaluated and compared with other types of reactors from the perspective of process intensification (PI). Finally, the challenges and prospects of this technology for PI are also discussed. [Display omitted]