Drying of Biomass Particles: Experimental Study and Comparison of the Performance of a Conventional Fluidized Bed and a Rotating Fluidized Bed in a Static Geometry

Abstract

The performance of a conventional fluidized bed and a rotating fluidized bed in a static geometry (RFB-SG) for the drying of woody biomass is experimentally studied. The performance with respect to the specific biomass drying rate, product uniformity, and air utilization is evaluated. RFB-SGs are shown to intensify the drying process by easily one order of magnitude, due to a combination of increased gas–solid slip velocities and improved particle bed density and uniformity. The cost in terms of increased and less efficient air utilization can be minimized by optimizing the RFB-SG drying chamber design.

Keywords:

• Biomass drying
• Process intensification
• Rotating fluidized bed

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge Luc Wautier for his technical support. The authors also thank the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) for financial support under project FRFC No. 2.4620.11.

Notes

For experimental setup and conditions see Table 1.

For experimental setup and conditions see Table 1.

Theoretical values based on different correlations for the coefficients of interfacial heat and mass transfer and neglecting intraparticle diffusion limitations and nonuniformities in the particle bed. FB at 6 g/s and RFB-SG at 12 g/s solids feed rate.

For experimental setup and other conditions see Table 1.