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The force exerted on particles is of great significance to the flow and reaction characteristics of particles in gasifier. In this study, the unbalanced thrust, especially its magnitude, of a single char particle induced by chemical reactions during combustion process is investigated numerically, based on the random distribution of active sites. It is revealed that the nonuniform distribution of active sites directly leads to the nonuniform release of gaseous products, which accounts for the net induced thrust of particles. The effects of active site ratio, ambient gas temperature and particle diameter on the induced thrust of reaction particle were investigated. The results show that the induced thrust on particles could be equal to the magnitude of particle gravity. The induced thrust decreases with the increase of active area and particle diameter. And it is enhanced with the increase of ambient temperature.

During the coating and drying of thin polymer-particle composites, the particle geometry has a big impact on the prediction of concentration profiles in the dry film. In this work, a plate-like geometry is used to evaluate the mass transport of the particles with the aspect ratio as a variable. The experimental determination of the viscosity and sedimentation rates allows to simulate concentration profiles in the wet film while drying. A previous simulation model was automatized to describe the drying of the plate-like particles-polyvinyl alcohol-water material system using COMSOL with the initial concentration, aspect ratio, Péclet number, and Sedimentation number as input parameters. The results are summarized in drying regime maps, which show an increase of the evaporation regime, when the aspect ratio decreases due to lower particle mobility. This shows the importance of the geometry while predicting the particle distribution in the dry film and designing coating and drying processes.

The Sabatier process is promising for carbon dioxide utilization and energy storage. However, the serious problem that limits more comprehensive industrial applications is catalyst deactivation due to the temperature runaway phenomenon. The inert particle dilution approach, including the mixing dilution method and layered dilution method is applied to solve this problem. Based on the lattice kinetic scheme-lattice Boltzmann method (LKS-LBM), the effects of three parameters in bed dilution structure reconstructed by the discrete element method (DEM) on temperature distribution and carbon conversion rate were discussed, so as to investigate the relationship between packing structure and temperature distribution. Furthermore, numerical results indicated that an optimal bed dilution structure, which not only can control the peak temperature below the critical temperature to avoid coking and sintering of catalyst, but also can improve the carbon conversion rate by almost 18% compared with the structure without dilution under the same circumstance.

Aqueous phase reforming (APR) of ethanol has been studied over a series of Ru and Pt catalysts supported on carbon and titania, with different metal loadings and particle sizes. This study proposed that, on both metals, ethanol is first dehydrogenated to acetaldehyde, which subsequently undergoes CC cleavage followed by different paths, depending on the catalyst used. For instance, although monometallic Pt has high selectivity toward H2 via dehydrogenation, it has a low efficiency for CC cleavage, lowering the overall H2 yield. Large Ru particles produce CH4 through methanation, which is undesirable because it consumes H2. Small Ru particles have lower activity but higher selectivity toward H2 rather than CH4. On these small particles, CO blocks low-coordination sites, inhibiting methanation. The combination of the two metals in bimetallic Ru–Pt catalysts results in improved performance, benefiting from the desirable properties of each Ru and Pt, without the negative effects of either.

A versatile pore network model is used to study deactivation by coking in a single catalyst particle. This approach allows to gain detailed insights into the progression of deactivation from active site, to pore, and to particle – providing valuable information for catalyst design. The model is applied to investigate deactivation by coking during propane dehydrogenation in a Pt‐Sn/Al2O3 catalyst particle. We find that the deactivation process can be separated into two stages when there exist severe diffusion limitation and pore blockage, and the toxicity of coke formed in the later stage is much stronger than of coke formed in the early stage. The reaction temperature and composition change the coking rate and apparent reaction rate, informed by the kinetics, but, remarkably, they do not change the capacity for a catalyst particle to accommodate coke. On the other hand, the pore network structure significantly affects the capacity to contain coke.

Having proper correlations for hydrodynamic forces is essential for successful CFD‐DEM simulations of a fluidized bed. For spherical particles in a fluidized bed, efficient correlations for predicting the drag force, including the crowding effect caused by surrounding particles, are already available and well tested. However, for elongated particles, next to the drag force, the lift force, and hydrodynamic torque also gain importance. In this work, we apply recently developed multi‐particle correlations for drag, lift and torque in CFD‐DEM simulations of a fluidized bed with spherocylindrical particles of aspect ratio 4 and compare them to simulations with widely used single‐particle correlations for elongated particles. Simulation results are compared with previous magnetic particle tracking experimental results. We show that multi‐particle correlations improve the prediction of particle orientation and vertical velocity. We also show the importance of including hydrodynamic torque.

In biomass processing fluidized beds are used to process granular materials where particles typically possess elongated shapes. However, for simplicity, in computer simulations particles are often considered spherical, even though elongated particles experience more complex particle–particle interactions as well as different hydrodynamic forces. The exact effect of these more complex interactions in dense fluidized suspensions is still not well understood. In this study we use the magnetic particle tracking technique to compare the fluidization behavior of spherical particles to that of elongated particles. We found a considerable difference between fluidization behavior of spherical versus elongated particles in the time-averaged particle velocity field as well as in the time-averaged particle rotational velocity profile. Moreover, we studied the effect of fluid velocity and the particle's aspect ratio on the particle's preferred orientation in different parts of the bed, which provides new insight in the fluidization behavior of elongated particles.

In this study, an efficient ghost cell‐based immersed boundary method is used to perform direct numerical simulations of mass‐transfer processes in bidisperse arrays. Stationary spherical particles, with a size ratio of 1.5, are homogeneously distributed in a periodic domain in the spanwise directions. Simulations are performed over a range of solids volume fractions, volume fraction ratios of small‐to‐large particles, and Reynolds numbers. Through our studies, we find that large particles have a negative influence on the overall mass‐transfer performance; however, the performance of individual particle species is independent on the relative volume fraction ratios. We propose two correlations: (a) a refitted Gunn correlation for a better description of the interfacial transfer performance based on individual particle species; (b) a fractional calculation for a simple estimation of the overall performance in bidisperse systems using characteristics of individual particle species. We also investigate how well the overall mass‐transfer coefficient can be predicted by defining an appropriate equivalent diameter.

In this study, an in situ imaging system has been analysed to characterize the crystal size, the shape and the number of particles during a continuous crystallization process in a Continuous Oscillatory Baffled Crystallizer (COBC). Two image analysis approaches were examined for particle characterization in the suspension containing both small nuclei and larger grown crystals (nonspherical and irregular in shape). The pattern matching approach, in which the particles are approximated to be spherical, did result in an overestimation of the size. Alternatively, a segmentation-based algorithm resulted in reliable crystal size and shape characteristics. The laser diffraction analysis in comparison to the image analysis overestimated the particle sizes due to the agglomeration of particles upon filtration and drying. The trend in the particle counts during the start of crystallization process, including nucleation, determined by the image analysis probe was comparable with the one measured by FBRM, highlighting the potential of in situ imaging for process monitoring. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2018

Fluidization is widely used in industries and has been extensively studied, both experimentally and theoretically, in the past. However, most of these studies focus on spherical particles while in practice granules are rarely spherical. Particle shape can have a significant effect on fluidization characteristics. It is therefore important to study the effect of particle shape on fluidization behavior in detail. In this study, experiments in pseudo‐2D fluidized beds are used to characterize the fluidization of spherocylindrical (rod‐like) Geldart D particles of aspect ratio 4. Pressure drop and optical measurement methods (Digital Image Analysis, Particle Image Velocimetry, Particle Tracking Velocimetry) are employed to measure bed height, particle orientation, particle circulation, stacking, and coordination number. The commonly used correlations to determine the pressure drop across a bed of nonspherical particles are compared to experiments. Experimental observations and measurements have shown that rod‐like particles are prone to interlocking and channeling behavior. Well above the minimum fluidization velocity, vigorous bubbling fluidization is observed, with groups of interlocked particles moving upwards, breaking up, being thrown high in the freeboard region and slowly raining down as dispersed phase. At high flowrates, a circulation pattern develops with particles moving up through the center and down at the walls. Particles tend to orient themselves along the flow direction. © 2018 The Authors AIChE Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1573–1590, 2018

We report a two-step process for the continuous production of monodisperse polystyrene colloidal ellipsoids of aspect ratios up to 6.8 at rates that exceed 1.0 g per day, an improvement upon previously reported synthetic batch processing rates of nearly a factor of 20. This scale up is accomplished by continuous evaporative processing of a polymer solution into an elastomeric film embedded with colloidal spheres. Subsequently, the film is continuously elongated at a temperature that stretches the embedded spheres into ellipsoids. The method is used to deform initially 1.0 μm diameter spheres into ellipsoids of aspect ratio 1.27 ± 0.15, 3.31 ± 0.44, 3.91 ± 0.72, 4.14 ± 0.47, and 6.77 ± 1.01. The particle production rate reported here opens new possibilities for applications of monodisperse ellipsoids, such as self-assembly and optical characterization of complex crystalline unit cells, as well as rheological characterization of dilute gels and dense suspensions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Performance of lithium ion batteries whose electrodes are composed of particles of different sizes is studied. Simplified model developed in (Henquin and Aguirre, AIChE J. 2015; 61:90–102) is extended and the simulations are compared with experiments from the literature so as to validate this new model. The differences in current density observed in particles of different sizes, which are in contact, depend on particle size and state of charge. Internal particle to particle discharge currents are observed during relaxation times. A parametric study of the applied current and particle sizes of electrodes is performed to evaluate cell performance, with emphasis on cell voltage and final capacity measurement. The evolution of reaction rates on the surface of electrode particles and their corresponding states of charge are depicted. An analysis of relaxation times in terms of cell voltage, current density, equilibrium potentials, and overpotentials is included. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2017

The gas, liquid, and dust particle behavior inside a centrifugal wet scrubber was simulated and a submodel for predicting its collection efficiency was developed that also takes in account the reduction in collection efficiency due to droplet carryover. Centrifugal wet scrubbers are used in many industries and deliver a high scrubbing efficiency at relatively low capital and operational costs. However, they often experience problems such as droplet carryover at high gas flows and reduced collection efficiency at low gas flows. An improved understanding of flow processes inside the scrubbers is needed to develop a better scrubber design. An experimental test facility was setup for this purpose which also served to validate the CFD modeling results. Ideal operating parameters for maximum scrubbing efficiency and minimum droplet carryover were identified.

Gas-liquid mass transfer in micro-packed bed reactors is characterized with an automated platform integrated with in-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This setup enables screening of a multidimensional parameter space underlying absorption and with chemical reaction. Volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficients (kLa) are determined for the model reaction of CO2 absorption in a methyl diethanolamine/water solution. Parametric studies are conducted varying gas and liquid superficial velocities, packed bed dimensions and packing particle sizes. The results show that kLa values are in the range of 0.24∼0.64 s−1, which is about one-to-two orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional trickle beds. An empirical correlation predicts kLa in micro-packed bed reactors in good agreement with experimental data. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Discrete Element Method simulations of Homogeneous Cooling Systems (HCS) are used to develop a collisional dissipation rate model for non-spherical particle systems that can be incorporated in a two-fluid multiphase flow framework. Two types of frictionless, elongated particle models are compared in the HCS simulations: glued-sphere and true cylinder. Simulation results show that the ratio of translational to rotational granular temperatures is equal to one for the true cylindrical particles with particle aspect ratios (AR) greater than one and glued-sphere particles with AR >1.5, while the temperature ratio is less than one for glued-sphere particles with 1

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) experiments on turbulent solid-liquid stirred tank flow with careful refractive index matching of the two phases have been performed. The spatial resolution of the PIV data is finer than the size of the spherical, uniformly sized solid particles, thereby providing insight in the flow around individual particles. The impeller is a down-pumping pitch-blade turbine. The impeller-based Reynolds number has been fixed to Re = 104. Overall solids volume fractions up to 8% have been investigated. The PIV experiments are impeller-angle resolved, that is, conditioned on the angular position of the impeller. The two-phase systems are in partially suspended states with an inhomogeneous distribution of solids: high solids loadings near the bottom and near the outer walls of the tank, much less solids in the bulk of the tank. The liquid velocity fields show very strong phase coupling effects with the particles increasingly attenuating the overall circulation patterns as well as the liquid velocity fluctuation levels when the solids volume fraction is increased. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 389–402, 2018

Many of the probes used to understand hydrodynamics in circulating fluidized bed risers intrude into the environment they are measuring, although assumptions are typically asserted that the intrusive probes do not affect the data collected. This could be a poor assumption in some cases and conditions. We found that intrusive fiber optic probe measurements consistently mis-predicted the solids concentration compared to the non-intrusive pressure drop measurements outside the fully developed flow region of a riser containing fluid catalytic cracking catalyst or glass bead particles. The discrepancy was sensitive to superficial gas velocity, solid circulation rate, probe position and flow direction. Barracuda VR™ computational fluid dynamics simulations confirmed this, and indicated that particle momentum was lost at the leading edge of the probe and particles were spilling over to the probe tip. Accordingly, new probe designs were proposed to mitigate the intrusiveness of a fiber optical probe for more accurate characterization. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Even though many experimental investigations are reported on this subject of liquid velocity patterns in bubble columns, most of the reported work is restricted to measurements at the near wall regions, columns without internals, and in low dispersed phase holdups. In the present work, a non-invasive Radioactive Particle Tracking (RPT) technique was employed to quantify the hydrodynamic parameters in 120 mm diameter bubble column with, and without vertical rod internals, using air/water system as the working fluids. The superficial air velocities cover a wide range of flow regimes: from 14 mm/s to 265 mm/s. Experiments were performed for four internals configurations with percentage obstruction area varied from 0 (without internals) to 11.7%. We report that the liquid phase hydrodynamics depends strongly on superficial gas velocity and internals. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Gas–solid fluidization involving small amounts of liquid is simulated using a CFD-DEM model. The model tracks the amount of liquid on each particle and wall element and incorporates finite rates of liquid transfer between particles and pendular liquid bridges which form between two particles as well as between a particle and a wall element. Viscous and capillary forces due to these bridges are modeled. Fluidization–defluidization curves show that minimum fluidization velocity and defluidized bed height increase with Bond number (Bo), the ratio of surface tension to gravitational forces, due to cohesion and inhomogeneous flow structures. Under fluidized conditions, hydrodynamics and liquid bridging behavior change dramatically with increasing Bo, and to a lesser extent with capillary number, the ratio of viscous to surface tension forces. Bed fluidity is kept relatively constant across wetting conditions when one maintains a constant ratio of superficial velocity to minimum fluidization velocity under wet conditions. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 5290–5302, 2017

Hydrodynamics of gas–liquid two-phase flow in micropacked beds are studied with a new experimental setup. The pressure drop, residence time distribution, and liquid holdup are measured with gas and liquid flow rates varying from 4 to 14 sccm and 0.1 to 1 mL/min, respectively. Key parameters are identified to control the experimentally observed hydrodynamics, including transient start-up procedure, gas and liquid superficial velocities, particle and packed bed diameters, and physical properties of the liquids. Contrary to conventional large packed beds, our results demonstrate that in these microsystems, capillary forces have a large effect on pressure drop and liquid holdup, while gravity can be neglected. A mathematical model describes the hydrodynamics in the micropacked beds by considering the contribution of capillary forces, and its predictions are in good agreement with experimental data. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4694–4704, 2017

The impingement of high speed jets on a moving surface was studied. The jet fluids were dilute suspensions of neutrally buoyant particles in water–glycerin solutions. At these low particle concentrations, the suspensions have Newtonian fluid viscosity. A variety of jet and surface velocities, solution properties, nozzle diameters, mean particle sizes, and volume fractions were studied. For each case the splash-deposition threshold was quantified. It was observed that for jets with very small particles, addition of solids to the jet enhances deposition and postpones splash relative to a particle-free water–glycerin solution with the same viscosity. In contrast, jets with larger particles in suspension were more prone to splash than single phase jets of the same viscosity. It is speculated that the change in character of the splash response for the jets with larger particles in suspension occurs when the particle diameter is comparable to the lamella thickness. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4673–4684, 2017

Preformed particle gel (PPG) treatment is a proven cost-effective method for improving oil recovery. Although PPG system has a suspension-like property, it has different propagation rules from the rigid particle suspension in porous media because of its good deformation property. In this study, an advanced phenomenological model of PPG propagation in porous media is presented. The model includes both PPG plugging and restarting behaviors. Log-normal and normal distribution functions have been introduced in this model to calculate the PPG plugging probability. Power-law equation is used to calculate the PPG restarting rate. This method can represent the commensurate relation between PPG and throat size. Then, the equations are solved numerically, using an explicit finite-difference formulation in conjunction with a fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The results match favorably with several laboratory experiments. Finally, the propagation rules and sensitivity analysis of PPG size, permeability and injection rate to propagation rules, and permeability reduction are performed. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4628–4641, 2017

The effect of particle aspect ratio on the rheology of the flow of granular materials is studied experimentally in a quasi-two-dimensional rotating cylinder, using two varieties of prolate spheroidal grains with different aspect ratios. Image analysis of high speed videos is used to obtain the flow profiles near the centre of the cylinder. The dynamic angle of repose and apparent viscosity in the medium show significant increase with increasing aspect ratio. The mean velocity, root mean square velocity and shear rate profiles are qualitatively similar for nonspherical and spherical particles, however, their magnitudes increase with increasing aspect ratio. A simple scaling is shown to predict the maximum thickness of the flowing layer for all the particles. The predictions of a model for the flow match with the measured mean velocity profiles and layer thickness. (c) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4307-4315, 2017

This study investigates how the drum-to-particle diameter ratio (D/d) affects the surface speed and interparticle coating variability in geometrically similar coaters. Discrete element method simulations were used to model particle movement in different-sized, cylindrical drums with identical particle diameters, Froude numbers, fill volume fractions, and spray characteristics. The dimensionless streamwise surface speed profiles become increasingly symmetric as D/d increases, with the maximum speed increasing with D/d. The relationship between the maximum dimensionless speed and D/d is fit well with a power-law expression. Interparticle coating variability decreases with the square root of the number of drum revolutions after a sufficiently large number of drum revolutions. Increasing D/d increases, in a logarithmic manner, the number of drum revolutions required to reach a given degree of coating variability. A similar logarithmic coating variability trend was observed in simulations using almond-shaped pharmaceutical tablets, suggesting that the trend is independent of tablet shape. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 3743–3755, 2017