The rotating cone reactor is a novel reactor type which can be used fo
r rapid thermal solids processing. This paper focuses on particle dyna
mics and gas-phase hydrodynamics in a rotating cone reactor as a first
stage to obtain a basic understanding of the processes that govern th
e performance of this reactor. Therefore, the flow of nearly spherical
monosized PVC powder in a cold-flow rotating cone reactor has been st
udied under variation of the particle diameter (140-780 mum), the cone
rotational speed (up to 1800 rpm) and two different cone top-angles (
60 and 90-degrees). The gas flow created by the rotating cone showed a
marked influence on motion of particles smaller than 200 mum. A mathe
matical model is presented using a single-particle description, and a
turbulent ps flow description near the wall according to the universal
velocity profile. The experimentally observed residence time of the p
articles inside the present reactor is typically in the order of 0.2 s
.