Horizontal gas mixing in the distributor region of a fluidised bed reactor

The gas lateral mixing in the distributor region of a fluidised bed is stud ied by means of injecting a tracer axially in the cold model of an oxychlor ination reactor. The horizontal spread of the tracer concentration is also related to the fluidisation regime, which is characrerised by pressure fluc tuation measurements. The tracer concentration at the bed wall increases with the fluidising velo city and reaches its maximum when turbulent fluidisation is approached. The experimental observations are well explained by the model proposed by Rowe [1] to characterise gas flow in the entry region of a fluidised bed chemic al reactor. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.