Dehydration of sodium carbonate decahydrate to monohydrate in a fluidized bed

Kinetics of the thermal dehydration of sodium carbonate decahydrate to mono hydrate is investigated at temperatures between 15 and 30 degreesC in a bat ch, fluidized-bed, 140-mm-ID reactor. Effects of particle size, mass of bed , and gas velocity on the dehydration rate are also explored. A simple corr elation based on the collected experimental data is developed. The proposed rate law formula makes it possible to estimate the dehydration rate that w ould be needed to design the performance of a fluidized-bed drying unit. Th e produced monohydrate is subjected to textural analysis, and pore volume a nd surface-area data are presented.