GAS HOLD-UP IN A BIDIMENSIONAL 3-PHASE SPOUTED BED

Gas hold-up in a bi-dimensional three-phase spouted bed, operated continuously with respect to the gas flow and batchwise with respect to liquid and solid, was investigated using a bed expansion technique. Experiments were performed in a column of 22 mm x 220 mm x 1250 mm. Sand particles 1.0 mm in diameter, solid fractions 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20, five different nozzle sizes (4.0 mm, 5.5 mm, 7.0 mm, 10.0 mm and 12.0 mm), four static bed heights (0.17 m, 0.32 m, 0.58 m and 0.69 m) and superficial gas velocities ranging from 0.34 to 3.43 m s-1 were employed. A correlation for the gas hold-up was developed with an average deviation of 2.5% and maximum deviation not exceeding 9%.