LIQUID DISPERSION IN A MAGNETICALLY STABILIZED FLUIDIZED-BED (MSFB)

The effect of magnetic field intensity and liquid velocity on fluid flow distribution was studied in the liquid-fluidized bed of ferromagnetic particles. Dispersion in the liquid phase, expressed in terms of axial and radial dispersion coefficients, has been evaluated from the concentration profiles. Axial dispersion coefficients obtained from the axially dispersed plug flow model D(a), and radial dispersion coefficients D(r) obtained from the infinite space model, were of the same order of magnitude. Mixing studies have demonstrated that axial and radial dispersion in the liquid phase are strongly affected by the fluidization regimes. Both D(a) and D(r) increase with increasing liquid velocity, both in magnetized and nonmagnetized beds. In the presence of a magnetic field, axial and radial dispersion were found to be significantly lower than in the absence of a magnetic field at the same liquid velocity, implying that the properties of a magnetized bed at a higher liquid velocity are the same as those for a nonmagnetized bed at a lower liquid velocity.