Residence time distribution of gas in spouted beds

Abstract

Abstract Stimulus‐response experiments have been carried out, using helium gas as tracer, to measure the residence time distribution of gas in spouted beds. The data obtained, under a variety of experimental conditions, are compared against predictions from a two‐region gas flow model. The model postulates plug flow of gas in the spout and axially‐dispersed plug‐flow in the annulus, the extent of axial dispersion being accounted for by a coefficient, D, which is an adjustable parameter of the model. The values of D thus determined were found to increase with gas flow rate, to be relatively insensitive to bed path, and to be much larger for beds of wheat than of polystyrene.