Influence of temperature and properties of solids on the size and growth of bubbles in gas fluidized beds

In the present paper, models are developed for the description of coalescence and splitting of bubbles in gas fluidized beds. The distinction between slow and fast bubbles, which originates from the Davidson model of gas flow in and around a rising bubble, was found to be decisive for the modelling of coalescence processes. On the basis of the respective models, it is shown that a change in bed temperature does influence the mechanisms of both bubble coalescence and splitting. In cases of both slow and fast bubbles undergoing splitting, the theory predicts a decrease of bubble size with temperature whereas in the case of a non-splitting system with fast bubbles, typically encountered with Geldart type B particles, no significant temperature effect on bubble size is expected. The theoretical predictions are shown to be in agreement with own measurements as well as with the results of other workers.