Abstract
Fluidized bed spray granulators (FBMG) are widely used in the process industry for particle size growth; a desirable feature in many products, such as granulated food and medical tablets. In this paper, the first in a series of four discussing the rate of various microscopic events occurring in FBMG, theoretical analysis coupled with CFD simulations have been used to predict granule–granule and droplet–granule collision time scales. The granule–granule collision time scale was derived from principles of kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF). For the droplet–granule collisions, two limiting models were derived; one is for the case of fast droplet velocity, where the granule velocity is considerable lower than that of the droplet (ballistic model) and another for the case where the droplet is traveling with a velocity similar to the velocity of the granules. The hydrodynamic parameters used in the solution of the above models were obtained from the CFD predictions for a typical spray fluidized bed system. The granule–granule collision rate within an identified spray zone was found to fall approximately within the range of 10-2–10-3 s, while the droplet–granule collision was found to be much faster, however, slowing rapidly (exponentially) when moving away from the spray nozzle tip. Such information, together with the time scale analysis of droplet solidification and spreading, discussed in part II and III of this study, are useful for probability analysis of the various event occurring during a granulation process, which then lead to be better qualitative and, in part IV, quantitative prediction of the aggregation rate.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 318-326 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Chemical Engineering Science |
Volume | 66 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Crown copyright © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Science. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chua, Kel W.; Makkawi, Yassir T. and Hounslow, Michael J. Time scale analysis for fluidized bed melt granulation I: granule-granule and granule-droplet collision rates. Chemical Engineering Science, 66, 3 (2011). DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2010.10.033.Keywords
- fluidization
- granulation
- CFD
- collisions
- particle processing
- particle technology