Heat and mass transfer in fluidized bed combustion and gasification systems

The main experimental and modelling findings on heat and mass transfer in fluidized beds are reviewed with particular attention to combustion and gasification processes. The survey is separated into two sections. The first section reports the main features of heat transfer in fluidized beds starting from the large number of studies focused on surface-bed heat transfer. These features are then used to support the understanding of the less-studied particle-bed and gas-bed heat transfer mechanisms. The second section describes in detail particle-bed and gas-bed mass transfer in fluidized beds. In both sections the effect of the main process parameters (physical properties of gas and particles, bed geometry and hydrodynamic regimes) on the heat and mass transfer coefficients are discussed in order to provide guidelines for the design, the optimization and the operation of fluidized bed combustors and gasifiers. © 2013 Woodhead Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.