A Fluidized Bed Scrubber system uses carefully selected hollow

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elements of varying shapes, according to the process requirements, to generate a three phase fluidized bed in which increased

Reynolds number In fluid mechanics, the Reynolds number () is a dimensionless quantity that helps predict fluid flow patterns in different situations by measuring the ratio between inertial and viscous forces. At low Reynolds numbers, flows tend to be domi ...

s (turbulence) in the gaseous phase, and the liquid phase, provoke an intense enhancement of turbulent action. This is claimed to lead to substantial increases in overall mass and heat transfer coefficients, and interphase surface renewal rates, as compared to classical packings and other scrubbing technologies (see below).

Particulate removal

In addition, the fluid bed simultaneously removes particulates down to very fine sub half

micron The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

diameters. System design varies from application to application as process operations, or pollution control needs, vary widely.

Quenching

When very hot gases are to be treated and cleaned using the fluidized bed scrubber technology, they are first passed through a quench chamber, which is usually integrated with the scrubber such that

quenching In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such as pha ...

can occur in two steps, using both the inlet quench section and a specially designed sump to maximum effect. The cooled gases are then passed on directly to the fluidized bed where ascending gas is intimately mixed by the fluidized packing elements with the descending, and usually recirculated, liquid.

Applications

The fluidized bed scrubber system allows operation with slurries,

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s and oily or

viscous The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inter ...

liquids due to the claimed 100% non-clogging nature of the fluidized bed.

Comparisons

Below are two real case comparisons of equivalent efficiency alternative technologies commonly used in industrial applications.

Venturi and packed tower combination versus TURBOSCRUBBER

A typical packed tower absorber versus Fluidized Bed Scrubbers

Images

File:Performance Data - FBS v PT+Venturi.png, Performance Data File:Fluid Bed Tower.png, Fluid Bed Tower File:Fluid Bed Section.png, Fluid Bed Section

References

{{reflist Scrubbers Pollution control technologies Industrial processes Fluidization