Numerical Investigations of Hydrodynamics in a Liquid-Solid Fluidized Bed

The liquid-solid fluidization bed is an effective method for removing hard ions from water. However, it is widely believed that the flow in the liquid-solid fluidization bed is homogeneous, which limits the transfer rates of heat, mass, momentum, and mixing. In this study, the results of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method showed significant heterogeneous particle–fluid patterns in the liquid-solid fluidization bed. On the other hand, simulations of the hydrodynamics behavior in the liquid-solid fluidized bed were first performed using different solid particle sizes, then particle classification, velocity distribution, and the vortical structures in the liquid-solid fluidized bed were assessed. In addition, a new model was proposed in this study to predict the flow behavior of the fluid-particle system used. The obtained results demonstrated the presence of the heterogeneous flow regime in the liquid-solid fluidized bed. The developed model for the onset of heterogeneous fluidization behavior revealed reasonable prediction results. Therefore, this model can be applied in future related studies on the hydrodynamics of the liquid-solid fluidized bed.