This is the first time an extensive investigation has been carried out regarding the effects of riser exit geometry on pressure drop and solid behaviour inside the Internal Circulating Fluidized Bed (ICFB) riser, using different riser exit geometries at several operating conditions.
The Radioactive Particle-Tracking (RPT) technique was used for solid concentration measurements and solid residence time distribution at the exit zone. Experiments were conducted using Geldart B particles, in the gas superficial velocity range of 4 to 10 m/s. Axial solid hold-up, solid residence time distribution in the exit zone, and the reflux ratio factor k m , (defined earlier by [E.H. Van der Meer, R.B. Thorpe, J.F. Davidson, Flow patterns in the square cross-section riser of a circulating fluidized bed and the effect of riser exit design, Chem. Eng. Sc. 55 (19) (2000) 4079-4099]), were the main criteria used to investigate the impact of gas-solid separator devices implemented at the ICFB riser exit.
Solid residence time distribution results and axial solid hold-up profiles provided clear evidence that the separator device at the riser exit strongly influences the hydrodynamic structure of the ICFB riser. The V-shaped riser exit geometry was found to be the optimum of all the configurations studied.