抄録
The new concept of a rotating fluidized bed in a static geometry is presented (de Broqueville, 2004) and experimentally proven. The rotating motion of the particle bed and the tangential fluidization are obtained by the tangential injection of the fluidization gas via multiple gas inlet slots. The solids experience a radially outwards centrifugal force. The gas, on the other hand, is forced to move radially inwards towards a chimney with one or more outlet slots, fluidizing the solids radially. Using one and the same non-optimized fluidization chamber design, the fluidization behavior with both large-diameter, lowdensity, polymer particles and small-diameter, higherdensity, Alumina particles has been investigated. The new concept opens perspectives for fluidized bed nuclear reactor technology. With conventional fluidized bed technology, the maximum attainable power is rather limited and maximum at a certain gas flow rate. Using a rotating fluidized bed in a static geometry, the fluidization gas drives both the centrifugal force and the counteracting radial gassolid drag force in a similar way. This allows operating the reactor at any chosen solids hold-up / density over a much wider gas flow rate range and in particular at much higher gas flow rates than with conventional fluidized bed technology, offering increased flexibility with respect to cooling. The combination of dense operation and high gas flow rates allows process intensification and a more compact reactor design.
