Abstract

This book is a much-needed fluidization handbook for practising engineers. There are few plants which do not have a fluid bed process operating somewhere on the site, yet engineers rarely have any formal training in the subject. College courses often emphasize academic issues rather than industrial needs, and a study of the literature reveals an overwhelming abundance of correlations and experimental data.
As this is a practical book, the author has minimized theoretical development of fundamental equations in favor of giving correlations which have been developed for large scale equipment. In some cases, where several correlations might apply, the author has chosen one or two which work best according to his own experience. Design procedures are described which should assist the designer and the operator of fluid beds to improve his process and to avoid some often-encountered pitfalls. The material will also be useful as a supplementary text to a course on fluidization, the emphasis on commercial design being a stimulating counterpoint to a strongly academic viewpoint.