Mohammad Ali Dehnavi - Chemical Engineering Department, Science and Engineering Faculty, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran
Yaghoub Behjat - Chemical Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran
Shahrokh Shahhossini - Chemical Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran
Hasan Hashemabadi - Chemical Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran

The hydrodynamics of a two-dimensional gas–solid fluidized bed of gas-phase olefin polymerization reactor were studied. A two-fluid Eularian Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model with closure relationships according to the kinetic theory of granular flow has been applied in order to simulate the gas–solid flow. Fluidization regime and gas-solid flow pattern was investigated using three different drag models. Distributions of volume fraction of solid particles at different superficial gas velocities are computed. Model predictions of bed pressure drop were compared with corresponding experimental data reported in the literature to validate the model. The predicted values were in reasonable agreement with the experimental data. In addition, simulation results of time-average bed expansion ratio and flow pattern, using Gidaspow, Syamlal–O’Brien and Wen Yu drag models were compared. Bubble size predations by CFD simulation in all drag model as well as gas-solid flow pattern were similar. A comparison of modeling results with experimental data shows that Syamlal–O’Brien model is reasonably adequate to predict gas-solid systems behavior.

CFD, fluidized, gas-solid flow, hydrodynamics