Mass transfer to particle clusters and bubbles in a fluidized bed at low Reynolds numbers (Q1090209)

The process of mass transfer to a particle cluster or bubble rising in a developed fluidized bed rapidly enough for a region of closed circulation of the fluidizing agent (cloud) to be formed is investigated in the Stokes approximation on the basis of a model of the steady-state motion of the fluid and solid phases near the cluster or bubble. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to obtain an analytic solution of the problem of the concentration field and the diffusion mass flux to the surface of the cloud at small and large values of the Péclet number. The latter is determined from the relative velocity of the cluster, the radius of the cloud, and the effective diffusion coefficient. In the limiting case of zero concentration of the solid phase within the cluster the solution obtained describes the mass transfer to a bubble in the fluidized bed. A comparison is made with the corresponding results previously obtained within the framework of a model of the solid phase as an inviscid fluid.