Approximating a three-dimensional fluidized bed with two-dimensional simulations

Fluidized beds can be used to gasify biomass in the production of producer gas, a flammable gas that can replace natural gas in process heating. Modeling these reactors with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations is advantageous when performing parametric studies for design and scale-up. From a computational resource point of view, two-dimensional simulations are easier to perform than three-dimensional simulations, but they may not capture the proper physics. This paper will compare two- and three-dimensional simulations in a 10.2 cm diameter fluidized bed with side air injection to determine when two-dimensional simulations are adequate to capture the bed hydrodynamics. Simulations will be completed in a glass bead fluidized bed operating at 1.5U_mf and 3U_mf, where U_mf is the minimum fluidization velocity. Side air injection is also simulated to model biomass injection for gasification applications. The simulations are compared to experimentally obtained time-averaged local gas holdup values using X-ray computed tomography. Results indicate that for the conditions of this study, two-dimensional simulations qualitatively predict the correct hydrodynamics and gas holdup trends that are observed experimentally for a limited range of fluidization conditions.