Continuous drying of a fine particles-water slurry in a powder-particle fluidized bed

The powder-particle fluidized bed is a new type of fluidized bed developed to fluidize fine particles to prevent their agglomeration in the bed. Continuous drying of a slurry of fine particles with water was carried out in a powder-particle fluidized bed, and its drying characteristics were examined. Moisture in the slurry evaporated almost fully in the bed, and the moisture content of the exiting fine particles was nearly zero under the range of operating conditions in this study. Temperature and relative humidity of the outlet gas agreed with those calculated by mass and heat balances across the bed without knowledge of the rates of heat and mass transfer.