Review of entrainment correlations in gas–solid fluidization

• Review of applicability of entrainment correlations to Geldart Groups A and B.
• Monodisperse, binary, and continuous particle size distributions (PSDs) considered.
• Discrepancies among correlations span several orders of magnitude.
• Unphysical phenomena predicted include preferential elutriation of larger particles.
• Poor predictive capability underscores need for more physically-based models.

Despite the abundance of entrainment correlations in gas–solid fluidization made available in the past few decades, the discrepancy between empirical prediction and experimental data has been noted to be up to a hundredfold in some cases. Hence, a comprehensive review of the available correlations is warranted, with the goal of extracting the underlying physics giving rise to the disparities, and thereby providing insights towards an enhanced understanding of entrainment. This review addresses a comprehensive spectrum of particle systems, ranging from monodisperse to binary to continuous particle size distribution (PSD) systems for the more predominant Geldart Groups A and B classifications. Three key observations are highlighted. First, comparisons of the predicted entrainment values among available correlations reveal discrepancies spanning several orders of magnitude, with the maximum being 20 orders of magnitude, evidencing that available empirical correlations do not extrapolate well beyond the scope of tested parameters. Second, unphysical phenomena predicted include qualitative discordance on the shapes of the elutriated PSDs, the most notable of which is the anomaly whereby larger particles are preferentially elutriated. Third, whether a particular correlation was developed for a specific Geldart Group or for monodisperse and/or polydisperse systems seems inconsequential to giving better predictions even when appropriately applied to the particular subset. These observations underscore the need for more physically-based models to enable a more accurate prediction of entrainment and elutriation phenomena.