Agglomerate stability in fluidized beds of glass beads and silica sand

Fluidized bed agglomeration is used to reduce dust problems and stabilize mixtures of various particulate components. This technology is applied to a wide variety of industries for the commercial production of pharmaceuticals, detergents, specialty chemicals, fertilizers and food. In many applications, agglomerate stability is an important criterion for production, since agglomerates and granules that do not conform to specific standards of size and shape may create problems in downstream operations such as tableting, thus reducing the efficiency of the entire process and lowering product quality. The general objectives of the present study consisted of the determination of the key parameters affecting the stability of wet agglomerates in a fluidized bed.In this study, artificial agglomerates of glass beads and water or silica sand and water were formed using a cylindrical mold. They were then fluidized in a 0.10 m diameter bed of different solids for a set period of time. The bed contents were then screened after each experimental run to retrieve the agglomerates and determine whether breakage or erosion occurred. This study investigated the effects on agglomerate stability of solid wettability by the liquid, agglomerate liquid content, particle shape, particle size, particle size distribution, and fluidizing gas velocity.