Minimum fluidization velocity prediction for struvite particles using an upflow fluidized bed system.

Abstract

Struvite crystallization in a fluidized bed reactor is an alternative method to remove and recover nutrients from wastewater streams. The minimum fluidization velocity is an essential parameter in designing a fluidized bed crystallizer. There are several correlations that allow to predict the minimum fluidization velocity (umf), known the hydrodynamic characteristics for different fluid-particle systems. The usual correlation to predict the minimum fluidization for struvite particles reported in the literature is the correlation of Wen and Yu; but depending on the particle size in bed, the achieved accuracy by this correlation needs to be improved. This study was conducted to define the best minimum fluidization velocity correlation for different struvite particle size using a bench-scale upflow system.