Design of a Low-Cost Lab-Scale Fluidized Bed Apparatus

This work proposes an affordable design for a Lab-Scale fixed and fluidized bed apparatus, which serves as an educational tool demonstrating fluidization principles, providing students with real-world, hands-on experience on a frequent technology used in different industries such as petroleum, food and pharmaceuticals. By using commonly available and safe materials like sand and water, the work fills a need for reasonably priced and efficient lab equipment. Important parameters such as minimum fluidization velocity and bed expansion were calculated using Ergun’s equation. The design of the bed was done by optimizing the geometry of the distributor plate through the estimation of the pressure drop. The apparatus was developed in compliance with strict safety standards, while component selection balanced economic and safety considerations to achieve reliable and accurate results. Consequently, the created equipment effectively illustrates important fluidization concepts and confirms theoretical models while minimizing the investment cost on the universities.