Fluidised Bed: Difference between revisions

[[File:Schematic diagram of a fluidised bed furnace.png|300px|right|Schematic diagram of a fluidised bed furnace. All rights reserved.]]

The [[Fluidised Bed]] [[Incineration|incinerator]] is lined with a [[Combustion|combustion]] chamber usually in the form of a vertical cylinder. In the lower section, a bed of inert material (sand or ash) on a grate or distribution plate is fluidised with preheated [[Combustion|combustion]] of air. The [[Waste|waste]] for [[Incineration|incineration]] is continuously fed into the fluidised sand/ash bed from the top or side through a pump, star feeder, screw-tube conveyor, apron conveyor or weighting band.

In the [[Fluidised Bed]], drying, volatilisation, ignition, and [[Combustion|combustion]] take place. The temperature in the free space above the bed (the freeboard) is generally between 850°C and 950°C. Above the [[Fluidised Bed]] material, the freeboard is designed to allow a sufficient residence time of the gases in the [[Combustion|combustion]] zone. In the bed itself, the temperature is lower at approximately 650°C. Because of good mixing in the reactor, [[Fluidised Bed|Fluidised Beds]] generally have a uniform temperature and oxygen concentration which results in stable operation. The heat produced by [[Combustion|combustion]] can be recovered by devices either integrated inside the [[Fluidised Bed]] or at the exit of the [[Combustion|combustion]] gases or by the combination of these designs<ref name="ref2">[https://eippcb.jrc.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2020-01/JRC118637_WI_Bref_2019_published_0.pdf Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for Waste Incineration]</ref>.

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[[File:Main components of a circulating fluidised bed.png|300px|right|Main components of a circulating fluidised bed. All rights reserved.]]

The circulating [[Fluidised Bed]] [[Incineration|incinerator]] recirculates the bed material/[[Feedstock|feedstock]] using a hot cyclone. It works with fine bed material and at high gas speeds that remove most of the solid material particles from the [[Fluidised Bed]] chamber with the [[Flue Gas|flue gas]]. The particles are then separated in a downstream cyclone and returned to the bottom of the [[Incineration|incineration]] chamber. Particles below the cut-size of the cyclone (ash) are removed from the reactor.  

The advantage of this process is that a high heat turnover and a more uniform temperature along the height can be reached with a low reaction volume. A wider range of [[Waste|waste]] inputs can be treated. The [[Waste|waste]] is injected at the side into the [[Incineration|incineration]] chamber and is [[Incineration|incinerated]] at 850-950°C. The surplus heat is removed through membrane walls and via heat exchangers placed between the recycling cyclones and the circulating [[Fluidised Bed]], which cool the returned ash as a way to control heat removal<ref name="ref2" />.

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