Industrial applications that involve fluidized bed operations must prevent the undesirable phenomenon of partial or complete bed defluidization. Defluidization can be avoided by increasing the gas velocity and/or, in some cases, changing the solid feed conditions in the system, provided that the changes in the hydrodynamics of the flow are detected early enough. The use of a technique that can perform an early detection of the defluidization condition in industrial applications is important, in order to avoid the loss of efficiency or even an undesirable shutting down of the process. The objective of this work is to show the application of a method for early detection of the condition where the bed is tending to the defluidization, in a gas-solid fluidized bed flow. The method is based on pressure fluctuation measurements. Experimental tests are carried out using two solid particles: microcrystalline cellulose and sand. Results show that the proposed method is efficient in detecting the fluidization condition in a conventional bubbling bed regime. The potential of application of the technique is also shown for the control of the defluidization phenomenon in industry.

There are particulate materials that are cohesive when wet. Although they are Geldart's group A dry powders, they show difficulties in fluidizing in a conventional fluidized bed, which could be diminished by modifying the fluidization equipment. Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the drying of cohesive particulate material using a rotating-pulsed fluidized bed. The material used in the drying study was 2-hydroxybenzoic acid because its cohesive forces are stronger when wet. The drying experiments were carried out according to the following parameters: frequency of disk (5 and 15 Hz), initial moisture content of the material (high and low) and gas temperature at 85°C. From the drying kinetic curves and visual observations during the experiments, it could be concluded that the rotating-pulsed fluidized bed is an alternative for the processing of cohesive solids that preserves the final quality of the dry solids.

The objective of this work was to dry sewage sludge using a fry-drying process. The frying experiments were carried out in commercial fryers modified by adding thermocouples to the setup. During frying, typical drying curves were obtained and it was verified that, in relation to the parameters: oil temperature, oil type and shape of the sample, the shape factor the most effect on the drying rate, at least within the range chosen for the variables studied. Oil uptake and calorific value were also analyzed. The calorific value of the samples increased with frying time, reaching values around 24MJ/kg after 600s of frying (comparable to biocombustibles such as wood and sugarcane bagasse). The process of immersion frying showed great potential for drying materials, especially sewage sludge, obtaining a product with a high energy content, thereby increasing its value as a combustible.