Apparatus and method for top removal of granular material from a fluidized bed deposition reactor

Abstract

Removal of the product from the top of the reactor enables a decreased disengaging height and provides a passive means of controlling the bed level despite deposition increasing the weight and height of the bed. The savings from reducing the disengaging height allow use of a taller fluidized bed in a shorter overall reactor length and thus provides increased production with reduced reactor cost. The separation of the gas inlet from the product outlet allows the gas inlet area to be cooler than the product outlet. The separation of the product grinding, caused by the inlet gas, from the product outlet reduces the loss of seed in the product and produces a more uniform product. Removing the hot product and the hot gas at the same place allows energy recovery from both in a single step.

1 . An apparatus and method of operation for top removal of granular material from a fluidized bed deposition reactor comprising:
 a container of a set height with at least one gas inlet at or near the bottom and at least one gas and solids outlet at or near the top,   a bed of granular particles of variable height which is fluidized and deposited on by a gas flow,   a gas/granular product separator means and   a method of operation where the height of the bed of granular particles is allowed to increase until it reaches a stable height.   
   
   
       2 . An apparatus for recovering heat while separating the granular product comprising: one or more product separator means and one or more heat recovery means. 
   
   
       3 . An apparatus of  claim 1  where at least one means for granular product removal is also provided at the bottom. 
   
   
       4 . An apparatus of  claim 2  where at least one of the heat recovery means is primarily by radiation to a heat recovery boiler. 
   
   
       5 . An apparatus of  claim 2  where more than one separator means are used to provide more than one product streams of different average particle size.