{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32920"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32920","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Pyrolysis and Hydrodynamics of Fluidized Bed Media","abstract":"Interest in non-traditional fuel sources, carbon dioxide sequestration, and cleaner combustion has brought attention on gasification to supplement fossil fueled energy, particularly by a fluidized bed. Developing tools and methods to predict operation and performance of gasifiers will lead to more efficient gasifier designs. This research investigates bed fluidization and particle decomposition for fluidized materials. Experimental methods were developed to model gravimetric and energetic response of thermally decomposing materials. Gravimetric, heat flow, and specific heat data were obtained from a simultaneous thermogravimetric analyzer (DSC/TGA). A method was developed to combine data in an energy balance and determine an optimized heat of decomposition value. This method was effective for modeling simple reactions but not for complex decomposition. Advanced method was developed to model mass loss using kinetic reactions. Kinetic models were expanded to multiple reactions, and an approach was developed to identify suitable multiple reaction mechanisms. A refinement method for improving the fit of kinetic parameters was developed. Multiple reactions were combined with the energy balance, and heats of decomposition determined for each reaction. From this research, this methodology can be extended to describe more complex thermal decomposition. Effects of particle density and diameter on the minimum fluidization velocity were investigated, and results compared to empirical models. Effects of bed mass on pressure drop through fluidized beds were studied. A method was developed to predict hydrodynamic response of binary beds from the response of each particle type and mass. Resulting pressure drops of binary mixtures resembled behavior superposition for individual particles.","abstract_html":"Interest in non-traditional fuel sources, carbon dioxide sequestration, and cleaner combustion has brought attention on gasification to supplement fossil fueled energy, particularly by a fluidized bed. Developing tools and methods to predict operation and performance of gasifiers will lead to more efficient gasifier designs. This research investigates bed fluidization and particle decomposition for fluidized materials. Experimental methods were developed to model gravimetric and energetic response of thermally decomposing materials. Gravimetric, heat flow, and specific heat data were obtained from a simultaneous thermogravimetric analyzer (DSC/TGA). A method was developed to combine data in an energy balance and determine an optimized heat of decomposition value. This method was effective for modeling simple reactions but not for complex decomposition. Advanced method was developed to model mass loss using kinetic reactions. Kinetic models were expanded to multiple reactions, and an approach was developed to identify suitable multiple reaction mechanisms. A refinement method for improving the fit of kinetic parameters was developed. Multiple reactions were combined with the energy balance, and heats of decomposition determined for each reaction. From this research, this methodology can be extended to describe more complex thermal decomposition. Effects of particle density and diameter on the minimum fluidization velocity were investigated, and results compared to empirical models. Effects of bed mass on pressure drop through fluidized beds were studied. A method was developed to predict hydrodynamic response of binary beds from the response of each particle type and mass. Resulting pressure drops of binary mixtures resembled behavior superposition for individual particles.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chodak, Jillian"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Lattimer, Brian Y."],"committee_members":["Vandsburger, Uri","Battaglia, Francine"],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-05-05","date_published":"2010-05-05","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z","subjects":["particle characterization","Pyrolysis","partial bed loading","binary mixtures","lab-scale fluidized bed","reaction energetics","reaction kinetics","heat of decomposition"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05172010-091509"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-05172010-091509","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32920","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Lattimer, Brian Y."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Vandsburger, Uri","Battaglia, Francine"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chodak, Jillian"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:37:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:37:23Z","2010-06-02"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2010-05-05"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["particle characterization","Pyrolysis","partial bed loading","binary mixtures","lab-scale fluidized bed","reaction energetics","reaction kinetics","heat of decomposition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-05172010-091509"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32920"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Interest in non-traditional fuel sources, carbon dioxide sequestration, and cleaner combustion has brought attention on gasification to supplement fossil fueled energy, particularly by a fluidized bed. Developing tools and methods to predict operation and performance of gasifiers will lead to more efficient gasifier designs. This research investigates bed fluidization and particle decomposition for fluidized materials. Experimental methods were developed to model gravimetric and energetic response of thermally decomposing materials. Gravimetric, heat flow, and specific heat data were obtained from a simultaneous thermogravimetric analyzer (DSC/TGA). A method was developed to combine data in an energy balance and determine an optimized heat of decomposition value. This method was effective for modeling simple reactions but not for complex decomposition. Advanced method was developed to model mass loss using kinetic reactions. Kinetic models were expanded to multiple reactions, and an approach was developed to identify suitable multiple reaction mechanisms. A refinement method for improving the fit of kinetic parameters was developed. Multiple reactions were combined with the energy balance, and heats of decomposition determined for each reaction. From this research, this methodology can be extended to describe more complex thermal decomposition. Effects of particle density and diameter on the minimum fluidization velocity were investigated, and results compared to empirical models. Effects of bed mass on pressure drop through fluidized beds were studied. A method was developed to predict hydrodynamic response of binary beds from the response of each particle type and mass. Resulting pressure drops of binary mixtures resembled behavior superposition for individual particles."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Pyrolysis and Hydrodynamics of Fluidized Bed Media"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Lattimer, Brian Y."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Vandsburger, Uri","Battaglia, Francine"],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Chodak, Jillian"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:37:23Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:37:23Z","2010-06-02"],"dc:date.issued":["2010-05-05"],"dc:description.abstract":["Interest in non-traditional fuel sources, carbon dioxide sequestration, and cleaner combustion has brought attention on gasification to supplement fossil fueled energy, particularly by a fluidized bed. Developing tools and methods to predict operation and performance of gasifiers will lead to more efficient gasifier designs. This research investigates bed fluidization and particle decomposition for fluidized materials. Experimental methods were developed to model gravimetric and energetic response of thermally decomposing materials. Gravimetric, heat flow, and specific heat data were obtained from a simultaneous thermogravimetric analyzer (DSC/TGA). A method was developed to combine data in an energy balance and determine an optimized heat of decomposition value. This method was effective for modeling simple reactions but not for complex decomposition. Advanced method was developed to model mass loss using kinetic reactions. Kinetic models were expanded to multiple reactions, and an approach was developed to identify suitable multiple reaction mechanisms. A refinement method for improving the fit of kinetic parameters was developed. Multiple reactions were combined with the energy balance, and heats of decomposition determined for each reaction. From this research, this methodology can be extended to describe more complex thermal decomposition. Effects of particle density and diameter on the minimum fluidization velocity were investigated, and results compared to empirical models. Effects of bed mass on pressure drop through fluidized beds were studied. A method was developed to predict hydrodynamic response of binary beds from the response of each particle type and mass. Resulting pressure drops of binary mixtures resembled behavior superposition for individual particles."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-05172010-091509"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32920"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["particle characterization","Pyrolysis","partial bed loading","binary mixtures","lab-scale fluidized bed","reaction energetics","reaction kinetics","heat of decomposition"],"dc:title":["Pyrolysis and Hydrodynamics of Fluidized Bed Media"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:47Z"}