Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Design of packed bed reactors: guides to catalyst shape, size,

and loading selection
S. Afandizadeh *, E.A. Foumeny
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Received 22 January 2000; accepted 6 June 2000

Abstract
The engineering design of packed bed based unit operations is very much inuenced by the structure of
the packing matrix, which in turn is governed by the shape, dimensions and the loading of the constituent
particles. For, say, reactor applications, optimum design of catalyst pellet in terms of shape conguration,
internal pores and available surface area can promote catalytic activity and the prevailing transport
properties of the system. Moreover, at the design stage, fabrication cost, resistance to crushing and
abrasion, as well as dust build-up should also be taken into account. Knowledge of the underlying factors
should enable designers to engineer the optimum design for a given system with prescribed conditions.
However, in view of the signicance of pellet/packing design, this paper addresses certain issues, which
would elucidate the task. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Packed bed reactor; Catalyst; Particle shape, size and surface area; Voidage; Loading; Scale-up; Pressure
drop; Statistical test

1. Introduction

Packing of particles in a vessel or container is a subject of great interest to a wide range of

disciplines including reaction engineering, solids handling and heat transfer. Very many industrial
processes require the controlled packing of particulate solids; they include loading of nuclear fuel
elements, production of high bulk density concrete and the optimum packing of a host of

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-07713-880701; fax: +44-01922-623368.
E-mail address: jamshid@jalali_g.freeserve.co.uk (S. Afandizadeh).

1359-4311/01/$ - see front matter 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 3 5 9 - 4 3 1 1 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 7 2 - 7
670 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Nomenclature

As surface area of sphere

Ac surface area of solid cylinder
Ahc surface area of hollow cylinder
Asw surface area of single web
Acw surface area of cross web
di inside diameter of hollow cylinder
dp particle diameter
dpe equivalent diameter
dt tube diameter
D outside diameter of hollow cylinder
Di eorginal escaled-up
h height of particle
L bed length
SDDiff standard deviation of Di
Sp surface area of particles
V bed volume
Vp particle volume
e voidage
em mean voidage
DP pressure drop
qp particle density

materials such as catalysts in reactor tubes. There are eectively four variables, with subdivisions,
which control the packing process. These include particle (shape, absolute size, size distribution,
mass, elasticity and surface properties), container (shape, size and surface properties), deposition
(intensity, speed and method) and treatment after deposition (process vibration). In the design of
certain particulate systems, such as packed beds, it is customary to assume that the particles are of
equal size and all the prevailing void spaces are equally and uniformly distributed [14]. This is
clearly an idealised situation and reality can be far from such over-simplications [57]. The
variations in the size of the constituent particles can have an impact on the available surface area,
void spaces and, hence, the transport properties of the system [5,79]. Bed structure, in terms of
void spaces between pellets and pores within individual catalyst, will dictate the performance of
the system and therefore deserves special consideration. Reactor optimisation including catalyst
design is not a trivial task. For this, catalytic mathematical models based on mass and energy
balances should be formulated to predict reactor performance and to allow optimum design of
catalyst and reactor.
This paper deals with a number of issues, which inuence the design of packed beds, and on the
basis of that signicance matters such as selection of particle shape, loading and scaling are ad-
dressed here.
 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 671

2. Shapes and selection of particles

There is an innite number of shapes possible for particles and only a few variations are shown
in Fig. 1. Selection of particle shape for a given purpose will be inuenced by the active surface
area per unit volume of material, structural strength, ease of construction, manufacturing cost,
bed voidage, pressure drop through bed matrix, and the transport properties. Many of the pos-
sible shapes can be discarded because they would not be easy or economical to fabricate and/or
they would not have the necessary structural strength to resist crushing and abrasion. Particles
with poor strength would soon crumble in the process of intense loading and the resulting dust
and fragments would plug the spaces between pellets. This causes premature build-up in bed
pressure drop. To overcome breakage of fragile pellets during their loading into an open tube or
shell, the initial packing charge may be made by lling the empty container with water and then
dumping the packing slowly into the water. However, the desired features of the preferred shape,
for a given application, should be such that certain properties are high (e.g. active surface area per
unit volume, voidage, strength and transport coecients) whilst the rest are low (e.g. pressure
drop and cost). In the eld analysis, optimum design will be a compromise between competing
and conicting characteristics. As far as pellet shape is concerned, an obvious choice is the hollow
cylinder with possible further renements.
It must be stressed that shape selection is not a trivial exercise and due to the importance at-
tached to pellet shape, it deserves careful consideration. It should be added that selection criteria
might not necessarily be identical for dierent applications. In thermal regenerators, where
packing matrix primarily acts as heat storage medium, non-porous spherical and rectangular
pellets are common while in catalytic reactors, derivatives of porous cylinders are the most viable

Fig. 1. Typical particle shapes.

672 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Fig. 2. Variation of surface area ratio (solid cylinder/sphere) with particle aspect ratio.

option. At the design stage, enhanced surface area per unit volume and reduced pressure drop are
of prime importance. The desirability of higher surface area stems from the fact that, as a con-
sequence, a smaller, say, reactor volume would be required. For a given volume, cylindrical
particles provide higher surface area than their spherical counterparts. Fig. 2 displays surface area
ratio (sphere/cylinder of equivalent volume) versus aspect ratio of cylindrical particle (h=D). It is
clear that a solid cylinder gives, at least, 14.5% more surface area than a sphere of equivalent
volume, i.e. Ac P 1:145As . Extreme values of particle aspect ratio (i.e. h=D is close to zero and very
high) should be avoided because of their adverse performance characteristics. On the basis of
detailed examinations, value of about one (h=D 1:0) is recommended [9]. Moreover, beds of
solid cylinders give voidage values of around 0.30, compared to about 0.40 for spheres [1,2,9,10].
This means that for a given bed volume, additional cylindrical pellets can be accommodated,
facilitating 14.3% increased surface area, as calculated by the expression (es ec =1 ec ). In
other words, for a given surface area, a smaller (volume) unit would be required.
For a bed of solid cylinders, the increase in gross surface area would be about 28.8%. However,
to counter the increased pressure drop in such beds, the basic shape of solid cylinders is modied.
Possibilities include hollow cylinders with one or more holes, usually drilled axially. In the case of
hollow cylinders, particle diameter ratio (di =D) is also a design variable, signifying that the di-
ameter and the number of holes are important. Fig. 3 illustrates surface area ratio (hollow cyl-
inder/solid cylinder) plotted against diameter ratio (di =D), for a range of aspect ratio values. An
inspection of the displayed results reveals that, avoiding impracticable values of di =D corre-
sponding to solid and innitely thin hollow cylinders, the optimum design range is relatively
conned. This is believed to be 0:75 6 h=D < 1:50 and 0:4 < di =D < 0:8, giving some 2030%
extra surface area for hollow cylinders compared to the corresponding solid cylinders. This, i.e.
extrusion of solid cylinders, should also result in higher voidage and, hence, signicantly lower
pressure drop [11]. Creation of axially extruded holes, particularly in terms of size and number, is
a challenging optimisation task, requiring extensive experimentation. In industrial practice, e.g.
methanol converters, four-hole cylindrical pellets are known to give improved reactor perfor-
mance compared to more conventional pellet shapes [9].
 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 673

Fig. 3. Eects of particle aspect ratio and diameter ratio on surface area ratio (hollow/solid cylinder).

Hollow cylinders (also known as Raschig rings) can be further rened by the addition of a
single web (known as Lessing ring), cross web or grooves in order to enhance the amount of active
surface and to promote the prevailing turbulence. In a further attempt, single and cross web
arrangements are examined. Typical results are illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The displayed relative
surface area information are calculated using tedious mathematical expressions derived for both
shapes, assuming that the thickness of the web being equal to that of the cylinder wall. It is
important to note that in both (single and cross web) cases, the diameter ratio must satisfy the
condition di =D > 0:33. Fig. 4 shows surface area ratio values (single web/hollow cylinder) for
dierent values of di =D and h=D. For the suggested dimensional details, i.e. 0:75 6 h=D < 1:50 and
0:4 < di =D < 0:8, the increase in surface area, due to the single web, for a given pellet is between
10% and 27%, compared to the corresponding hollow cylinders. This increase in surface area,
Asw Ahc =Ahc  100, is directly proportional to h=D and di =D.
It should also be said that for the extreme condition, where di =D 1:0, the surface area ratio is
p 2=p 1, i.e. Asw =Ahc 1:24, for dierent values of h=D. The extension of this to cross web
arrangements can be seen in Fig. 5. It is evident that in the present case, the particle aspect ratio,
h=D, does not inuence, appreciably, the surface area ratio, whilst the eect of di =D is more
noticeable. An inspection of the displayed results (Fig. 5) also reveals that cross web can only oer

Fig. 4. Eects of particle details (di =D and h=D) on surface area ratio (single web/hollow cylinder).
674 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Fig. 5. Eects of particle details (di =D and h=D) on surface area ratio (cross web/single web).

additional surface area, as compared to single web, when di =D > 0:6. For realistic dimensions, the
increase in surface area is up to 16%. It is very important to state, at this juncture, that renements
from hollow cylinder to, say, single or cross web must be based on economic justication. This
means that any enhanced performance must be judged against the likely increase in fabrication
cost.
As to the size issue, particles are dened by their diameter (dp ) or equivalent diameter (dpe ). For
spherical particles, the choice is fairly straightforward but for other shapes equivalent diameter is
used, which is based on the diameter of a sphere of equal volume, or more appropriately dened
as dpe 6Vp =Sp , where Vp and Sp are the volume and surface area of the particle in question.

3. Loading/charging of particles

3.1. Aspects of conventional loading

The ecient and successful operation of catalytic processes depends on the condition of the
catalysts employed. Catalyst handling including charging should be exercised with care and the
signicance of the task considered at the design and planning stages. As far as bed structure is
concerned, it is important that unstable and inecient arrangements are avoided. In industrial
practice, particles of desired size and shape are dumped randomly into a container to form a
packed bed. The general rules governing catalysts loading are (i) they should have a free fall
distance of less than 0.5 m, and (ii) the pellets must be distributed evenly as the bed is gradually
lled. The height that a catalyst pellet can fall without serious damage depends on its strength
and, in certain cases, on particle shape. A hard spherical granule will withstand landing collisions
better than a soft angular pellet. Strong pellets can speed up the charging process, signicantly. In
the course of bed formation, i.e. charging, particle segregation and uneven distribution should be
prevented, as they would lead to undesirable ow maldistribution with corresponding pressure
variations. Moreover, pellets must not be charged in a way to form bridges across the tube walls,
as this will lead to inecient (i.e. high voidage) packing regions and, hence, resulting in, say,
overheating during an exothermic operation. One common method of lling a tube evenly is to
 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 675

use a catalyst-lled canvas or polyethylene sock, attached to an external hopper. When the sock,
which is gradually being lowered inside the tube, has reached the bottom of the tube, then a cord
which is attached to the sock, is withdrawn with a sharp tug. The sock is then pulled slowly in
order to allow the catalyst pellets to fall into the tube in a controlled manner. For accessibility, the
size of the charged sock should be slightly less than the internal diameter of the tube.
In multi-tubular catalytic reactors, where thousands of tubes may be bundled inside a large
shell, the charging process must be followed for all and every tubes. One of the most dicult
issues facing designers would be to ensure consistency of structure between packed tubes, i.e. from
ll to ll. To satisfy this condition, bed pressure drop and charged weight are examined, and it is
important that, for example, the measured pressure drop across each tube is maintained within
5% of the mean value. A higher gure is generally indicative of broken pellets, in which case the
tube in question should be recharged with acceptable catalysts. On the other hand, an unex-
pectedly low pressure drop suggests that there are large gaps or spaces in the packing matrix and
that the tube in question requires further vibration. It is useful to state at this juncture that
pressure drop across a bed is very sensitive to bed mean voidage (e), roughly proportional to e3 .
In view of this, beds are usually vibrated periodically during the charging process in order to
improve their stability and compactness. This procedure, which results in dense packing, is ap-
plied during the charging process by means of a vibrator or by hammering the top ange with a
soft-faced hammer. In any case, dense packing is preferred to loose packing because, otherwise,
process noise-related bed shrinkage, and hence less desirable reactor performance, would be even
more pronounced. It is known that a loosely packed catalyst bed will settle in use and the pressure
drop may consequently increase by up to 100%, which drastically aects the economic viability of
the unit. In reality, the structure can collapse or shrink in the order of 1020% of the original bed
height. Another important issue is the reproducibility and uniformity of bed structure, particu-
larly in multi-tubular packed bed arrangements.

3.2. Bed shrinkage

To establish the extent of bed shrinkage, arising from process disturbance, a number of ex-
periments have been conducted. For this, four tubes together with dierent particles are em-
ployed. In each case, the tube of a given size is lled, randomly, with the desired particles. The bed
is subsequently subjected to vibrations and the percentage of shrinkage is recorded. Each ex-
periment is conducted up to three times and the established data conrmed the reproducibility of
the observations. Typical experimental results are shown in Table 1. It is clearly evident that
vibration can cause particles to move in a way to be more compact, i.e. resulting in bed shrinkage.
The limited experiments pursued here showed bed shrinkage between 6% and 15%. The intensity
of noise and vibration, as present in industrial environment, can have a more severe consequence.
However, the existence of disturbance signies the fact that bed shrinkage is an important phe-
nomenon, which must be given due consideration.

3.3. Improved loading method

One major problem associated with conventional loading methods is the inconsistency in bed
structure, i.e. mean and local voidage properties, from ll to ll. In the ltration industry,
676 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Table 1
Eect of vibration on bed shrinkage
dt (mm), L (mm)
5, 97 12, 57 12, 125 14, 93
Shrinkage (%)
Salt 5.84 6.58 8.00 6.45
Sugar 6.70 6.58 10.00 9.68
Moonga dp 4 5.26 6.40 8.06
Lentil dpe 4:76 7.02 13.20 14.52
a
Grass pea.

however, some companies have adopted a patented packing procedure [12], which not only gives
dense packing, and so minimises settling occurrences, but also gives improved reproducibility of
the packing. This also means that the procedure leads to consistently low voidage beds. The
patented method, known as ``snow storm lling'', involves passing the packing material over
staggered wires or wire meshes so that the fall of the particles is interrupted before the particles
reach the bed face. The ow interruption serves two basic purposes. Firstly, it causes radial
dispersion of particles and, as a consequence, the entire bed face is covered at a uniform rate. The
second purpose is to align the particles so that a greater proportion of them reaches the bed face
with a minimal area of contact. This would lead to the greatest pressures being exerted on the bed
face by the collision with the falling particles and, therefore, any local cavities are likely to be
levelled out. The radial dispersion action also reduces the possibility of ne particles aggregating
at the centre of the bed and would, consequently, contribute to the uniformity of bed structure.
Fig. 6 shows the equipment used for this method of lling beds.
During the snow storm lling (ssf) procedure, the empty tube is placed underneath the fall tube.
Charging the bed is done by, rst, delivering the requisite amount of material to the hopper and
then passing it through the fall tube at a specied rate. This rate is calculated by choosing a

Fig. 6. Apparatus for snow storm lling of packed beds.

 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 677

constant lling (or charging) speed equivalent to 0.55.0 mm (of bed length) per second at which
the bed length is to be loaded. This can be translated into typical speeds of 0.72.5 mm/s. The
diameter of the fall tube needs to be either the same or larger as that of the empty tube. This
ensures that the full cross-sectional area of the bed (empty tube) is accessed by the owing par-
ticles. A feature of selecting a single ll rate for the ssf technique is that, in processes involving
frequent bed lling, the time management is made easier. This ensures the reliability of the
technique to provide reproducible dense packing with minimal mean voidage variations between
successive lls.
Results from a series of ssf-based experiments are shown in Table 2. Here, data points for each
set represent three measurement values for a bed packed by three dierent methods, namely slow
lling, fast lling and snow storm lling. In these experiments, dierent sizes of spheres packing
are used. The fast pouring method simply involves dumping adequate quantity of material from a
beaker straight into a funnel situated above the bed opening and without applying any tapping or
shaking disturbance. The bed is overlled and then levelled with a metal ruler to assure consis-
tency in bed height for all runs. In the slow pouring method, the only dierence is that the

Table 2
Mean voidage, em , results from dierent methods of bed llinga
Filling method and time to ll bed
Fast lling, <5 s Slow lling, 30 s Snow storm lling, 570 s
(at 0.7 mm/s)
dp 1.13 mm; dt =dp 34.51
Bed packing weight 870.1 866.9 865.3 877.4 879.4 883 934.6 934.7 934.9
Average weight of 3 runs 867.4 879.9 934.7
Average bed voidage 0.378 0.369 0.330

dp 4.0 mm; dt =dp 9.75

Bed packing weight 870.4 870.5 870.8 891.6 889.9 888.2 921 920.6 921.2
Average weight of 3 runs 870.6 889.9 920.9
Average bed voidage 0.378 0.362 0.340

dp 1.64 mm; dt =dp 23.78

Bed packing weight 926.6 929.9 925.3 937.1 937.2 938.9 972.9 973.2 971.9
Average weight of 3 runs 927.3 937.7 972.7
Average bed voidage 0.335 0.328 0.303

dp 2.67 mm; dt =dp 14.61

Bed packing weight 918.2 921.7 922.2 934.6 929.4 931 972 966.4 970.2
Average weight of 3 runs 920.7 931.7 969.5
Average bed voidage 0.340 0.332 0.305

dp 2.03 mm; dt =dp 19.21

Bed packing weight 933.4 934.1 931.6 941.1 938.6 939.4 990.2 993.4 989.9
Average weight of 3 runs 933.0 0.9397 991.2
Average bed voidage 0.331 0.327 0.290
a
dt 39 mm; L 400 mm; V 0:48 l; qp 2:92 g/cc; em em  0:015.
678 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Fig. 7. Calculated mean voidage values using dierent methods of lling.

dumping into the funnel above the bed opening is deliberately slowed so that it takes, approxi-
mately, 30 s to ll the bed. The ssf procedure is then applied at a ll speed of 0.7 mm/s. The results
illustrate the repeatability of the ssf method, i.e. giving less variations in the total packing weights
and conrming the dense nature of the packing.
The actual packing for the experiments is mono-sized spheres of 1.13 and 4.0 mm sizes. The
particle equivalent diameter, dpe , values of 1.64 and 2.67 mm are obtained by mixing dierent size
spheres, as 50/50 (by weight) binary mixtures, and the size of 2.03 mm comprised a quaternary
mixture of 1.13, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 mm spheres, equally added in weight. Accordingly, as can be seen
from Table 2, the quaternary mixture has the lowest voidage of 0.29 from the ssf packing pro-
cedure. This is because, the interstices between large particles could be more readily lled by the
smaller particles in that mixture, and because ssf technique gives good dispersion of all the particle
sizes present.
For convenience, the results of Table 2 are displayed in Fig. 7 for the three loading methods,
namely fast, slow and snow storm lling. As expected, the snow storm lling provides the most
dense packing, i.e. the least voidage, and this observation is due to the eective mechanical vi-
bration, applied as the bed is being formed. In addition to the compact packing, this method of
lling proved to generate reproducible results. Of the three methods employed here, fast lling
method tends to give the largest voidage. This phenomenon is caused by the fact that the time
interval between the formation of successive layers is very short, eectively culminating in loose
orientation of particles. By the same argument, slow lling gives a more compact packing ar-
rangement compared to fast lling.

4. Scale-up consideration

Scale-up is the inherent feature of all industrial design activities. It is generally the process of
moving from demonstrations to commercial operating units; i.e. from small to large, whilst having
condence in the designed product. The success of any scale-up exercise is judged by the per-
formance of the designed system. The most appropriate approach of gathering reliable design
data is from the real size plant but, unfortunately, this is usually not possible. Accurate design of
 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 679

any system calls for the acquisition of dependable design information; data which can reliably be
used to design units of the desired size. Laboratory or benchmark experiments should be carried
out for a variety of sizes whilst keeping certain dimensional ratios xed. In the case of packed
beds, the most signicant parameter is the tube to particle diameter ratio, dt =dp . For irregular
particles, dp should be replaced by equivalent diameter. However, it is now recognised that for
certain beds, i.e. where dt =dp < 10, the total pressure drop, DP, across the bed can be greatly
inuenced by the diameter ratio, as DP is very sensitive to the bed voidage, e. Bearing in mind the
signicance of pressure drop (hence, pumping requirements) on the capital and running costs of a
given unit, accurate design is of vital importance. The mean voidage can vary between 0.40 and
0.67 for cylindrical beds packed with spheres of small diameter ratios, 1:87 6 dt =dp 6 10:0, and for
larger systems, i.e. dt =dp > 10, it takes a constant value of 39% [1,2,5,9]. Apart from particle shape
and diameter ratio, dt =dp , scaling can be expected to aect the bed structure and, hence, the overall
performance of the system.
A number of cylindrical beds randomly packed with mono size spheres of dierent specica-
tions have been subjected to experimental scrutiny. Table 3 lists three pairs of beds with diameter
ratios of 4.02, 8.75 and 14.58. In each pair, the diameters of tube, dt , and particle, dp , have been
changed whilst retaining their ratio, dt =dp . This enables scaling eect to be assessed. Mean and
standard deviation of voidage distribution for each bed are tabulated for analysis purposes. The
tabulated values of mean voidage vary between 0.41 and 0.49 and in each pair of beds, the scaled-
up beds, i.e. ACSS, BCSS and CCSS, have lower values of voidage compared to their corre-
sponding original beds, i.e. ACS, BCS and CCS. This is due to the scaling eect, which as a
consequence of packing weight, causes relatively larger/heavier particles to pack more compact,
e.g. say ACSS compared with ACS.
In a further attempt, the observed data of all beds have been subjected to statistical scrutiny
based on, for example, KologorovSimirnov test [13] in order to establish whether there is any
real dierence between beds in each pair. For this, SPSS, (Statistical Package for Social Science),
is utilised in order to gather the necessary statistical properties. The tests require voidage data and
for this over 2000 values were used for each bed. The data points, uniformly and consistently
distributed, were generated using image analysis techniques, details of which can be found else-
where [5]. Typical frequencyvoidage histograms for beds BCS and BCSS dt =dp 8:75 are
shown in Fig. 8. Inspection of the displayed histograms reveals that, despite similarity in trends,
both beds appear to have dierent properties. For example, the mean and standard deviation of
voidage distribution for bed BCS are 0.437 and 0.18, respectively, as compared to the corre-
sponding values of 0.410 and 0.19 for scaled-up bed BCSS. Moreover, the frequency of voidage

Table 3
Statistical information on three pairs of beds
Bed dp (mm) dt (mm) dt =dp Mean voidage Standard deviation
ACS 1.92 28.00 14.58 0.41 0.16
ACSS 4.00 58.32 14.58 0.40 0.16
BCS 3.20 28.00 8.75 0.43 0.18
BCSS 5.10 44.62 8.75 0.41 0.19
CCS 3.10 12.46 4.02 0.48 0.25
CCSS 6.96 28.00 4.02 0.49 0.24
680 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

Fig. 8. Comparison of voidage distributions of two beds (dt =dp 8:75).

values in the range 0.270.57, for beds BCS and BCSS, are 1550 and 1520, respectively, signifying
some 2% increased occurrence in BCS as compared to BCSS. The results are indicative of the fact
that bed structure, as typied by voidage, is also inuenced by scaling. This means that for a given
system, with xed geometrical properties and loading procedures, the scaling or relative size can
inuence bed structure. The pronouncement will be dictated by the scale-up factor, loading and
packing characteristics.
The axial voidage distributions for the two aforementioned beds are shown in Fig. 9, where the
mean voidage of dierent cross-sections are plotted against the dimensionless axial distance. It is
evident that bed BCSS, i.e. the scaled-up bed, shows lower voidage values. This is caused by the
increased weight of the constituent particles of bed BCSS, giving a more condensed packing
matrix.
Further statistical data for all three pairs of beds are given in Table 4. The tabulated data
provide information on dierence of mean voidage values (Di), standard deviation of corre-
sponding local voidage values (SDDiff ), t-value, p-value, and 95% condence interval (CI). These
properties are used to conduct the required tests, so as to indicate whether the beds in each set are

Fig. 9. Axial voidage distribution for beds BCS and BCSS.

 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682 681

Table 4
Statistical information based on mean test
Paired beds Mean voidage Di a SDDiff b t-value p-value 95% CI
ACS, ACSS 0.4143, 0.4045 0.0098 0.102 4.54 0.000 (0.006, 0.014)
BCS, BCSS 0.4366, 0.4145 0.0221 0.115 8.72 0.000 (0.017, 0.027)
CCS, CCSS 0.4766, 0.4961 0.0194 0.154 4.54 0.000 (0.028, 0.011)
a
Diff e bed 1 e bed 2; based on mean values.
b
SDDiff standard deviation of variable Di; based on individual values.

identical. This is achieved by calculating, in turn, Di, SDDiff , t-value, p-value (probability value)
and 95% CI. The test for each pair is based on the comparison of p-value against 95% CI values. If
the p-value lies within 95% CI values, then the hypothesis (i.e. beds being identical) is accepted,
otherwise it is rejected. Considering beds BCS and BCSS, as an example, the p-value of 0.000 is
outside the 95% CI values of 0.017 and 0.027. This suggests that, with 95% condence, it can be
assumed the two beds are not identical in structure. This pattern is also evident in other pairs. In
general, scaling-up aects bed structure and, as stated earlier, the extent of that pronouncement is
inuenced by a number of factors.

5. Conclusions

Particulate beds are frequently encountered in a wide range of engineering disciplines. Accurate
design of such systems relies on the selection of appropriate particle shape and the ability to
estimate, accurately and condently, the structural and transport properties of the bed. Variables,
which aect bed structure, are the properties of the particles and the container as well as the
loading of particles and subsequent treatment. This article has addressed a number of issues such
as selection of shapes, loading methods and scaling.
It is important to note that a chosen or newly designed catalyst pellet shape must be subjected
to rigorous laboratory/pilot plant tests. As part of this, it is necessary to quantify the transport
phenomena and the reaction kinetics that govern the catalyst performance. This is done by de-
veloping a catalystreactor mathematical model so that all the prevailing physical/operating
variables can be studied for their main and interaction eects. The nal catalyst design will
represent a compromise between competing and conicting characteristics. However, after the
optimised catalyst is produced, its performance must be tested in an experimental reactor. It is
required that the nal product (design) will combine maximum activity, yield, and resistance with
minimum pressure drop and fabrication cost.
Further scrutiny of bed structure in terms of local voidage distributions and the way bed
general properties aect transport and kinetic coecients can be found in a follow-up paper.

References

[1] E.A. Foumeny, H.A. Moallemi, C. McGreavy, J.A.A. Castro, Can. J. Chem. Engng. 69 (1991) 1010.
[2] E.A. Foumeny, F. Benyahia, Heat Recovery Syst. and CHP II 2 (1991) 127.
682 S. Afandizadeh, E.A. Foumeny / Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 669682

[3] A.G. Dixon, Can. J. Chem. Engng. 66 (1988) 705.

[4] D.P. Haughey, G.S.C. Beveridge, Can. J. Chem. Engng. 47 (1969) 130.
[5] S. Afandizadeh, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds, 1996.
[6] C. McGreavy, E.A. Foumeny, K.H. Javed, Chem. Engng. Sci. 41 (1986) 787.
[7] P.M. Summers, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds, 1994.
[8] H.A. Moallemi, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leeds, 1989.
[9] E.A. Foumeny, J.A. Castro, J. Ma, Design Aspects of Fixed Beds, in press.
[10] E.A. Foumeny, S. Roshani, Chem. Engng. Sci. 46 (1991) 2363.
[11] E.A. Foumeny, F. Benyahia, J.A. Castro, H.A. Moallemi, S. Roshani, Int. J. Heat and Mass Transfer 36 (1993)
536.
[12] Improvement in or relating to the lling of granular materials into container, patent number 606,867, Jan. 21, 1946.
[13] S. Dowdy, S. Wearden, Statistics for Research, Wiley, New York, 1983.