Axial dispersion in a liquid fluidized bed of particles akin to immobilized enzymes

The axial dispersion of a liquid fluidized bed of controlled pore silica (CPS) particles has been determined by the pulse tracer method. The CPS used was the same as for enzyme immobilization, having an average diameter of 0.436 mm and mean pore size of 37.5 nm. The fluidization liquid is α-amylase liquefied manioc starch, 30% w/v, 45°C pH=4.5. Nominal bed porosities tested were 0.7 and 0.8. The results show that the axial dispersion coefficient increases with greater superficial liquid velocities. Various available correlations tested disagree with each other to a large extent and are unable to represent collected experimental data.