Effects of fluidized parameters on capture of heavy metal in various bed-material size distributions

Artificial waste was used to simulate agglomeration/defluidization in a fluidized bed and to examine the heavy-metal distribution in bottom ash for various bed-material particle-size distributions (narrow, flat, and Gaussian). Heavy-metal concentration in most particles increased with Na addition, and the largest (> 1.000 mm)- and smallest (< 0.500 mm)-particle-size fractions had the highest metal concentrations. Additionally, Cr had the highest retention rate within the bed particles, followed by Pb and Cd. Comparison of the heavy-metal concentrations and retention rates for different particle-size distributions showed that the total retention rates were higher for narrow and Gaussian distributions than for the flat distribution.