The effects of magnetic stabilization on the structure and performance of liquid fluidized beds

Liquid fluidized beds containing porous magnetic ion-exchange particles with densities ca. 1.03-1.16 g mL-1 were examined. The effect of magnetic stabilization was studied, both in terms of bed physical characteristics and sorptive behavior. Maximum applied magnetic field strength was approximately 200 oersted. Breakthrough and pulse analyses were carried out with protein and acetone solutions, respectively, with liquid flow rates ranging from approximately 1 to 3 cm min-1. Acetone pulses in columns containing 7 mL of particles had plate numbers ranging from 2.5 to 18 for magnetically stabilized beds and from 7.8 to 20 for non-stabilized fluidized beds. Under any particular set of conditions, magnetic stabilization always resulted in poorer efficiency, both in pulse analyses and in protein breakthrough experiments.