This book covers the rich phenomenology exhibited by fine powders when
they are fluidized by a gas flow. Fine powder cohesiveness leads to poor
flowability, clumping, difficulty in fluidizing, irregular avalanching
behavior, etc. Despite all the inconveniences, fine powder processes
pervade the chemical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and mining industries
among others. The author in this book analyzes the mechanism by which
interparticle adhesive forces are reduced by means of surface additives.
Different techniques have been developed in the last years to assist
fluidization by helping the gas flow to mobilize and break cohesive
aggregates, which help to homogenize fluidization. As reviewed in this
book, the use of these techniques may have a relevant impact on novel
processes based on fluidized beds of fine powder and with relevant
applications on leading edge technologies such as Atomic Layer
Deposition on nanoparticles and CO2 capture by gas-fluidized beds of
adsorbent powders. The study of fluidized beds has a marked
interdisciplinary character. This book is thus intended for academic and
industrial researchers in applied physics, mechanical, chemical, and
environmental engineering, who are interested in the special
characteristics of fine powders.