Performance Evaluation of a Twin Fluid Air-Blast Atomizer for the FCC Feed System: An Experimental Study

This paper investigates the spray characteristics of a specially designed nozzle tailored for riser applications.Through experimental analysis, the study aims to identify optimal operational parameters for the nozzle design.An extensive experimental evaluation is conducted to assess the atomizing performance of a twin-fluid air blast atomizer and its potential integration into contemporary FCC feed systems.The novel conceptual air blast atomizer incorporates an impactor bolt positioned at varying distances in front of the liquid jet, aiming to enhance mixing dynamics and atomization performance.Utilizing water and compressed air as working fluids, droplet sizes and velocities are measured using a phase Doppler particle analyzer.Results indicate a reduction in droplet size, as evidenced by a decrease in the Specific Mean Diameter (SMD), attributed to the impactor bolt positioned 5 mm away from the center of the air injection orifice.Furthermore, the shift in spray axis, opposite the impactor bolt's placement, influences droplet mean velocity.