Preparation and Characterization of Nd-Fe-B Alloy-densified Agarose Matrices for Expanded-bed Operation
核壳型钕铁硼琼脂糖载体的制备及其膨胀床特性

Novel dense composite matrices have been prepared by coating 4% agarose gel onto NdFeB alloy particles by a water-in-oil emulsification method, and NdFeB alloy-densified agarose (NFBA) gels with different size distributions and densities, NFBAS (50~165 mm, 1.88 g/ml) and NFBAL (140~300 mm, 2.04 g/ml), were obtained. The expansion characteristics of the expanded bed with new matrices were found in accordance with the RichardsonZaki equation. It allowed flow rate up to 154 cm/h for the NFBAS and 660 cm/h for the NFBAL to reach twofold bed expansion. Liquid-phase dispersion behavior in the expanded bed was examined by measurements of residence time distribution. It is shown that the axial dispersion level decreased with increasing flow rate or settled bed height. Moreover, the beds with the NFBA matrices have smaller axial dispersion level compared with that of Streamline SP. The results indicate that the NFBA gels exhibited promising properties for expanded bed operation.