Abstract

Significance Fine particles are common in industrial production， daily life， and the natural environment， posing significant hazards to industrial equipment， environmental quality， and human health. Therefore，the efficient removal of fine particles has become a key research area. However， existing technologies for dust removal technologies are generally unsuitable for environments with temperatures exceeding 500 ℃， with only a few viable options， such as ceramic filters and granular bed filters （GBFs）. Ceramic filters have received limited attention due to issues like clogging and high costs， whereas GBFs have garnered significant interest due to their high filtration efficiency， resistance to high temperatures and pressures， durability against wear and corrosion， low cost， simple structure， and broad adaptability. As one of the most promising technologies for high-temperature dust removal， GBFs are now widely used in energy， chemical， metallurgical， and environmental industries， making further research in this area highly valuable.

Progress Extensive research has been conducted on GBFs，making significant advancements. Experimental studies have primarily focused on fixed-bed GBF and moving-bed GBFs， as research on fluidized-bed GBFs remains limited due to their relatively lower filtration efficiency. Key directions in experimental research include： 1） Development of new GBF types.Fluidized-bed and moving-bed GBFs are novel adaptations of fixed-bed GBFs. In addition， researchers have explored various alternatives， including dual-layer fixed-bed GBFs， triple-layer fixed-bed GBFs， and dual-layer moving-bed GBFs. 2） Optimization of existing GBFs.Moving-bed GBFs， with their complex structures compared to fixed-bed GBFs，have been a particular focus. Research has examined the design and placement of flow distribution plates， louvers， and internal components， including their shape， size， position， angle， and symmetry.Analysis of GBF performance. Studies have investigated the relationship between GBF performance， mainly dust removal efficiency and pressure drop， and various macroscopic parameters， such as granular bed thickness， granule size of the filter media， mass flow rate of filter media granules （for moving-bed GBFs）， filtration velocity， filtration time， temperature， fine particle size， and the mass flow rate of fine particles at the GBF inlet. While the quantitative relationship between these parameters and GBF performance differs across studies， there is a broad consensus on the qualitative trends as documented in many literatures. 3） Numerical studies on GBF initially focused on single-granule filtration models， which only considered the motion and deposition of fine particles around a single granule in an airflow， neglecting complex interactions between granules that could affect their movement and deposition.Previous research aimed to establish a connection between single-granule filtration and granular bed filtration，establishing empirical formulas for predicting filtration efficiency.However， these formulas generally had evident errors and limited applicability. Despite these limitations， single-granule filtration models provided insights into the motion and deposition processes of fine particles， laying a solid foundation for further research of GBF. With advancements in computational technologies， granular bed filtration models have evolved.Current approaches include regular granule arrangements and discrete element method （DEM）-based random granule packing. The former simplifies calculations， while the latter better captures granule interactions and reflects real-world conditions.Mathematical modeling of dust-laden airflow through granular beds is typically addressed using gas-solid two-phase flow methods， such as computational fluid dynamics （CFD）-DEM or CFD-discrete phase model （DPM）. Numerical studies on GBF primarily focus on fine particle motion and deposition in granular beds and the influence of various parameters on GBF performance. However， numerical research on moving-bed GBF is still lacking.

Conclusions and Prospects Despite significant progress， several shortcomings persist in GBF research：limited micro-level analysis and in complete and inadequate numerical modeling. With the increasing demands for energy conservation and environmental protection， the potential of GBF technology is increasingly recognized in various fields. Future research should mainly focus on the following areas： 1） Developing new GBF types or optimizing existing designs to broaden their application range and adaptability to various complex operating conditions. 2） Advancing numerical research methods to establish more comprehensive and practical models. 3） Conducting numerical studies on moving-bed GBFs to support their industrial application.

Keywords： granular bed filter； experimental research； numerical research； research progress

Get Citation:CAI Jie， ZHU Kangning， SHEN Xiaoyou， et al. Research progress on granular bed filter［J］. China Powder Science and Technology， 2026， 32（3）： 1-14.

Received: 2024-12-17 .Revised: 2025-03-24,Online: 2025-08-25.

Funding Project:国家自然科学基金项目， 编号： 52276121。

First Author:蔡杰（1978—），男，教授，博士，硕士生导师，研究方向为多相流。E-mail：caijie@njnu.edu.cn。

DOI：10.13732/j.issn.1008-5548.2026.03.003

CLC No:TK284.5； TB4   Type Code: A

Serial No:1008-5548（2026）03-0001-14