Flocculationtimeisconventionallybelievedtobeproportionaltotheflocculationefficiencyofacylindricalfluidizedbedflocculator.However,inasingle-stagevelocitygradientsituation,theflocculationefficiencydecreaseswhentheoptimalflocculationtimeisexceeded.Amulti-stagevelocitygradientwasestablishedinacylindricalfluidizedbedflocculator,basedonthehydraulicclassificationtheory.Thismulti-stagevelocitygradientfluidizedbedflocculator(MGF)createdamoresuitableenvironmentforflocgrowthandprotection,whichwasconfirmedbythesizedistributionofflocsalongthebedheight.Correspondingly,theabatementefficienciesforKaolinslurryanddyedwastewatertreatmentintheMGFwereenhancedby5-10%,andby7-20%,respectively,comparedwiththoseinthesingle-stagevelocitygradientfluidizedbedflocculators(SGFs).TheinitialbedheightdistributionratioalongthevelocitygradientswasanimportantfactorforMGFoptimization.
