Challenges and enablers in fluidization technology

Abstract Gas–solid fluidized beds provide excellent heat and mass transfer for high‐throughput operations from coating to catalytic conversion and underpin emerging low‐carbon technologies. Yet industrial reliability, scale‐up, and control lag scientific understanding, particularly as finer, stickier, and more variable feedstocks increasingly challenge conventional heuristics. This Perspective identifies five critical challenges: (i) small, cohesive, and/or irregular particles, (ii) complex chemistries and evolving materials, (iii) limited gas–solid flow predictability, (iv) low energy and material efficiency, and (v) safety. We then highlight five enablers to accelerate progress: (1) robust, time‐resolved sensing; (2) mechanism‐based assistance and mitigation methods; (3) high‐fidelity multiscale models bridging particles to reactors; (4) AI‐driven design, optimization, and control; and (5) closer academia‐industry collaboration. Together, these advances can transform fluidization from an empirical art into a predictive, reliable platform for circular and low‐carbon technologies.