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Craig is setting up a fluidized bed in which a reaction will take place. The reactants are combined with compressed air to act as the fluid in the bed and the particles inside of the bed are catalysts for the reaction. Craig sets up an experiment to determine which particle size is most effective for his reactor. In experiment 1, Craig utilizes particles that are 1 mm in diameter. In experiment 2, Craig uses particles that are 5 mm in diameter. Craig finds that his reaction reaches completion much faster when the 5 mm diameter particles are used so he decides to go forward with utilizing the larger particles for his reactor. What is one (1) potential drawback of utilizing the larger particles over the smaller ones? (answer must relate to the operation of the fluidized bed)
You can assume that the total mass of the particle bed will be equivalent no matter the size of the particles, the particles have the same density and that the particles are priced the same per gram over all size ranges. The tube in which the fluidization takes place is the same for both particle types. Additionally, the bed must become fluidized to achieve best reaction results.