In this paper we present findings from our study of the heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics of a conical fluidized bed reactor. An Eulerian-Eulerian model applying kinetic theory for granular flow was used in the numerical study and the results are compared with available experimental results. Although three-dimensional models generate more accurate results than two-dimensional models, most studies used two-dimensional models in order to reduce solution time. Three-dimensional analyses were performed on a conical fluidized bed reactor and the results are compared with those from two-dimensional analyses. The three-dimensional simulation results are in better agreement with experimental results than those from two-dimensional models, especially at high superficial inlet gas velocities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.