A novel rotating distributor fluidized bed is presented. The distributor is a rotating perforated plate, with 1% open-area ratio. This work evaluates the performance of this new design, considering pressure drop, Delta p, and quality of fluidization. Bed fluidization was easily achieved with the proposed device, improving the solid mixing and the quality of fluidization. In order to examine the effect of the rotational speed of the distributor plate on the hydrodynamic behavior of the bed, minimum fluidization velocity, U-mf, and pressure fluctuations were analyzed. Experiments were conducted in the bubbling free regime in a 0.19 m i.d. fluidized bed, operating with Group B particles according to Geldart's classification. The pressure drop across the bed and the standard deviation of pressure fluctuations, up, were used to find the minimum fluidization velocity, U-mf. A decrease in U-mf is observed when the rotational speed increases and a rise in the measured pressure drop was also found. Frequency analysis of pressure fluctuations shows that fluidization can be controlled by the adjustable rotational speed, at several excess gas velocities. Measurements with several initial static bed heights were taken, in order to analyze the influence of the initial bed mass inventory, over the effect of the distributor rotation on the bed hydrodynamics. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.