Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) fluidized beds have potential applications in metal heating or workpiece heat treatments. The combustion of LPG and the controls of the atmosphere inside the bed and the bed temperature are very concerned. The combustion of LPG has been investigated in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed with a jetting-mixing nozzle distributor and hollow corundum sphere particles of 0.867-1.212 mm in diameter and 386-870 kg/m(3) in bulk density at 800-1100 degrees C. Experiments were carried out for fuel-rich mixtures to explore the possibility to obtain mild oxidizing, non-oxidizing or reducing atmosphere in the bed. Air factor (the ratio of the volume of air actually fed into the bed to that in a stoichiometric mixture) is in between 0.3 and 1.0 and U/U-mf 1.3-3.0. The distributor brings LPG and air into an intense contact sufficient to permit in-bed combustion without backfire problems. The experimental results show that the fluidized bed furnace offers excellent thermal uniformity and temperature control. The size of the combustion zone is usually larger than that of the temperature variation zone. Particle properties, initial bed height, air factor and U/U-mf all affect the bed temperature profile, whereas only the air factor and U/U-mf have significant effects on the combustion in the bed. The bed temperature can be adjusted by separate or combined adjusting of air factor and U/U-mf. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.