A review on pulsed flow in gas-solid fluidized beds and spouted beds: Recent work and future outlook

•The advantages of pulsed flow in different applications and need of further studies.•Enhancing fluidizing fine and cohesive particles and preventing agglomeration.•Better mixing and boosting the rates of heat and mass transfer.•Preserving upward momentum and increasing maximum spoutable bed height.•Shift from dominance of experimental work to numerical studies in recent years.