Hydrodynamic modeling of liquid-solid flow in polyolefin slurry reactors using CFD techniques – A critical analysis

This first-of-its-kind review discusses the hydrodynamics for polyolefin productions in slurry reactors using CFD. Past reviews in this field are specifically focused on the CFD simulations of gas-phase reactors. This paper critically discusses the multi-scale behavior of liquid-solid hydrodynamics in polyolefin slurry reactors. The multifarious aspects of liquid-solid and solid-solid interactions and their impact on reactor performance are discussed. The review also discusses the possible methods to avoid the reactor operational difficulty due to various interactions such as slug formation, particle swelling, and aggregation. The in-depth analysis presented in this work can serve as a prerequisite for the design, scale-up, and optimization of any liquid-solid fluidization system. The CFD tools with their framework, simulation parameters, and the importance of parameter sensitivity analysis have been critically analysed. The article stems to provide a roadmap for future research work and proposes the challenges of future research that will help the prospective researchers. [Display omitted] •Hydrodynamic modeling approaches for the slurry polyolefin reactors are discussed.•The multifarious interactions and their impact on reactor performance are analyzed.•Particle swelling, agglomeration and slug formation impact reactor operation.•CFD framework and parameter sensitivity analysis are critically reviewed.•A roadmap for future research opportunities and challenges are discussed.