Simulation Model of Turbulent Fluidized-Bed Catalytic Reactor

A simulation model is developed to describe the turbulent fluidized-bed catalytic reactor. The features of the proposed model are as follows : 1) A mean void fraction ε is considered instead of bubbles and its value is affected by the operating condition. 2) A multistage perfect-mixing cell model with up-and-down flows of particles is considered to describe the gas and solid mixing in the bed. It was confirmed that the calculated results from this model can explain the observed data obtained from a high-pressure bench-scale methanol synthesis reactor. Furthermore, resulting the sensitivity analysis for model parameters, it is concluded that the temperature profile which controls the yield of methanol is most seriously affected by the value of mean void fraction ε. Consequently, the accurate estimation of ε is most important to establish the simulation model of the turbulent fluidized-bed catalytic reactor.