CFD simulation of the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation reaction in the fixed bed reactor with a cylindrical catalyst of various sizes

In this paper, the Discrete Element Method of simulation was used to study the catalytic granule size effect on the efficiency of a bed reactor for the ethylbenzene dehydrogenation reaction. The model constructed for the laboratory experiment was made of catalyst granules of lengths 3, 6 and 9 mm, and diameters 2.8, 3, and 3.2 mm. A detailed evaluation of the catalyst total surface area and porosity effect was conducted owing to the analysis of particles size effect on the packing. Different results were observed for a wide feed gas mixture rate. Calculations performed allowed to deduce dependences of the reaction product concentration, the pressure drops, and the reactor productivity for all the particle sizes investigated.