KINETIC MODELING OF A FISCHER-TROPSCH REACTION OVER A COBALT CATALYST IN A SLURRY BUBBLE COLUMN REACTOR FOR INCORPORATION INTO A COMPUTATIONAL MULTIPHASE FLUID DYNAMICS MODEL
Currently multi-tubular fixed bed reactors, fluidized bed reactors, and slurry bubble column reactors (SBCRs) are used in commercial Fischer Tropsch (FT) synthesis. There are a number of advantages of the SBCR compared to fixed and fluidized bed reactors. The main advantage of the SBCR is that temperature control and heat recovery are more easily achieved. The SBCR is a multiphase chemical reactor where a synthesis gas, comprised mainly of H2 and CO, is bubbled through a liquid hydrocarbon wax containing solid catalyst particles to produce specialty chemicals, lubricants, or fuels. The FT synthesis reaction is the polymerization of methylene groups [-(CH2)-] forming mainly linear alkanes and alkenes, ranging from methane to high molecular weight waxes. The Idaho National Laboratory is developing a computational multiphase fluid dynamics (CMFD) model of the FT process in a SBCR. This paper discusses the incorporation of absorption and reaction kinetics into the current hydrodynamic model. A phased approach for incorporation of the reaction kinetics into a CMFD model is presented here. Initially, a simple kinetic model is coupled to the hydrodynamic model, with increasing levels of complexity added in stages. The first phase of the model includes incorporation of the absorption of gas species from both large and small bubbles into the bulk liquid phase. The driving force for the gas across the gas liquid interface into the bulk liquid is dependent upon the interfacial gas concentration in both small and large bubbles. However, because it is difficult to measure the concentration at the gas-liquid interface, coefficients for convective mass transfer have been developed for the overall driving force between the bulk concentrations in the gas and liquid phases. It is assumed that there are no temperature effects from mass transfer of the gas phases to the bulk liquid phase, since there are only small amounts of dissolved gas in the liquid phase. The product from the incorporation of absorption is the steady state concentration profile of the absorbed gas species in the bulk liquid phase. The second phase of the model incorporates a simplified macrokinetic model to the mass balance equation in the CMFD code. Initially, the model assumes that the catalyst particles are sufficiently small such that external and internal mass and heat transfer are not rate limiting. The model is developed utilizing the macrokinetic rate expression developed by Yates and Satterfield (1991). Initially, the model assumes that the only species formed other than water in the FT reaction is C27H56. Change in moles of the reacting species and the resulting temperature of the catalyst and fluid phases is solved simultaneously. The macrokinetic model is solved in conjunction with the species transport equations in a separate module which is incorporated into the CMFD code.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-99ID-13727
- OSTI ID:
- 940055
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-08-14655; TRN: US200823%%586
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International Pittsburgh Coal Conference 2008,Pittsburgh, PA, USA,09/29/2008,10/02/2008
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ABSORPTION
BUBBLES
CATALYSTS
CHEMICAL REACTORS
COAL
COBALT
FLUIDIZED BED REACTORS
HEAT RECOVERY
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL
KINETICS
MASS BALANCE
MASS TRANSFER
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
PACKED BEDS
REACTION KINETICS
SYNTHESIS
SYNTHESIS GAS
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
kinetic modeling
slurry bubble column reactor