Dependence of the Fluidizing Condition on Operating Parameters for Sorption-Enhanced Methanol Synthesis Catalyst and Adsorbent

Abstract

The fluidization of two different solids was investigated by varying the temperature and pressure conditions and the fluidizing gas. The solids are a novel catalyst and a water sorbent that could be used to perform sorption-enhanced methanol synthesis; the operating conditions were selected accordingly to this process. The aim of this investigation was to find an expression for predicting the minimum fluidization conditions of a methanol synthesis catalyst and an adsorbent in the presence of their process stream and operating conditions. The findings of this study highlighted how umf (STP) decreases with a rise in temperature and increases with a rise in pressure, according to other works in the literature with different solids. Furthermore, the type of gas was found to influence the minimum fluidization velocity significantly. The experimental results agreed well with a theoretical expression of the minimum fluidization velocity adjusted for temperature, pressure, and viscosity. The choice of the expression for viscosity calculation in the case of gas mixtures was found to be of key importance. These results will be useful for researchers aiming to calculate the minimum fluidization velocity of a catalyst or other solids under reaction conditions using results obtained at ambient conditions with air or inert gas.