Numerical investigation on adsorbent particle erosion characteristic of Y-shaped pipeline in S Zorb regeneration system with different influencing parameters

Abstract

As the transportation pipeline of adsorbent in S Zorb regeneration system, due to large mass flow rate of particle and gas, it is often seriously worn, and even perforated, resulting in the leakage of adsorbent. It brings great inconvenience to the transportation of regenerated adsorbent and threats its long-term operation. Therefore, it is essential to study the erosion characteristic of Y-shaped adsorbent transportation pipe. It was studied by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulation and the calculation results were validated by actual erosion profile. The results show that the high velocity of nitrogen and the high weight-fraction adsorbent particles accumulation is the key factor leading to severe erosion. It is also found that the small angle cutting is the erosion form. The effects of the intersection angle between the transportation pipe and feed pipe and the gas inlet velocity on the particle motion and erosion characteristics turn out to be significant. The research on the wear characteristics of adsorbent transportation pipeline can provide a certain reference for erosion prevention and optimization.