Simulation of a slurry‐bubble column reactor for Fischer‐Tropsch synthesis using single‐event microkinetics

Abstract

Fischer-Tropsch synthesis including the water-gas shift reaction has been implemented in a one-dimensional, two-bubble class, heterogeneous model with axial effective diffusion to study the performance of a commercial slurry bubble column reactor. Mass balance equations are solved for every species in the reaction network in the large bubbles, small bubbles, and slurry phase, whereas the energy balance is applied to the slurry phase. The catalyst concentration profile is described by a sedimentation-dispersion model. The combination of microkinetics that generate net production rates for the individual reaction products and hydrodynamics allows describing detailed concentration profiles along the reactor axis as a function of operating conditions and design parameters. As example, the effects of catalyst loading, syngas feed flow rate, inlet temperature, or hydrogen to carbon monoxide inlet ratio on the individual hydrocarbons are investigated. To our knowledge, no reactor model in literature is able to describe detailed compositions at the level described by the reactor model developed in this work. V

Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis in Slurry Bubble Column Reactors: Experimental Investigations and Modeling – A Review

“…It should be mentioned that the two-bubble class model in conjunction with the axial dispersion model has been accepted and used to model bubbles behavior in SBCRs [195,196,198,200,[234][235][236][237]. In this model, the churn turbulent flow regime was assumed where large bubbles rise straight up through the reactor without recirculation, while small bubbles with lower rise velocity were entrained in the liquid and as such they followed the liquid-phase backmixing behavior.…”

Perspective on Overcoming Scale-Up Hurdles for the Reductive Catalytic Fractionation of Lignocellulose Biomass

“…When the catalyst slowly deactivates, typically fixed or packed bed reactors in trickle flow are used, which are sporadically treated under regeneration conditions, e.g., burning of cokes. However, more pronounced catalyst deactivation requires continuous addition, removal, and regeneration of the catalyst, for example, with slurry bubble column reactors. , The optimization of said regeneration processes for RCF purposes has not yet been tackled by the community and is ideally coupled with extensive catalyst deactivation studies, in close collaboration with the catalyst manufacturers. Physical stability issues on the other hand are mainly comprised of attrition and abrasion of catalyst pellets, especially for stirred reactors .…”

Information-Driven Catalyst Design Based on High-Throughput Intrinsic Kinetics

“…By implementation of these models in an adequate reactor model accounting for transport phenomena [28,29], specific reactor configurations such as a riser reactor [30] or a slurry-bubble column [31] and catalyst deactivation [32], reliable, industrially relevant simulations can be made with these models. This also comprises the extension from model compound behavior, as typically measured at the laboratory scale, to realistic feeds [25,33].…”