Thermal Assessment of a Micro Fibrous Fischer Tropsch Fixed Bed Reactor Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

<p dir="ltr">A two-dimensional (2D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) scale-up model of the Fischer Tropsch reactor was developed to thermally compare the Microfibrous-Entrapped-Cobalt-Catalyst (MFECC) and the conventional Packed Bed Reactor (PBR). The model implements an advanced predictive detailed kinetic model to study the effect of a thermal runaway on C5+ hydrocarbon product selectivity. Results demonstrate the superior capability of the MFECC bed in mitigating hotspot formation due to its ultra-high thermal conductivity. Furthermore, a process intensification study for radial scale-up of the reactor bed from 15 mm internal diameter (ID) to 102 mm ID demonstrated that large tube diameters in PBR lead to temperature runaway >200 K corresponding to >90% CO conversion at 100% methane selectivity, which is highly undesirable. While the MFECC bed hotspot temperature corresponded to <10 K at >30% CO conversion, attributing to significantly high thermal conductivity of the MFECC bed. Moreover, a noticeable improvement in C5+ hydrocarbon selectivity >70% was observed in the MFECC bed in contrast to a significantly low number for the PBR (<5%).</p><h2>Other Information</h2><p dir="ltr">Published in: Processes<br>License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pr8101213" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pr8101213</a></p><p dir="ltr">Additional institutions affiliated with: Chemical Engineering Program - TAMUQ, Petroleum Engineering Program - TAMUQ </p>