Engineering Development of Slurry Bubble Column Reactor (SBCR) Technology

This report summarizes the procedures used and results obtained in determining radial gas holdup profiles, via gamma ray scanning, and in assessing liquid and gas mixing parameters, via radioactive liquid and gas tracers, during Fischer Tropsch synthesis. The objectives of the study were (i) to develop a procedure for detection of gas holdup radial profiles in operating reactors and (ii) to test the ability of the developed, previously described, engineering models to predict the observed liquid and gas mixing patterns. It was shown that the current scanning procedures were not precise enough to obtain an accurate estimate of the gas radial holdup profile and an improved protocol for future use was developed. The previously developed physically based model for liquid mixing was adapted to account for liquid withdrawal from the mid section of the column. The ability of our engineering mixing models for liquid and gas phase to predict both liquid and gas phase tracer response was established and illustrated