Premium
Advantages of Forced Non‐steady Operated Trickle‐Bed Reactors
Author(s) -
Boelhouwer J. G.,
Piepers H. W.,
Drinkenburg B. A. H.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/1521-4125(200206)25:6<647::aid-ceat647>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - trickle , steady state (chemistry) , trickle bed reactor , wetting , mechanics , mass transfer , flow (mathematics) , nuclear engineering , volumetric flow rate , environmental science , waste management , materials science , chemistry , engineering , catalysis , chemical engineering , physics , computer science , world wide web , biochemistry
Trickle‐bed reactors are usually operated in the steady state trickle flow regime. Uneven liquid distribution and the formation of hot spots are the most serious problems experienced during trickle flow operation. In this paper, we advocate the use of non‐steady state operation of trickle‐bed reactors. Based on a square‐wave cycled liquid feed, several operation modes are developed that involve the artificial induction of natural pulses and control of the catalyst wetting efficiency over longer times. The operation modes aim at increasing the mass transfer rate of the limiting reactant and simultaneous prevention of flow maldistribution and hot spot formation. The operation modes are distinguished by a relatively fast and slow cycling of the liquid feed. The potential advantages of the developed feed strategies on reactor performance are evaluated.