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Effect of particle shape on methanol partial oxidation in a fixed bed using CFD reactor modeling
Author(s) -
Partopour Behnam,
Dixon Anthony G.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.16904
Subject(s) - computational fluid dynamics , heat transfer , particle (ecology) , mechanics , pressure drop , materials science , particle size , selectivity , packed bed , drop (telecommunication) , partial oxidation , chemistry , catalysis , chromatography , mechanical engineering , physics , engineering , oceanography , geology , biochemistry
Particle shape is one of the most important parameters in the design and optimization of fixed‐bed processes. To address the impact of particle shape on methanol partial oxidation to formaldehyde over molybdate catalyst, packings of spheres, cylinders, rings, and trilobes are numerically generated. The generated packings are used to carry out resolved particle Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations under industrial conditions. Pressure drop, voidage and velocity profiles, radial heat transfer, and local and overall conversion and selectivity results are presented. Despite their lower particle surface area, lower particle effectiveness and more uneven flow distribution than trilobes, and lower overall heat transfer coefficient than cylinders, rings had the best conversion and selectivity due to their balance between the factors. Three longer tubes of rings, rings and cylinders, and rings and trilobes are simulated and show a small gain in selectivity for the rings and trilobes.