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Thermoflow multiplicity in a packed‐bed reactor Part I: Adiabatic case
Author(s) -
Lee J. P.,
Balakotaiah V.,
Luss Dan
Publication year - 1987
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.690330709
Subject(s) - adiabatic process , multiplicity (mathematics) , packed bed , pressure drop , mechanics , thermodynamics , chemistry , volumetric flow rate , materials science , nuclear engineering , physics , engineering , mathematics , chromatography , mathematical analysis
Steady states with different flow rates and temperature profiles may exist in a packed‐bed reactor operating under a prescribed pressure drop, due to the coupling among the species, energy, and momentum balances and the change of the physical properties with temperature and pressure. This thermoflow multiplicity may be found even for reactions whose rate is rather insensitive to temperature changes (low activation energy) and may lead to highly undesirable operation of multitube packed‐bed reactors. A hierarchy of models based on different assumptions is used to derive criteria for predicting the conditions under which this thermoflow multiplicity may occur.