Simulation of fluidized‐bed reactors for catalytic oxidative coupling of methane to C 2 ‐hydrocarbons

The “bubble assemblage model” of Kato and Wen was applied to simulate the catalytic oxidative coupling of methane to C 2 ‐hydrocarbons in a fluidized bed reactor. Simulation results were compared to experimental data obtained in a laboratory‐scale fluidized bed reactor. To improve the accuracy of predictions, the influence of fluid bed hydrodynamic and kinetic submodels was investigated by applying a sensitivity analysis. It was shown that the most important element in the model is the applied reaction scheme; the consecutive reactions of C 2 hydrocarbons occurring most probably in the gas phase should be considered.