The catalytic dehydrogenation reaction of isobutane to isobutylene is simulated in a commercial-scale heterogenous fixed bed reactor (FBR). The porous medium method in ANSYS Fluent combined with the reaction model capability was utilized to predict the flow behavior and species transport in a bed of spherical particles. Physical and material properties of a dehydrogenating catalyst of Chromium Oxide (Cr2O3) on Aluminum Oxide Support (Al2O3) were employed in the model. Several reaction models were implemented using a customized User-defined Function (UDF) subroutine. Simulation results were validated against literature data for a similar process. Good agreement was observed for the conversion of alkanes to alkenes within acceptable accuracy. It is concluded that the power-law model showed the least fit for the feed conversion and product selectivity compared to the other studied reaction models.
- Heat Transfer Division
CFD Modelling of the Dehydrogenation Reaction of Isobutane to Isobutylene in a Fixed Bed Reactor
Jamaleddine, TJ, & Bunama, RM. "CFD Modelling of the Dehydrogenation Reaction of Isobutane to Isobutylene in a Fixed Bed Reactor." Proceedings of the ASME 2016 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the ASME 2016 Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels, and Minichannels. Volume 1: Heat Transfer in Energy Systems; Thermophysical Properties; Theory and Fundamentals in Heat Transfer; Nanoscale Thermal Transport; Heat Transfer in Equipment; Heat Transfer in Fire and Combustion; Transport Processes in Fuel Cells and Heat Pipes; Boiling and Condensation in Macro, Micro and Nanosystems. Washington, DC, USA. July 10–14, 2016. V001T23A001. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/HT2016-1071
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