A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors

Modelling catalytic fixed bed reactors with a small tube-to-particle diameter ratio requires a detailed description of the interactions between fluid flow, intra-particle transport, and the chemical reaction(s) within the catalyst. Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) simulations a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Martin Kutscherauer, Scott D. Anderson, Sebastian Böcklein, Gerhard Mestl, Thomas Turek, Gregor D. Wehinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2023.2292100
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846136053384085504
author Martin Kutscherauer
Scott D. Anderson
Sebastian Böcklein
Gerhard Mestl
Thomas Turek
Gregor D. Wehinger
author_facet Martin Kutscherauer
Scott D. Anderson
Sebastian Böcklein
Gerhard Mestl
Thomas Turek
Gregor D. Wehinger
author_sort Martin Kutscherauer
collection DOAJ
description Modelling catalytic fixed bed reactors with a small tube-to-particle diameter ratio requires a detailed description of the interactions between fluid flow, intra-particle transport, and the chemical reaction(s) within the catalyst. Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) simulations are the most promising approach to predict the behaviour of these reactors accurately, since they take into account the local packed bed structure explicitly. In this work, a conjugated heat and mass transfer model for use in PRCFD simulations is presented in order to couple the fluid flow through the fixed bed with transport and reaction in the porous catalyst, while guaranteeing the no-slip boundary condition at the fluid–solid interface. For this purpose, the solutions of the solid and fluid domain are computed separately and are coupled by calculation and updating the boundary condition at the particle surface. Owing to the consideration of secondary gradients, the developed transfer model is also valid for unstructured calculation meshes containing non-orthogonal cells at the fluid–solid interface. Such meshes are often used to resolve complex geometries, such as a packed bed, in a computationally efficient manner. The coupling approach is validated using cases for which an analytical solution or literature correlations derived from experimental data are available. The simulation results of a short catalytic packed bed with rings catalysing the partial oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride exemplify the potential of PRCFD involving reactions to analyse the catalyst performance in great detail.
format Article
id doaj-art-db776df1475048f2a2ace214526e076b
institution Kabale University
issn 1994-2060
1997-003X
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
spelling doaj-art-db776df1475048f2a2ace214526e076b2024-12-09T09:43:45ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEngineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics1994-20601997-003X2024-12-0118110.1080/19942060.2023.2292100A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactorsMartin Kutscherauer0Scott D. Anderson1Sebastian Böcklein2Gerhard Mestl3Thomas Turek4Gregor D. Wehinger5Institute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyInstitute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyClariant AG, Heufeld, GermanyClariant AG, Heufeld, GermanyInstitute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyInstitute of Chemical and Electrochemical Process Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, GermanyModelling catalytic fixed bed reactors with a small tube-to-particle diameter ratio requires a detailed description of the interactions between fluid flow, intra-particle transport, and the chemical reaction(s) within the catalyst. Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics (PRCFD) simulations are the most promising approach to predict the behaviour of these reactors accurately, since they take into account the local packed bed structure explicitly. In this work, a conjugated heat and mass transfer model for use in PRCFD simulations is presented in order to couple the fluid flow through the fixed bed with transport and reaction in the porous catalyst, while guaranteeing the no-slip boundary condition at the fluid–solid interface. For this purpose, the solutions of the solid and fluid domain are computed separately and are coupled by calculation and updating the boundary condition at the particle surface. Owing to the consideration of secondary gradients, the developed transfer model is also valid for unstructured calculation meshes containing non-orthogonal cells at the fluid–solid interface. Such meshes are often used to resolve complex geometries, such as a packed bed, in a computationally efficient manner. The coupling approach is validated using cases for which an analytical solution or literature correlations derived from experimental data are available. The simulation results of a short catalytic packed bed with rings catalysing the partial oxidation of n-butane to maleic anhydride exemplify the potential of PRCFD involving reactions to analyse the catalyst performance in great detail.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2023.2292100Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamicsConjugated heat and mass transferHeterogeneous catalysisCatalytic fixed bedInter- and intra-particle transport
spellingShingle Martin Kutscherauer
Scott D. Anderson
Sebastian Böcklein
Gerhard Mestl
Thomas Turek
Gregor D. Wehinger
A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics
Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics
Conjugated heat and mass transfer
Heterogeneous catalysis
Catalytic fixed bed
Inter- and intra-particle transport
title A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
title_full A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
title_fullStr A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
title_full_unstemmed A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
title_short A conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle-resolved CFD simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
title_sort conjugated heat and mass transfer model to implement reaction in particle resolved cfd simulations of catalytic fixed bed reactors
topic Particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics
Conjugated heat and mass transfer
Heterogeneous catalysis
Catalytic fixed bed
Inter- and intra-particle transport
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19942060.2023.2292100
work_keys_str_mv AT martinkutscherauer aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT scottdanderson aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT sebastianbocklein aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT gerhardmestl aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT thomasturek aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT gregordwehinger aconjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT martinkutscherauer conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT scottdanderson conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT sebastianbocklein conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT gerhardmestl conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT thomasturek conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors
AT gregordwehinger conjugatedheatandmasstransfermodeltoimplementreactioninparticleresolvedcfdsimulationsofcatalyticfixedbedreactors