A 2-D catalyst pellet model coupled with a non-isothermal 1-D heterogeneous axial dispersion reactor model was numerically simulated to analyze both particle-level and reactor-level performance of three different catalyst particle shapes (sphere, cylinder, and hollow cylinder/ring) for the gas-phase Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS). A Fe-based micro-kinetic olefin re-adsorption model was coupled with the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equation of state to describe the particle-scale transport-kinetic interactions and phase behavior for the gas-phase FTS. The reactor-scale axial temperature and specie concentration profiles, CO conversion, axial diesel range concentration profiles, and reactor-scale methane-based diesel selectivity were analyzed to compare the reactor-scale performance of spherical, cylindrical and hollow cylindrical catalyst particle shapes.<br/><br/>The CO conversion, and the reactor-scale diesel range concentration profiles results suggest that cylinder and hollow ring shapes are preferred over spherical particle shapes, but the magnitude of the hot spot is greater for those shapes. This may lead to a higher rate of catalyst deactivation, reduce the catalyst mechanical strength, and generate unsafe reactor operating conditions. The results show the importance of understanding the axial temperature profile of a single fixed-bed in order to efficiently design a MTFBR.

Fixed-bed reactor model for the gas-phase Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

251st National Meeting (2016)

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