New Analytical Method for Maximum Temperature Assessment in an Exothermic Tubular Chemical Reactor

Abstract

This paper deals with an analytical method to assess the maximum temperature value along a tubular chemical reactor at steady state. This reactor is provided with a jacket in which a counter current cooling liquid flows. The thermal behavior of the chemical reactor is calculated with the McCormack numerical method. Comparison of the exothermic reaction generated flux with the removed flux from the separating wall leads to a two-part reactor subdivision. In the first part, the reactor behaves as an adiabatic reactor followed by a zone in which the flux removed from the wall is not negligible and remains constant. In the second part, the reactor behaves like a simple heat exchanger without internal energy source. Analytical integration of mass and energy balance equations in each subsystem was used to determine the analytical expression of maximum temperature.

Keywords:

• Chemical reactor tubular
• Maximum temperature
• Process safety
• Thermal runaway