CFD analysis of hot spot formation through a fixed bed reactor of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Figures & data

Figure 1. A schematic diagram of fixed-bed type for FTS process.

Table 1. Kinetic parameters used in the present study

Parameter	Value	Unit
k5,0	7.88 × 10^3	mol g^−1 s^−1 bar^−1
E5	75.52	kJ mol^−1
k7M,0	2.01 × 10^6	mol g^−1 s^−1 bar^−1
E7M	97.39	kJ mol^−1
k7,0	1.10 × 10^6	mol g^−1 s^−1 bar^−1
E7	111.48	kJ mol^−1
k8,0	8.79 × 10^3	mol g^−1 s^−1
E8	97.37	kJ mol^−1
kv,0	3.42	mol g^−1 s^−1 bar^−1.5
Ev	58.43	kJ mol^−1
k-8	2.77 × 10^−5	mol g^−1 s^−1 bar^−1
kV	2.76 × 10^−2	bar^−0.5
K1	2.59	bar^−1
K2	1.67 × 10^−3	bar^−1
K3	8.34 × 10^−2	[–]
K4	1.21	bar^−1
K6	0.10	[–]

Figure 2. Mass fraction of CO along the reactor length obtained for two different grids.

Figure 3. Geometry and grid with 84430 structured quadrilateral elements (the lower boundary is axis of symmetry).

Table 2. Characteristics of fixed-bed reactor and catalyst

System-type parameter	Value
Reactor dimension (m)	7 × 0.05
Number of tubes	1
Reactor internal diameter (m)	0.046
Bed density (kg/m^3)	1100
Diameter of catalyst particles (mm)	3
Bed porosity	0.3894

Table 3. Species mass fraction at the inlet

Component	Mass fraction
H2O	0.0014
H2	0.0224
CO	0.3245
CO2	0.001
C5H12	0.0004
CH4	0.0006
N2 and other components	0.6497

Table 4. Comparison between CFD simulation results with experimental data

Run number	T (K)	P (bar)	H2/CO	CO conv. CFD (%)	CO conv. exp. (Yang et al., 2003) (%)	Relative error (%)
1	570.17	20.2	1.03	35.71	34	5.027
2	570.17	15	2.07	35.11	37	−5.113
3	556.27	15	1.03	21.8	22	−0.917

Figure 4. Temperature profile along reactor length under different pressures.

Figure 5. Temperature profile along reactor length for various feed temperatures.

Figure 6. Contours of H₂ and CO mole fraction.

Figure 7. Contours of C₂H₄ mole fraction.

Figure 8. Contours of C₂H₆ mole fraction.

Figure 9. Contours of C₃H₆ mole fraction.

Figure 10. Contours of C₃H₈ mole fraction.

Figure 11. Contours of C₄H₈ mole fraction.

Figure 12. Contours of C₄H₁₀ mole fraction.

Figure 13. Contours of C₇⁺ mole fraction.

Yang, J., Liu, Y., Chang, J., Wang, Y. N., Bai, L., Xu, Y. Y., Xiang, H. W., … Zhong, B. (2003). Detailed kinetics of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis on an industrial Fe–Mn catalyst. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 42, 5066–5090.10.1021/ie030135o

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