A new discrete model was developed for the design and analysis of catalytic trickle bed reactors operating in the low interaction regime based on the local structure of packed beds. By detailed comparisons of model predictions to experimental data the performance of the new model is demonstrated. By means of this model the steady-state behavior of trickle bed reactors can be studied in terms of operating conditions, physical properties of all three phases, transport parameters and isothermal reaction kinetics on a particle as well as on a reactor scale. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.