Effects of process and design parameters on heat management in fixed bed Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactor

Branislav Todic; Milos Mandic; Nikola Nikacevic; Dragomir B. Bukur

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.35, No.4, 875-889, April, 2018

DOI10.1007/s11814-017-0335-3 Export Citation

Effects of process and design parameters on heat management in fixed bed Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reactor

Branislav Todic^{1, †}, Milos Mandic¹, Nikola Nikacevic², and Dragomir B. Bukur^{1, 3, †}

¹Chemical Engineering Program, Texas A&M University at Qatar, P. O. Box 23874, Doha, Qatar
²Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, Belgrade, Serbia
³Texas A&M University, 3122 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843, United States, Qatar

E-mail:,

A two-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous model of wall-cooled fixed bed Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reactor with Co/Re/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was developed to study the effect of process and design parameters on heat generation and removal characteristics. The influence of liquid-phase formation on heat transport was accounted for by using two-phase correlations. The effect of intraparticle diffusion on heat generation was considered. Detailed numerical simulations were performed to analyze the effect of process and design parameters on the reactor performance in terms of heat management. Results show that thermal behavior of FTS fixed bed reactors is very sensitive and any large disturbances can lead to temperature runaway. Large tube diameters are shown to be particularly unfavorable, with dt>5 cm resulting in axial and radial gradients greater than 20 K and 13 K, respectively. The importance of detailed reactor modeling when designing and optimizing FTS fixed bed reactors is highlighted.

Keywords:Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis;Fixed Bed Reactor;Cobalt Catalyst;Heat Management

[References]

Yates IC, Satterfield CN, Energy Fuels, 5, 168 (1991)
Mandic M, Todic B, Zivanic L, Nikacevic N, Bukur DB, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 56(10), 2733 (2017)
Ma WP, Jacobs G, Das TK, Masuku CM, Kang JS, Pendyala VRR, Davis BH, Klettlinger JLS, Yen CH, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 53(6), 2157 (2014)
Todic B, Ma WP, Jacobs G, Davis BH, Bukur DB, Catal. Today, 228, 32 (2014)
Poling B, Prausnitz J, Connell JO, The Properties of Gases and Liquids, McGraw-Hill Education (2000).
Delmas H, Froment G, Chem. Eng. Sci., 43, 2281 (1988)
Delgado J, Heat Mass Transfer., 42, 279 (2006)
Gunn D, Chem. Eng. Sci., 42, 363 (1987)
Erkey C, Rodden JB, Akgerman A, Can. J. Chem. Eng., 68, 661 (1990)
Caldwell L, Van Vuuren DS, Chem. Eng. Sci., 41, 89 (1986)
Yaws CL, Narasimhan PK, Gabbula C, Yaws’ Handbook of Antoine Coefficients for Vapor Pressure (2nd Electronic Edition), Knovel.
Smith JM, Van Ness H, Abbott M, Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, McGraw-Hill Education (2005).
Marano JJ, Holder GD, Fluid Phase Equilib., 138(1-2), 1 (1997)
Builder GM, https://www.psenterprise.com/products/gproms/modelbuilder.
Benyahia F, O'Neill KE, Part. Sci. Technol., 23(2), 169 (2005)
Matsuura A, Hitaka Y, Akehata T, Shirai T, Heat Transfer -Jpn. Res., 8, 44 (1979)

[Referenced By]

[1] Yates IC, Satterfield CN, Energy Fuels, 5, 168 (1991)

[2] Mandic M, Todic B, Zivanic L, Nikacevic N, Bukur DB, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 56(10), 2733 (2017)

[3] Ma WP, Jacobs G, Das TK, Masuku CM, Kang JS, Pendyala VRR, Davis BH, Klettlinger JLS, Yen CH, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 53(6), 2157 (2014)

[4] Todic B, Ma WP, Jacobs G, Davis BH, Bukur DB, Catal. Today, 228, 32 (2014)

[5] Poling B, Prausnitz J, Connell JO, The Properties of Gases and Liquids, McGraw-Hill Education (2000).

[6] Delmas H, Froment G, Chem. Eng. Sci., 43, 2281 (1988)

[7] Delgado J, Heat Mass Transfer., 42, 279 (2006)

[8] Gunn D, Chem. Eng. Sci., 42, 363 (1987)

[9] Erkey C, Rodden JB, Akgerman A, Can. J. Chem. Eng., 68, 661 (1990)

[10] Caldwell L, Van Vuuren DS, Chem. Eng. Sci., 41, 89 (1986)

[11] Yaws CL, Narasimhan PK, Gabbula C, Yaws’ Handbook of Antoine Coefficients for Vapor Pressure (2nd Electronic Edition), Knovel.

[12] Smith JM, Van Ness H, Abbott M, Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics, McGraw-Hill Education (2005).

[13] Marano JJ, Holder GD, Fluid Phase Equilib., 138(1-2), 1 (1997)

[14] Builder GM, https://www.psenterprise.com/products/gproms/modelbuilder.

[15] Benyahia F, O'Neill KE, Part. Sci. Technol., 23(2), 169 (2005)

[16] Matsuura A, Hitaka Y, Akehata T, Shirai T, Heat Transfer -Jpn. Res., 8, 44 (1979)