Hydrodynamic Study of KATAPAK-SP11 Structured Packing with Multiphase CFD and Heat Integration

Hydrodynamic Study of KATAPAK-SP11 Structured Packing with Multiphase CFD and Heat-integration

Jing Huang, Robert W. Lyczkowski, Chandrakant B. Panchal, and Richard D. Doctor

Argonne National Laboratory

9700 S. Cass Avenue

Argonne, IL 60439-4815, USA

2011 AIChE Spring Meeting

Chicago, IL, USA

March 13-17, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 19, 2010

 

 

 

The submitted manuscript has been created by Argonne National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357  with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government

 

 

Hydrodynamic Study of KATAPAK-SP11 Structured Packing with Multiphase CFD and Heat-integration

Jing Huang, Robert W. Lyczkowski, Chandrakant B. Panchal, and Richard D. Doctor

Argonne National Laboratory; 9700 S. Cass Avenue; Argonne, IL 60439-4815 USA

Abstract

The number of actual reactive distillation installations is quite small despite a large number of patents and extensive academic and industrial research.  The main reason for this is that it is difficult to match the optimum conditions for distillation, reaction, and scale up of experimental test data to commercial units [1].  Pressure is the primary variable that affects efficient separation.  Many reactive distillation processes are not very flexible due to the interactive effects of reaction and separation on each reactive stage.  Single- and two-phase flow through a 100 mm diameter Katapak-SP11 structured packing [2] was modeled using ANSYS FLUENT 12.1 [3].  The purpose of this analysis is to determine the liquid flow distributions interior and exterior to the catalyst baskets, catalyst wetting, and hence reaction effectiveness.  The analysis is expected to help optimize catalyst loading on individual structured catalytic packings, as well as for the entire column.  The coupled catalyst baskets and corrugated flow channels were treated using the new dual-porous media formulation.  Because of the complex structure of the corrugated flow channels, they were treated as one porous medium and the catalyst baskets containing, approximately 1 mm diameter catalyst particles, were treated as another.  Different values of porosity and permeability were used for each porous medium region.  This new formulation vastly simplifies modeling of complex structured packings performed in the past [4] in order to understand their hydrodynamics.  This novel modeling approach will allow optimum heat-integration.  Calculations for dry and wetted packings (only gas or liquid flow though the column) were carried out. The dry packing pressure drop was compared with available data.  Subsequently, two-phase, counter-current liquid-gas flow through the structured packing column was  modeled.  A range of gas and liquid flow rates was investigated to determine pressure drop and liquid flow distributions in the catalyst baskets and flow channels and wetting of the catalyst baskets.

References

1.  Harmsen, G. Jan,  “Reactive distillation: The front-runner of industrial process intensification: A full review of commercial applications, research, scale-up, design and operation,” Chemical Engineering and Processing 46 (2007) 774–780

2. Aferka, S. et al., Liquid Load Point Determination in a Reactive Distillation Packing by X-Ray Tomography. Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol 88, pp. 611-617 (2010).

3. ANSYS FLUENT 12.1 User's Guide, ANSYS, Inc., Canonsburg, PA (2009).

4. Vervlot, D., et al., Intensification of Co-current Gas-Liquid reactors Using Structured Catalytic Packings: A Multiscale Approach. Catalysis Today. Vol. 1475, pp. 5138-5143 (2009).