(258g) Validating the Prediction Capabilities of Commercial Ansys CFD Software In the Study of Hydrocarbon-Catalyst Hydrodynamics of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Riser Reactors

Validating the Prediction Capabilities of Commercial ANSYS CFD Software in the Study of Hydrocarbon-Catalyst Hydrodynamics of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Riser Reactors

 ^*M. N. Idris¹, T. Mahmud² and B. M. Gibbs³

¹Process Refining Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

²IPSE-SPEME, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

³ERRI-SPEME, University of Leeds, United Kingdom

Email: muhinu@hotmail.co.uk

ABSTRACT

The application of the ANSYS commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) usefulness to study the hydrodynamics of hydrocarbon-catalyst flow in FCC is a very useful and complex phenomenon. In order to establish reliable, precise and reasonable predictions, a choice of runs for time-average comparison for solid (catalyst) velocities and concentrations to measure fluxes and densities along the riser axes of flow regime. The model structure were carried-out successfully and compared with experimental data on a FCC riser length of 15.1m and 0.10 m in diameter, which incorporates a two-fluid framework with kinetic theory of granular flows to simulate fully developed hydrocarbon-catalyst flows in the vertical risers. The preliminary studies were based on the simulation of gas-solid hydrodynamics and flow behaviour in a riser circulating fluidised bed (CFB) reactor using the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid modelling approach, incorporating a kinetic theory constitutive model for dilute assemblies of FCC particulate solid. The interaction between gas and particles was modelled using particle interphase momentum transfer model with Gidaspow and Schiller Naumann drag model, using turbulent k-ε models.

 The CFD predictions were reasonably compared with established experimental data from the literature. The overall flow patterns within the FCC riser reactors were predicted well by the model. The results of this study assist in a better understanding of the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flow in CFB/FCC real life applications, which could help in areas of pressure regulations, process flow control, and energy efficiency and utilisation.

 Keywords: CFD, FCC, kinetic theory, hydrodynamic, simulation,

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the principal author: Dr. (Engr.) M. N. Idris; MAIChE, AMIChemE, MNSE, Process Refining Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria or using the email:idrismn@hotmail.com

 104^th AIChE Conference & AGM 2012