(583p) The Effect of Particle Size Distribution On Trickle-Bed Reactor Hydrodynamics

Trickle-bed reactors are typified by cocurrent downflow of gaseous and liquid reactants over a packed bed of catalyst.  The characterization of trickle-bed reactors has been well reported in the literature; this includes CFD models of bulk maldistribution¹ and models of transient imbition/drainage².  The closure equations on which these models are based come from the study and modeling of the hydrodynamics (as described by pressure drop and liquid holdup) under uniform trickling flow.  The accurate representation of bed and operating variables under these conditions is therefore vital.  However, studies on the hydrodynamics under uniform trickling flow are limited to systems with uniform particle size.  Although prevalent in practice, packed beds with activated carbon or other systems with a distribution of particle size have not been thoroughly studied.  Towards this end, the hydrodynamics of a trickle-bed reactor using a number of particle sizes and size distributions has been investigated.  By re-defining force interaction terms to account for particle size distribution, existing models are adapted to provide improved predictions of pressure drop and liquid holdup for the attained experimental data.

[1]  Kuzeljevic, Z. V.; Dudukovic, M. P.  Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2012, 51 (4) 1663-1671.

[2]  Iliuta, I.; Hamidipour, M.; Larachi, F. AIChE J. 2012, 58 (10) 3123-3134.