(655h) CO2 Heterogeneous Catalytic Hydrogenation to Formic Acid over Ru-Based Catalyst: Kinetics and Reactor Optimization

A kinetic model for the catalytic hydrogenation of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to formic acid was developed and validated using experimental data. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) reactor model was also developed, and the nature of the flow and reaction occurring inside the reactor was demonstrated. The kinetic parameters from the kinetic model were used as reaction source terms for the CFD reactor model development. Sensitivity analyses were performed on the design variables by integrating the kinetic parameters from the developed kinetic model. The Bayesian optimization algorithm was used to optimize the catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation reactor. The optimal design was acquired, and the CO₂ conversion increased by 32.6% compared to the initial base case. The optimal reactor operation conditions identified. An optimized reactor design was proposed for the catalytic hydrogenation of CO₂ to formic acid within a catalytic trickle-bed reactor based on the integration of reaction kinetic modeling and CFD analysis. The results reported on this work could give important design and operational insight to the further development of catalytic CO₂ hydrogenation reactors for CO₂ to formic acid conversion in carbon capture and utilization applications.