Coupled CFD-DEM Numerical Simulation of Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) of Sludge Flocs to Biocrude Oil in a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) in a Scale-Up Study

Artur Wodołażski ()
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Artur Wodołażski: Department of Energy Saving and Air Protection, Central Mining Institute, PlacGwarków 1, 40-166 Katowice, Poland

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-26

Abstract: A multiphase model of hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) using the computational fluid dynamics coupling discrete element method (CFD-DEM) is used to simulate biocrude oil production from sludge flocs in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). Additionally, the influence of the agitator speed and the slurry flow rate on dynamic biocrude oil production is investigated through full transient CFD analysis in a scaled-up CSTR study. The kinetics of the HTL mechanism as a function of temperature, pressure, and residence time distribution were employed in the model through a user-defined function (UDF). The multiphysics simulation of the HTL process in a stirred tank reactor using the Lagrangian–Eulerian (LE) approach, along with a standard k-ε turbulence model, integrated HTL kinetics. The simulation accounts for particle–fluid interactions by coupling CFD-derived hydrodynamic fields with discrete particle motion, enabling prediction of individual particle trajectories based on drag, buoyancy, and interphase momentum exchange. The three-phase flow using a compressible non-ideal gas model and multiphase interaction as design requirements increased process efficiency in high-pressure and high-temperature model conditions.

Keywords: HTL; CSTR; multiphase flow; CFD-DEM coupling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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