Multiscale Modeling of a Packed Bed Chemical Looping Reforming (PBCLR) Reactor

Arpit Singhal, Schalk Cloete, Rosa Quinta-Ferreira and Shahriar Amini
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Arpit Singhal: Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Schalk Cloete: SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Flow Technology Department, S. P. Andersens veg 15 B, NO-7031 Trondheim, Norway
Rosa Quinta-Ferreira: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Polo II, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal
Shahriar Amini: Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: Packed bed reactors are broadly used in industry and are under consideration for novel reactor concepts such as packed bed chemical looping reforming (PBCLR). Mass and heat transfer limitations in and around the particles in packed bed reactors strongly affect the behavior of these units. This study employs a multiscale modeling methodology to simulate a PBCLR reactor. Specifically, small-scale particle-resolved direct numerical simulation is utilized to improve large-scale mass transfer models for use in an industrial scale 1D model. Existing intra-particle mass transfer models perform well for simple first order reactions, but several model enhancements were required to model the more complex steam methane reforming reaction system. Three specific aspects required enhanced modeling: the generation of additional gas volume by the reforming reactions, the lack of clear reaction orders in the equilibrium reactions, and the diffusion of multiple reactant species into the particle. Large-scale simulations of the PBCLR reactor with the enhanced 1D model showed that the highly reactive Ni-based catalyst/oxygen carrier employed allows for the use of large particle sizes and high gas flowrates, offering potential for process intensification.

Keywords: chemical looping reforming; particle resolved direct numerical simulation (PR-DNS); heat transfer; multiscale; packed bed; reaction rate; steam methane reforming (SMR) (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: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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