Integrated Reactor‐Combustor Recycling System for Safe Operation by Catalytic Removal of Excess O₂

Abstract

A reactor‐combustor recycling system is proposed for safe operation of a hydrocarbon‐ and O2‐rich reactor by catalytically combusting excess O2 and recycling generated CO2 for dilution. The Pt/Al2O3 catalysts are determined as active and stable, and the Mars van Krevelen mechanism is applied for the combustion kinetics. Modeling and simulation of the system involving reactor, heater, combustor, valve, and cooler are performed, where multitubular, monolith, and microstructured reactors are compared for addressing the strong exothermic combustion. The system is highly promising because 99.9 % O2 can be consumed and explosion risk be eliminated via CO2 dilution. The microstructured combustor exhibits the highest potential by considering heat management, pressure drop, and compactness.

Heat Transfer at a Particle‐Tube Wall Contact Point: Impact of Catalyst Configuration on Hot Spots

“…Some of them ascertained that a comprehensive heat transfer modeling is a necessity if an excellent and safe PBC design is desired. Accordingly, developing pseudo‐heterogeneous models was initiated where they were used as the early models to investigate heat transfer in industrial packed‐bed reactors (PBRs) 12–18. Initially, Aparicio‐Mauricio et al 19 developed a method to describe concentration and temperature profiles in an industrial PBR under the influence of different hydrodynamic conditions.…”