Determination of optimum rotational speed of heterogeneous catalytic reactor using computational fluid dynamic

Abstract

Solid suspension in a stirrer tank reactor is relevant in many chemical process industries. For a heterogeneous catalyticreactor, the degree of solid suspension is a crucial parameter in the design and scaling-up processes. The suspension of solid catalysts at a minimum impeller speed can reduce the operating cost of processes. To ensure optimum conditions for suspension, a 3D simulation technique by Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) was used to study flow characteristics in a heterogeneous catalytic reactor. A case study of a 200 milliliter cylindrical reactor was modeled together with equipped parts, i.e. a sampling port, 2 baffles, one thermocouple and a mechanical stirrer. The results show that the total velocity increases from the impeller’s center to the impeller’s tip and decreases from the impeller’s tip to the side wall of the reactor. The vertical velocity at the bottom of the impellers directs flow upward while the velocity at the top directs flow downward. These simulations provide a good preview of solid suspension without doing experiments. It is recommended that the vertical velocity at thebottom of the reactor is in the range between minimum fluidization velocity and terminal velocity to ensure solid suspension inthe system.

Keywords

• solid suspension
• heterogeneous catalytic reactor
• computational fluid dynamic