3D Stochastic Network Modeling and Investigation of Network Size Effect on the Porous Media Structure of Ion Exchange Catalyst Amberlyst-35 with Computer Programs

Abstract

In the present paper, the investigation was focused on the physical characterization and determination of porosity for an ion exchange catalyst called Amberlyst-35, which produces environmentally benign gasoline using 3D network modeling (3DNM). In addition, the effect of the different pore size distributions (PSD) has been investigated in porous media (PM). First, the mercury porosimetry (MPo) experiment was carried out to determine the porosity of the Amberlyst-35. Second, the KALINET program was run by Compact Visual Fortran (CVF) and Graphical Input/Output (GINO) for modeling porous structures. Then, the SECTION program was used for different porous 3D random images. The theoretical penetration curve was drawn using data obtained from the KALINET program and fitted to the experimental penetration values of Amberlyst-35 by changing the number of pores in each pressure interval of the PSD. The PSD was a 3D network model size of (N) = 30x30x30, 40x40x40, 50x50x50, which included 83,700-196,800-382,500 pores, respectively. On the other hand, various sections of the 3D stochastic images of the pore network were obtained from the SECTION program. Finally, 3D network images were drawn by the KALINET3D computer program. The MPo method has been applied using computer programs (with desktop computers). Moreover, it was found that the same results were obtained for both the theoretical and experimental data of MPo.