A logic-based controller for the mitigation of ventilation air methane in a catalytic flow reversal reactor

Abstract

The control system of a catalytic flow reversal reactor (CFRR) for the mitigation of ventilation air methane was investigated. A one-dimensional heterogeneous model with a logic-based controller was applied to simulate the CFRR. The simulation results indicated that the controller developed in this work performs well under normal conditions. Air dilution and auxiliary methane injection are effective to avoid the catalyst overheating and reaction extinction caused by prolonged rich and lean feed conditions, respectively. In contrast, the reactor is prone to lose control by adjusting the switching time solely. Air dilution exhibits the effects of two contradictory aspects on the operation of CFRR, i.e., cooling the bed and accumulating heat, though the former is in general more prominent. Lowering the reference temperature for flow reversal can decrease the bed temperature and benefit stable operation under rich methane feed condition.