Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Experimental Validation of Macromixing and Flow Characteristics in Low-Density Polyethylene Autoclave Reactors

Abstract

The macromixing and flow characteristics of a low-density polyethylene autoclave reactor stirred with 32 impellers were investigated by experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations. The simulation results were validated using the experimental data. The mixing curves show an excellent agreement with the experimental results. The flow field, distribution of velocity, and mass flux obtained from the simulations were further analyzed, and the results show that the reactor can be divided into two reaction zones. In each reaction zone, two axial flows form a big circulation loop. The downward flows near the reactor wall decrease along the flow direction, while the upward flows near the shaft increase. In each big circulation loop there are many small radial circulation loops that are similar to those encountered in continuous stirred-tank reactors. Finally, a more accurate macromixing model was proposed, which is helpful to reveal the multizone phenomenon and flow characteristics in reactors.