Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics Investigations of Light Alkane Dehydrogenation in a Fluidized Bed Reactor

Abstract

An experimental setup and a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model are developed for a light alkane (pure propane, iso-butane, n-butane, and their mixtures) dehydrogenation reactor that is a key part of a pilot-scale circulating fluidized bed (CFB) apparatus. Experimental findings indicate that the reaction temperature (T) and the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) have a significant influence on the dehydrogenation process of the different light alkanes. As for propane and under the optimal conditions of T = 600 °C and GHSV = 2350 h–1, the conversion of C3H8 is 39% and the yield of C3H6 is 33%. The conversion of i-C4H10 is found to be 49%, and a yield of 45% for iso-butane (i-C4H8) under the conditions of T = 580 °C and GHSV = 1700 h–1 is achieved. For n-butane and under the conditions of T = 580 °C and GHSV = 1700 h–1, the conversion of n-C4H10 reaches 40% with a yield of 32%. Optimal conditions for the different light alkanes’ mixtures are also obtained. A 3D reactive CFD model is bui...