Modeling and simulation of tube-shell reactor for dimethyl-ether synthesis from coal-based synthesis gas

Abstract

Mathematical simulation was performed on tube-shell reactor for dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis from coal-based syngas. The model was established based on kinetics of dimethyl-ether synthesis from syngas over a bifunctional catalyst, which is mixed by methanol synthesis catalyst and dehydration catalyst as 1:1 mass ratio. Methanol synthesis from CO and CO2 and methanol dehydration were selected as three-independent reactions, CO, CO2, and DME as key components to establish the one-dimensional mathematical model of the reactor. The gas concentration and temperature profiles inside the reactor tubes were obtained. The operating conditions affecting DME synthesis were also discussed based on the model. The simulations indicate that higher pressure and lower temperature at the inlet and rich hydrogen in the reactant are favorable in direct DME synthesis in fixed-bed process, and the temperature of boiling water affect the reactor performance seriously.