MODELING OF LAMINAR FLOW TUBULAR REACTOR USING VELOCITY PROFILE

Abstract

Design of reactor using traditional performance equations is inadequate as it does not take into account non-ideality in the reactors. Quantification of non-ideality is done using Residence Time Distribution studies (RTD). But RTD studies can be carried out on already existing reactor. Therefore this technique will not help in incorporating non-ideality in the design stage. Another method is to use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) packages and predict RTD. The methods used to predict reactor performance using RTD involves modeling, fitting the RTD data to the model to determine the model parameters such as number of tanks in tanks in series model or dispersion number in axial dispersion model. These models are inadequate as the RTD may not be a proper fit. After the model fit, using the model parameter to determine the performance of the reactor is cumbersome and in some cases it is not possible. There are several models that predict reactor performance which use Convection – Diffusion – Reaction (CDR) equations and these methods are computationally intensive. Simpler models that are less computationally intensive but adequate enough to predict reactor performance are to be developed. In the present paper a model is developed which makes use of only velocity profile to predict homogeneous reactor performance. Algorithm of the model is then applied to Laminar Flow Tubular Reactor (LFTR). Testing of the model is done by comparing the results of the model with those predicted by well established analytical methods for LFTR. The results of the model and those of LFTR agree well.