Multiphase Flow Packed-Bed Reactor Modeling: Combining CFD and Cell Network Model

Abstract

The performance of a multiphase flow packed-bed reactor was evaluated by a mixing-cell network model in which the cell-scale flow field information was provided by multifluid CFD modeling. Such a sequentially combined modeling approach was able to show the heterogeneity of liquid species conversion in a trickle-bed reactor that has been confirmed by in situ magnetic resonance experiments.1 A conventional plug flow model (PFM) and axial dispersion model (ADM) showed either overpredicted or underpredicted conversion compared with the conversion computed from the CFD-Cell Network model. Preliminary case study has shown the ability of the CFD-Cell Network model in assessing the impact of flow distribution on the trickle-bed reactor performance, which is a great help to trickle-bed reactor design and diagnosis.