Particle Behavior in FBRs: A Comparison of the PBM-CFD, Multi-Scale CFD Simulation of Gas-Solid Catalytic Propylene Polymerization

Abstract

A multi-scale CFD model has been developed to describe the particle behavior in a polyolefin fluidized bed reactor (FBR). The model consists of a CFD model incorporating a single particle model and a population balance model (PBM). The main particle behavior in the FBR can be calculated using the multi-scale model. The multi-scale model is tested by comparing simulation results with experimental data. Three cases including CFD coupled with PBM, CFD–PBM coupled with the single particle model without consideration of external diffusion, and multi-scale CFD model under consideration of external diffusion are developed to further examine the model. The simulations demonstrate that both intraparticle mass and heat transfers, which are ignored by these conventional CFD–PBM models, have significant effects on the particle behavior.