Screening multiphase reactors for nonisothermal multiple reactions

Abstract

A screening procedure developed synthesizes a multiphase reactor and the accompanying heat-transfer devices desired for a given reaction scheme. It is an extension of a procedure, previously described for isothermal systems with a single reaction to multiple reactions involving heat effects. The three key elements to this approach include a generic reactor model, an accompanying sensitivity model, and a knowledge base consisting of heuristics, as well as correlations on hydrodynamics, heat, and mass transport. The generic reactor model is extended to include various topologies and reactor constituent parts for heat and mass transfer. The sensitivity model quantifies the potential impact of various reactor parameters on reactor performance. The knowledge base is expanded to tackle multiple, nonisothermal reactions. In this procedure, reactor attributes and constituent parts are aggregated to form a reactor for the specific reaction under consideration. It is especially useful at the early stage of process development, when there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding reaction kinetics, and potential limitations of heat and mass transfer.