Abstract
CO methanation is an exothermic process, and heat removal is an essential issue for the methanation reactor. Numerical studies were carried out to investigate the performance of a 3D fluidized bed methanation reactor with immersed cooling tubes. The simulations were carried out in the frame of the Euler–Euler model to analyze the performance of the reactor. The influences of operating temperatures were studied to understand the reaction characteristics. The temperature increases rapidly neared the inlet due to the reactions. The immersed tubes were effective at removing the reaction heat. The chemical equilibrium state was achieved with an operating temperature of 682 K for the case with immersed tubes. Different control mechanisms can be found during the process of increasing and decreasing the temperature. The reaction kinetic is the dominate factor for the cases with lower temperatures, while the chemical equilibrium will play a more important role at high temperature conditions. The configuration with staggered tubes is beneficial for heat removal.
Highlights
Computation Fluid DynamicsNatural gas is an environmentally friendly fuel and has been widely used in civilian applications and industrial fields [1], such as gas turbines, natural gas vehicles, and boilers [2]
We focus on the heat removal of the methanation reactor using immersed tubes and the effect of temperature on performance
H2 can be found at the outlet, which is the reactant of methanation, and the product of the water–gas shift reaction
Summary
Natural gas is an environmentally friendly fuel and has been widely used in civilian applications and industrial fields [1], such as gas turbines, natural gas vehicles, and boilers [2]. The fluidized bed methanation reactor has some inherent advantages, such as excellent mixing, good heat transfer, and the uniform distribution of temperature [6,7]. The experimental works of the fluidized bed reactor for the methanation process have clearly indicated a superior performance over the fixed bed reactor [8,9]. With the development of computational fluidized dynamics (CFD), numerical simulations become effective tools for investigating the heat and mass transfer in the methanation reactors [11]. Simulated the methanation process in the fluidized bed reactor and the products were predicted. We focus on the heat removal of the methanation reactor using immersed tubes and the effect of temperature on performance. This work can provide guidance in the design of the configuration and the optimization of a methanation reactor
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