CFD modeling using reactions kinetics for selective hydrogenation for acetylene in a fixed-bed reactor

Selective hydrogenation of acetylene (SHA) reactions is usually performed in fixed-bed reactors (FBR). The traditional SHA kinetics, when coupled with a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, requires improvement to accurately predict SHA reaction outcomes. The SHA microdynamics, when integrated with a three-dimensional CFD model, have not been comprehensively examined. In this paper, a mathematical model based on CFD was developed to simulate the reactive flow behavior of SHA in FBR using a novel OleMax100 catalyst. In this study, a 3D catalyst bed numerical simulation of FBR with coupled microdynamics description of conjugate heat transfer and surface catalytic reaction was carried out, and the accuracy of CFD at different Reynolds numbers (Re) was verified by experimental results, which showed a high degree of agreement between the model and experimental results. The effect of the ratio of tube to pellet diameter (D/d=N) on the fluid flow characteristics and SHA reaction in the bed was investigated, and the catalyst shape was considered. The simulation results show that an increase in N significantly improves the homogeneity of the flow field and the heat and mass transfer between the phases in the FBR, which leads to an increase in the conversion efficiency of acetylene. When N was increased from 4.00 to 6.67, the conversion was enhanced by 6.7%. Increasing the Re value affects the reactivity, and the SHA reaction exists in a reaction zone where excessive residence time exacerbates the decrease in selectivity. The adopted and novel catalyst microkinetic models can provide some theoretical guidance for the optimal design of the SHA reaction and process improvement in FBR.