A Multiscale 3D Packed Bed Reactor
Application ID: 17019
One of the most common reactors in the chemical industry, for use in heterogeneous catalytic processes, is the packed bed reactor. This type of reactor is used both in synthesis as well as in effluent treatment and catalytic combustion.
This model is set up to calculate the concentration distribution in the reactor gas that flows around the pellets, but it also uses an extra dimension that models the concentration distribution inside each porous catalytic pellet. The extra dimension is introduced by using the Packed Bed feature.
The reactor consists of a cylindrical shell filled with catalyst particles. These particles can be contained within a supporting structure, like tubes or channels, or they can be packed in one single compartment in the reactor.
This model presents an approach to studying coupled macro- and micro-mass balances in packed beds and other heterogeneous reactors. The model calculates the concentration profiles of reacting species both in the 3D packed bed reactor as well as in each individual catalyst pellet.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.