Modeling diffusional limitations in Fischer Tropsch synthesis catalyst at near critical and supercritical solvent conditions
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abstract
Conducting Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction in near critical and supercritical fluid (SCF) media has certain advantages over traditional routes because of the unique characteristics of the supercritical phase. An assessment of diffusional limitations in fixed bed tubular reactors, which contain catalyst particles of a few millimeter diameters, was carried out using a conventional theory of diffusion-reaction in porous pellets. The LHHW model developed by Mogalicherla et al. from Co catalyst at near critical and supercritical fluid (n-hexane) conditions was used to account for reaction kinetics details. The binary diffusional coefficients of the reactants and products in supercritical solvent were estimated from correlation proposed by Hong He, which accounts for the molecular weights and critical properties of all compounds, reactor operation conditions, and reaction mixture density. The effectiveness factor for LHHW type kinetics was estimated using an approximation method proposed by Hayes et al. The optimal operating conditions for SCF-FTS operated in a fixed bed reactor were determined. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 2011 AIChE Spring Meeting & 7th Global Congress on Process Safety (Chicago, IL 3/13-17/2011).
