CFD-PBM investigation of the hydrodynamics in a slurry bubble column reactor with a circular gas distributor and heat exchanger tube

Abstract

In this work, the effects of a circular gas distributor with the opening downward and a circular heat exchanger tube on the hydrodynamics of a pilot-scale slurry bubble column reactor were investigated by employing the CFD-PBM modeling. The simulations indicated that the circular structure of heat exchanger tube leads to a significant gas phase dispersion, inducing a stronger circulation flow of slurry. Different from the traditional perforated plates, the gas holdup profile with the circular gas distributor shows a bimodal structure in the radial direction. Moreover, the circular heat exchanger tube intensifies the bimodal distribution, resulting in a higher gas holdup in the reactor. Increasing the superficial gas velocity was beneficial in improving the whole time-averaged gas holdup. While the increase of the initial loading height of slurry has insignificant effect on the momentum transfer. In addition, proper axial height of the gas distributor is beneficial to enhance gas holdup.