A New Type of Catalyst Fixed-Bed Reactors: Proof of Concept

摘要

A new type of fixed-bed reactor based on direct electric heating is proposed. The new fixed bed reactor contains electrically conductive and catalytic particles. The reactor is heated internally using the Joule heating effect of current passing through the conductive particles. Small catalyst particles are mixed in the fixed bed to provide catalytic sites. The design parameters of the fixed beds are finalized based on current distribution, temperature uniformity, amount of catalytic sites and inter-particle porosity. The ideal radius of catalyst is selected to be 0.4 of the radii of the conductive particles, based on packing and conduction. Results of numerical simulations showed that electrical conductivity and thermal uniformity of the reactor decreases as catalyst volume fractions. However increase in catalyst volume fraction provides more catalytic sites, which should improve reaction rate and completion. The overall performance of the reactor is assessed based on the number of catalysts above reaction temperature. For the current analysis, the optimal volume fraction of catalyst is determined to be between 0.24 and 0.30.