Analytical and numerical aspects of dynamic industrial chemical process analysis in fixed bed reactors
Bojan Grenko (TU Delft - Ship Design, Production and Operations)
Wiebren de Jong (TU Delft - Large Scale Energy Storage)
Robert van de Ketterij (Netherlands Defence Academy)
Lindert van Biert (TU Delft - Sustainable Drive and Energy System)
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Abstract
Recent research in chemical plant operation shows increasing interest in dynamic process operation as part of designed operating strategy for reasons such as increased dependency on renewable energy, and process intensification. Conventional analyses of fixed bed reactors are developed for steady state optimization and may not be adequate for dynamic operation. In fact, the important metrics and targets in dynamic process design are not entirely clear. The first objective of this article is to provide a state-of-the-art survey categorize types of dynamic operation, and rank the available common modelling and analytical tools suitable for quantification of dynamic process variables. The article then examines a case study of 1D and 2D model differences in a methanol steam reforming reactor. The case study shows model prediction differences of up to 15% for conversion, and up to 50% for CO concentration at the outlet during extreme load changes. The study concludes that the complexity of analytical and numerical techniques for dynamic processes is notably higher compared to steady state analyses, but appropriate tools and procedures are currently lacking.