Two-dimensional Model Of The Slurry Bubble Column Reactor For Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Reactor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is the key unit of the indirect coal liquefaction process. In this paper, comprehensive study on modeling of the slurry bubble column reactor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was carried out.Started from the one-dimensional hydrodynamic model which was used for obtaining hydrodynamic characteristics such as gas holdup and velocity profile in the slurry reactor, and combined with the kinetics andα-ORPDM(α-Olefin Readsorption Product Distirbution Model) of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, a two-dimensional model of slurry Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was established to account for the 2-D concentration distribution in the slurry reactor by coupling the process of flow, mass transfer and chemical reaction. The model also took into account products distribution in the phase of gas and liquid by vapor-liquid equilibrium calculation. In order to validate this model, several groups of published data from the demonstration plants for slurry Fischer-Tropsch synthesis were employed to test the two-dimensional model. The results were well in line with the experiment data indicating its strong prediction capability.Further, the model was applied to predict the scaleup of the Rheinpreussen-Koppers demonstration plant in Germany and the Laboratory reactor in the Institute of Coal Chemistry. The laws of reactor scaling up were discussed revealing the potential scaleup effects in engineering development of the slurry reactor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. In addition, this paper gave the results of modeling the commercial slurry reactor for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis with some common technology parameters. The influences of superficial velocity of gas phase, H₂/CO ratio of synthesis gas, mass transfer coefficient and liquid recirculation velocity on reactor performance were studied to provide guidance for design and operation optimization of the industrial slurry reactor.