The conversion of glycerol in supercritical water (SCW) was studied at 510 – 550°C and a pressure of 350 bars using both a bed of inert and non-porous ZrO2 particles (hydrothermal experiments), and a bed of 1 % Ru/ZrO2 catalyst particles. Experiments were conducted with a glycerol concentration of 5 wt% in a continuous isothermal fixed-bed reactor at a residence time between 2 and 10 s. Hydroth...

A novel atmospheric methanol measurement technique, employing selective gas-phase catalytic conversion of methanol to formaldehyde followed by detection of the formaldehyde product, has been developed and tested. The effects of temperature, gas flow rate, gas composition, reactor-bed length, and reactor-bed composition on the methanol conversion efficiency of a molybdenum-rich, ironmolybdate ca...

A tubular pilot scale fixed-bed reactor for the Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) was simulated to numerically demonstrate the conversion of synthesis gas (CO+H2) to higher hydrocarbons over an iron based catalyst. The reactor was a 3.1 cm diameter and 2.75 m length steel tube. The feed temperature were between 563583 K. Saturated water was employed to control the peak temperature within the cata...

PEM fuel cells utilizing hydrogen and oxygen have shown great promise as future sources of clean, efficient power. Due to difficulties encountered in hydrogen storage and transport, investigation of on-board generation of hydrogen via fuel processing of liquid hydrocarbons has gained prominence. To achieve these goals, the need for compact reactor systems with effective component and heat integ...

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the catalytic steam reforming of a gaseous fuel obtained by steam biomass gasification to convert topping atmosphere residue (TAR) and CH4 and to produce pure H2 by means of a CO2 sorbent. This experimental work deals with the demonstration of the practical feasibility of such concepts, using a real woodgas obtained from fluidized bed steam gasificatio...

In a fixed bed of porous catalyst pellets, there are developed two composition and temperature fields, one in the fluid phase and the other one at the level of solid pellets. The objective of this work is to evaluate, by numerical simulation, the unsteady state behavior of a catalyst pellet in typical operating conditions for methanol synthesis reactors. The process kinetics was described by th...

Beta zeolite supported on silicon carbide, with high thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength, was successfully used as an active and stable catalyst for Friedel-Crafts reactions in a fixed bed configuration.

An improved model for the production of polypropylene in a gas phase fluidized bed reactor was developed. Comparative simulation studies were carried out using the well-mixed, constant bubble size and the improved models. The improved model showed different prediction characteristics of polymer production rate as well as heat and mass transfer behavior as compared to other published models. All...

This paper reports the detailed description and validation of a fully automated, computer controlled analytical method to spatially probe the gas composition and thermal characteristics in packed bed systems. As an exemplar, we have examined a heterogeneously catalysed gas phase reaction within the bed of a powdered oxide supported metal catalyst. The design of the gas sampling and the temperat...

A 1D heterogeneous reactor model accounting for interfacial and intra-particle gradients was developed to simulate the dehydration of 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO) to 1,3-Butadiene (1,3-BD) and Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) over an amorphous calcium phosphate (a-CP) catalyst in a pilot-scale fixed-bed reactor. The developed model was validated with experimental data in terms of a fluid temperature profi...