Abstract
In this study, a mathematical model describing Fischer–Tropsch synthesis over an iron catalyst carried out in two configurations of membrane reactors was developed to predict the process performance. For this purpose, the impact of water removal from the reaction side on syngas conversion and on hydrocarbons selectivity was theoretically analyzed and quantified under different operating conditions. The obtained main results reveal that the process can be intensified when the catalyst was packed in a single region, whereas the produced water was continuously removed from the reaction side to the permeate side, which is constituted of two identical and parallel regions. This configuration design is characterized by a sufficient large area, which can enable fast water removal by an adequate sweep-fluid flow rate. As a result, the conversion and product selectivity could be enhanced obviously at the suitable conditions.
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Abbreviations
- \(A\) :
-
Cross section (m2)
- \(A_{m}\) :
-
Membrane section (m2)
- \(C_{pg}\) :
-
Specific heat transfer of the gas at constant pressure (J mol−1 K−1)
- \(D\) :
-
Reactor diameter (m)
- \(d_{p}\) :
-
Particle diameter (m)
- \(E_{j}\) :
-
Activation energy for the reaction j (J mol−1)
- \(F_{i}\) :
-
Molar flow rate of component i (mol s−1)
- \(F_{T}^{0}\) :
-
Initial molar flow rate of each component (mol s−1)
- \(F_{T}\) :
-
Total molar flow rate (mol s−1)
- \(J_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}\) :
-
Permeation rate of water (mol m−3 s−1)
- \(K_{j}\) :
-
Kinetic rate constant of the FT reaction (mol kg−1 s−1 MPa−1)
- \(K_{WGS}\) :
-
Kinetic rate constant of the WGS reaction (mol kg−1 s−1)
- \(L\) :
-
Reactor length (m)
- \(l\) :
-
Dimensionless reactor length
- \(M\) :
-
Inlet molar flow ratio between hydrogen and carbon monoxide
- \(P_{T}\) :
-
Total pressure (Pa)
- \(P_{i}\) :
-
Partial pressure of component i (Pa)
- \(P_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}^{r}\) :
-
Water pressure in reaction side (Pa)
- \(P_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}^{p}\) :
-
Water pressure in permeate side (Pa)
- \(Q\) :
-
Volumetric flow rate (m3 s−1)
- \(R_{i}\) :
-
Production rate of component i from the model (mol kg−1 s−1)
- \(R_{j}\) :
-
Rate of reaction j (mol kg−1 s−1)
- \(R_{WGS}\) :
-
Water gas shift reaction rate (mol kg−1 s−1)
- \(r\) :
-
Radius of the reaction zone in MR1 (m)
- \(r_{1}\) :
-
Radius of the permeate zone in MR2 (m)
- \(r_{2}\) :
-
Radius of the MR2 (m)
- \(S_{i}\) :
-
Product selectivity (%)
- \(T\) :
-
Temperature (K)
- \(T_{sh}\) :
-
Shell temperature (K)
- \(U_{sh}\) :
-
Overall heat transfer coefficient shell-fluid (W m−2 K−1)
- \(v\) :
-
Gas velocity (m s−1)
- \(X_{\text{CO}}\) :
-
Carbon monoxide conversion in the reaction j
- \(X_{{{\text{H}}_{2} }}\) :
-
Conversion of syngas
- \(Y_{{{\text{H}}_{2} {\text{O}}}}\) :
-
Removal water
- \(z\) :
-
Axial reactor coordinate
- \(\beta\) :
-
Membrane permeability (mol s−1 m−2 Pa−1)
- \(\mu\) :
-
Gas viscosity (Pa s)
- \(\upsilon\) :
-
Stoichiometric coefficient
- \(\varepsilon\) :
-
Bed porosity
- \(\rho_{g}\) :
-
Gas density (kg m−3)
- \(\rho\) :
-
Catalyst density (kg m−3)
- \(\Delta H_{i}\) :
-
Enthalpy of formation of component i (J mol−1)
- \(g\) :
-
Gas phase
- \(i\) :
-
Component i
- \(j\) :
-
Reaction j
- m :
-
Constant
- n :
-
Constant
- O :
-
Inlet conditions
- sh :
-
Shell side
- FT :
-
Fischer–Tropsch
- FTS :
-
Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis
- HC :
-
Hydrocarbon
- MR1:
-
Membrane reactor with the 1st configuration
- MR2:
-
Membrane reactor with the 2nd configuration
- WGS:
-
Water-gas-shift reaction
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Alihellal, D., Chibane, L. Simulation study of the effect of water removal from Fischer–Tropsch products on the process performance using a hydrophilic membrane reactor. Reac Kinet Mech Cat 117, 605–621 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-015-0961-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-015-0961-x