...environment/ CO2/ PTF, energy, coal/ biomass, catalysts, chemicals, petrochemicals, minerals
...environment/ CO2/ PTF, energy, coal/ biomass, catalysts, chemicals, petrochemicals, minerals
Process Synthesis: Our design, development and modeling tools can be used to synthesize new or improved process technology for dramatic improvements in productivity and/or product quality. For example, for the same reaction chemistry and catalyst system, the model can be applied for performance projections of not only alternate reactor types but also several operating modes for each reactor type. The operating modes may include one or more of the following: ● isothermal, adiabatic or steam-cooled mode, ● with or without recycle of product gas (or un-reacted/ Uncondensed part of product gas) of various recycle ratios, ● with inter-stage injection of reactant gas or gases, ● with gas redistribution with baffles (in BFB) and ● with optimal temperature progression (as done in double-walled or bayonet tube methanol super-converter) or ● reactors-in-series (RIS) of the same or different type (say BFB→FXB or FXB→FXB in series) with same or different operating temperature and pressure.
Seeing how the productivity and quality of the desired product (say C) change with the above changes in operation and design may also lead to design, operating mode and catalyst system conducive to preferable production of one of the side or intermediate products (say B) as the desired product – for a reaction system A→B, B→C. A new process for saying ethylene (B) production can thus be synthesized as a spin-off of a process of say acetic acid (C) production from hydrocarbon (A) feedstock.
The model outputs provide detailed accounts of catalyst effectiveness factor for each reaction, relative rates and equilibrium constants of all reactions and how the rate some key reactions such as water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction (involving hydrocarbons) moves between forward to backward directions depending on local conditions of temperature, pressure and composition. Change in catalyst formulation (that can accelerate or inhibit specific reactions) and/or staging of catalyst (of same or different formulations) along reactor height and/or bed quenching method (with or without removal of unwanted products like H2O) may lead to a dramatically improved reactor and technology.