Project Details
Projekt
Analysis and modeling of radial heat transport mechanisms in fixed-bed reactors for process intensification
Subject Area
Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering
Energy Process Engineering
Energy Process Engineering
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 556175587
The intensification of radial heat transport is crucial for the safe and efficient operation of catalytic packed-bed reactors. The strong coupling between bed morphology, fluid dynamics, heat transport and reactor performance is known, but the mechanisms have not yet been fully understood. The proposed project will investigate the influence of radial heat transport in packed-beds with small tube-to-particle diameter ratio experimentally and numerically, using particle-resolved CFD. The aim is to improve the radial heat transport in the fixed bed reactor with the aid of internal fins to intensify the heterogeneous catalytic dry reforming of methane (CO2+CH4-->2CO+2H2, ∆𝐻 = 247,3 kJ mol-1). The interplay between bed structure, transport phenomena and mass transfer processes are analyzed with the aid of 3D-printed internal fins, which make it possible to systematically influence the near-wall heat transport mechanisms. This project will provide new insights, both experimentally and with simulations, into the impact of local bed structures on the near-wall heat transport mechanisms in slender packed-bed reactors and how internal fins manipulate them. In addition, the influence of intensified radial heat transport on reactor performance for the endothermic dry reforming of methane on nickel catalysts will be investigated experimentally and numerically. All collected data is made available via a data repository, in compliance with the FAIR principles, for scientific reuse. This ensures that a consistent data set is available for future investigations, from the description of the bed morphology, fluid dynamic characterization, catalyst properties, to the acquisition of the temperature field, the various heat transport mechanisms, and catalytic conversions. In addition, interactive, freely accessible dashboards are being developed that show the complex interplay between the various transport mechanisms and reactor performance.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
