A computational framework for the simulation of a gas solid catalytic reactor based on a multiregion approach (original) (raw)

A fundamental understanding of a catalytic chemical reactor is a prerequisite for the development and optimization of industrial catalytic technologies. In particular, this requires the interplay of phenomena occurring at different time and length scales. In a previous work (Goisis and Osio 2011) a dedicated numerical tool has been developed (called catalyticFOAM), to allow for the CFD of heterogeneous catalytic reactor based on a detailed microkinetic description of the surface reactivity. In that tool the transport phenomena within the porous medium were neglected in first place. Aim of this work is the development of a numerical framework which allows the description of the actual physics of the system in both fluid and solid phase, handling in detail the coupling at the interface. This leads to a full comprehension of the catalytic process, being an accurate description of both phases, essential when considering Table of contents ABSTRACT SOMMARIO TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES INDEX TABLES INDEX CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 MOTIVATION 1.2 GENERAL OVERVIEW 1.3 STATE OF ART 1.4 METHODOLOGIES AND MAIN RESULTS CHAPTER 2 PHYSICAL PROBLEM AND COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS AVAILABLE 2.1 PHYSICAL PROBLEM AND MATHEMATICAL MODEL 2.1.1 The introduction of the solid phase 2.1.1.1 The need for fluid and solid cells 2.1.1.2 Catalytic solid phase characterization 2.1.2 Mathematical Model Navier-Stokes Equations Species transport equation Energy trasport equation Transport equations in the solid phase Effective properties in the solid phase Reactive term in different phases 2.2 TOOLS AVAILABLE 2.2.1 OpenFOAM framework 2.2.1.1 General overview 2.2.1.2 The math behind OpenFOAM 