A detailed model of glycerol hydrogenolysis in a trickle-bed reactor is presented that includes a mechanistically based kinetic rate expression, energy transport, mass transport across the gas-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces, intraparticle catalyst mass transfer, and partial wetting of the bed. Optimal kinetic parameters for the glycerol hydrogenolysis rate expression were determined via nonlinear regression analysis on the basis of experiments conducted in a laboratory-scale trickle-bed reactor over a broad range of operating conditions. Model predictions agree well with experimental data and accurately predict trends in reactor performance with liquid flow rate, temperature, hydrogen pressure, and base promoter concentration. The model is thus a useful tool for predicting laboratory reactor performance and for design of commercial-scale trickle-bed systems.
Revised: May 3, 2012 |
Published: November 15, 2010
Citation
Xi Y., J.E. Holladay, J.G. Frye, A.A. Oberg, J.E. Jackson, and D.J. Miller. 2010.A Kinetic and Mass Transfer Model for Glycerol Hydrogenolysis in a Trickle-Bed Reactor.Organic Process Research & Development 14, no. 6:1304-1312.PNNL-SA-77405.