FEA and Optimization of Catalyst Bed Reactor Vessel

Abstract

A Catalyst Bed Reactor (CBR) is a reactor compartment incorporated in a pressure vessel that can be used to carry out a variety of multiphase chemical reactions. In this type of reactor, a fluid (gas or liquid) is passed through a granular solid material (usually a catalyst possibly shaped as tiny spheres) at high enough velocities to suspend the solid and cause it to behave as though it were a fluid. Catalyst bed is a popular technique to speed up chemical processes. However current designs of a bed are stagnant designs where the chemical reaction occurs while the fluid is stationary, as if in a storage vessel. This process is time expensive and hence there is need of speeding up the process in which the fluid flow is present. This can be achieved in a reactor vessel where the Catalyst bed is embedded in the design. This design has its own challenges. When the reaction takes place, some quantity of the catalyst stagnates, and this stagnation has to be removed, which is done using inclined nozzles. These inclined nozzles are a design headache as they create a lot of stress zones. Thus, our objective is to find out the best solution out for this problem so as to enhance the process and to get the best results while performing actual analysis for the vessel under consideration.