Effect of a pulsating flow on hydrodynamics and fluid catalytic cracking chemical reaction in a circulating fluidized bed riser

The three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D-CFD) of a pulsating flow applied to the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) reaction was investigated in the riser of a circulating fluidized bed reactor. The kinetic parameters of the FCC and coke burning reactions for predicting the reactant conversion and product yield percentages were applied. To increase the reactant conversion level and product yield, the effect of the pulsating flow operating parameters was considered using a 2^k statistical experimental design with four factors (amplitude, frequency, types of the waveform, and amplitude ratio). The 3D-CFD simulation was successfully validated from the experimental literature data. The frequency and type of the waveform were found to be the significant operating parameters. The expression of the fitted regression model and response surface contour were derived and revealed that the pulsating flow provides a higher reactant conversion level and product yield percentages compared to a non-pulsating or steady flow.     

Effect of baffles on performance of fluid catalytic cracking riser

Increasing demand of automobile fuel and a need to process heavier crude oil makes it imperative to find improvements to the design of existing fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units. Several modifications to the design of the riser section of FCC units have been suggested in previous studies including: improved feed nozzle designs, multiple nozzle configurations, internal baffles, and novel two-stage-riser systems. In this study, we investigate the effects of baffles on the performance of FCC risers using computational fluid dynamics simulations. In this study, predictions from a basis model (without baffles) are compared with those from four different configurations including: (i) 5-cm baffles at 5-m spacing, (ii) 7.5-cm baffles at 5-m spacing, (iii) 10-cm baffles with 5-m spacing, (iv) 10-cm baffles at 2.5-m spacing, and (v) 10-cm baffles at 1-m spacing. The baffles force the catalyst away from walls toward the center of the riser, enhancing the radial dispersion of the catalyst and the heat transfer inside the riser. The use of longer baffles and smaller spacings further increases the dispersion, yielding more homogeneous radial profiles. The changes in the radial dispersion result in variations in the conversion, yields, and pressure drops. The baffles increase conversion of vacuum gas oil (VGO) and the yield of gasoline. However, the simulations showed that longer baffles and a larger number of baffles did not always give a higher yield or higher conversion. Among the simulated configurations, the 5-cm baffles at 5-m spacing gave the highest conversion of VGO, whereas the 10-cm baffles at 1-m spacing resulted in the highest yield of the gasoline. Thus, rational optimization of baffle configurations is required to achieve optimal performance.     

Particle-scale and sub-grid drag models coupled CFD for simulating the CO methanation in a CFB riser

The diffusion and chemical reactions inside the catalyst particles and the heterogeneous flow structure in the computational cells are key factors to affect the accuracy of the coarse-grid simulation in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) methanation reactors. In this work, a particle-scale model is developed to calculate the effective reaction rate considering the transient diffusion and chemical reactions in the particle scale, i.e., the scale of the single catalyst particle. A modified sub-grid drag model is proposed to consider the effects of the meso-scale and chemical reactions on the heterogeneous gas-solid interaction, where the meso-scale is between the single particle and the whole reactor and featured with the particle cluster. Subsequently, a coupled model is developed by integrating the particle-scale and modified sub-grid drag models into CFD. Moreover, the coupled model is validated to achieve accurate predictions on the CO methanation process in a CFB riser. Notably, the coupled model can be performed with a coarse grid (∼58 times particle diameter) and a large time step (0.005 s) to accelerate the simulation. By simply changing the reaction kinetics, different gas-solid catalytic reaction systems can be simulated by using the coupled model.     

Influence of drag laws on pressure and bed material recirculation rate in a cold flow model of an 8 MW dual fluidized bed system by means of CPFD

A cold flow model of an 8 MW dual fluidized bed (DFB) system is simulated using the commercial computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD) software package Barracuda. The DFB system comprises a bubbling bed connected to a fast fluidized bed with the bed material circulating between them. As the hydrodynamics in hot DFB plants are complex because of high temperatures and many chemical reaction processes, cold flow models are used. Performing numerical simulations of cold flows enables a focus on the hydrodynamics as the chemistry and heat and mass transfer processes can be put aside. The drag law has a major influence on the hydrodynamics, and therefore its influence on pressure, particle distribution, and bed material recirculation rate is calculated using Barracuda and its results are compared with experimental results. The drag laws used were energy-minimization multiscale (EMMS), Ganser, Turton–Levenspiel, and a combination of Wen–Yu/Ergun. Eleven operating points were chosen for that study and each was calculated with the aforementioned drag laws. The EMMS drag law best predicted the pressure and distribution of the bed material in the different parts of the DFB system. For predicting the bed material recirculation rate, the Ganser drag law showed the best results. However, the drag laws often were not able to predict the experimentally found trends of the bed material recirculation rate. Indeed, the drag law significantly influences the hydrodynamic outcomes in a DFB system and must be chosen carefully to obtain meaningful simulation results. More research may enable recommendations as to which drag law is useful in simulations of a DFB system with CPFD.     

Effect of secondary air on NO emission in a 440 t/h circulating fluidized bed boiler based on CPFD method

The 440 t/h circulating fluidized bed boiler was numerically simulated by the Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics (CPFD) method. The combustion characteristics of circulating fluidized bed boiler and the effect of secondary air on NO emission were investigated. The full-scale three-dimensional model of a 440 t/h circulating fluidized bed boiler was established. The rationality of the grid was validated by the experimental data of material layer resistance. The accuracy of the simulation was validated by measuring the temperature of each measuring point in the dense phase area. The combustion conditions in the furnace under different setting modes were simulated. The effects of secondary air rates on NO formation in fluidized bed were predicted. The results show that when the secondary air rate increases to 27%, the proper secondary air rate has a positive effect on the inhibition of NO generation, and the proper strengthening of the central air supply will improve the permeability of the secondary air and make the combustion more uniform and stable. When the secondary air rate increases to 33%, excessive improvement of air classification and central air distribution will affect the stability of circulating fluidized bed operation. Therefore, air classification and strengthening of central air supply can be used together to inhibit the generation of NO.     

CPFD modeling of hydrodynamics,combustion and NOx emissions in an industrial CFB boiler

The ultra-low NOx emission requirement (50 mg/m³) brings great challenge to CFB boilers in China. To further tap the NOx abatement potential, full understanding the fundamentals behind CFB boilers is needed. To achieve this, a comprehensive CPFD model is established and verified; gas-solid flow, combustion, and NOx emission behavior in an industrial CFB boiler are elaborated; influences of primary air volume and coal particle size on furnace performance are evaluated. Simulation results indicate that there exists a typical core-annular flow structure in the boiler furnace. Furnace temperature is highest in the bottom dense-phase zone (about 950 °C) and decreases gradually along the furnace height. Oxygen-deficient combustion results in high CO concentration and strong reducing atmosphere in the lower furnace. NOx concentration gradually increases in the bottom furnace, reaches maximum at the elevation of secondary air inlet, and then decreases slightly in the upper furnace. Appropriate decreasing the primary air volume and coal particle size would increase the CO concentration and intensify the in-furnace reducing atmosphere, which favors for NOx reduction and low NOx emission from CFB boilers.