Computational fluid dynamics simulation and redesign of a screw conveyor reactor |
| |
Authors: | Yinkun Wan Thomas R Hanley |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisville, 40292 Louisville, KY;(2) Office of the Provost, Auburn University, 36849 Auburn, AL |
| |
Abstract: | National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) designed a shrinking-bed reactor to maintain a constant bulk packing density of
cellulosic biomass. The high solid-to-liquid ratio in the pretreatment process allows a high sugar yield and avoids the need
to flush large volumes of solution through the reactor. To scale up the shrinking-bed reactor, NREL investigated a pilot-scale
screw conveyor reactor in which an interrupted flight between screws was employed to mimic the “shrinking-bed” effect. In
the experiments with the screw conveyor reactor, overmixing and uneven flow occurred. These phenomena produce negative effects
on biomass hydrolysis. The flow behavior inside the reactor was analyzed to allow redesign of the screw to achieve adequate
mixing and even flow. In the present study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was utilized to simulate the fluid flow in
the porous media, and a new screw design was proposed. CFD analysis performed on the redesigned reactor indicated that an
even flow pattern was achieved. |
| |
Keywords: | Screw reactor computational fluid dynamics modeling backflow hydrolysis |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|