Republic of Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education & scientific Research

University Of Baghdad

AL-Khwarizmi College of Engineering

Biochemical Engineering Department

Packed bed reactor

Report submitted by

Fatima Thamer Hajir Saleh Zahraa Maan

Supervised by

Dr. Mohammed Eisa

2020/7/1
Introduction

The chemical industry is considerably important to economies around the

world, playing a critical role in processes ranging from the production of clean
drinking water to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products. Chemical
engineers are faced with the challenge of ensuring profitability in a rapidly
growing and evolving market. Packed bed reactors are one of the most common
reactors used in the chemical industry due to their high conversion rate per
catalyst weight compared to other catalytic reactors.

packed bed is a hollow tube, pipe, or other vessel that is filled with a packing
material. The packing can be randomly filled with small objects like Raschig
rings or else it can be a specifically designed structured packing. Packed beds
may also contain catalyst particles or adsorbents such as zeolite pellets, granular
activated carbon, etc The purpose of a packed bed is typically to improve
contact between two phases in a chemical or similar process. Packed bed
reactors consist of a cylindrical shell with convex heads. Most are vertical, and
allow reactants to flow by gravity. Inside the reactor is an immobilized, or fixed,
bed of catalyst . Packed bed reactors are heterogeneous reaction systems.

The engineering design of packed bed based unit operations is very much
influenced by the structure of the packing matrix, which in turn is governed by
the shape, dimensions and the loading of the constituent particles. For, say,
reactor applications, optimum design of catalyst pellet in terms of shape
configuration, internal pores and available surface area can promote catalytic
activity and the prevailing transport properties of the system. Moreover, at the
design stage, fabrication cost, resistance to crushing and abrasion, as well as
dust build-up should also be taken into account. Knowledge of the underlying
factors should enable designers to engineer the optimum design for a given
system with prescribed conditions. However, in view of the significance of
pellet/packing design, this paper addresses certain issues, which would elucidate
the task.

Characterization of the fluid inside the PBR is necessary to obtain information

about the influence the biocatalyst exerts on the reaction. The most widely used
technique is the residence time distribution (RTD), which determines the
conduct that carries fluid inside the reactor. This residence time depends on the
fluid flow and directly influences the conversion rate of the reactions. Both
thermos physical properties and the behavior of the blend affect the mass
transfer. Thus, it is essential to understand the operating parameters, the
structure of the reactor, RTD and flow behavior for modeling optimization and
reactor design.

Packed Bed Reactor application

In most application, the purpose of a packed bed is to provide intimate

contacting of the upward flowing vapor and the downward flowing liquid in
separation processes such as distillation and absorption and use in chemical
reaction and physical separation. Packed beds can be used in a chemical reactor,
a distillation process, or a scrubber, but packed beds have also been used to
store heat in chemical plants. In this case, hot gases are allowed to escape
through a vessel that is packed with a refractory material until the packing is
hot. Air or other cool gas is then fed back to the plant through the hot bed,
thereby pre-heating the air or gas feed..

Usage Examples

Packed bed are most commonly used in air pollution control , but they also used
in the chemical, petrochemical, food, pharmaceutical, paper, and aerospace
industries. And also used to absorb and elimination ethylene gas from
sterilization chamber. Packed bed reactors have a wide range of uses for
catalytic reactions. They are also widely used in small scale commercial
reactions..

Advantages and Disadvantage of packed bed reactor

Advantages
 High conversion rate per weight of catalyst.
 Easy to build.
 More contact between reactant and catalyst than in other types of
reactors.
 More product is formed due to increased reactant/catalyst contact.
 Low cost of construction, operation, and maintenance.
 Effective at high temperatures and pressures.

Disadvantages
 Difficult temperature control.
 Temperature gradients may occur.
  Catalyst difficult to replace.
 Channeling of gas stream can occur, leading to ineffective regions in the
reactor.
 Side reactions possible.
 Heat transfer to or from reactor can be difficult.

Packed Bed Reactor types

Type of Reactor Characteristics
Tubular fixed bed Tubular reactor that is paced with solid
Reactor catalyst particles

Kinds of Usage Advantages Disadvantages

Phases
Present
1.Gas Used 1.High 1.Undesired
phase/ primarily in conversio thermal
solid heterogeneou n per unit gradients may
catalyz s has phase mass of exist.
reactions with catalyst.
2.Gas-solid a catalyst 2.Poor
rxns 2.Low temperature
operating control.
cost.
3.Channeling
3.Continuous may occur.
operation.
4.Unit may be
difficult to service
and clean.
From the PFR module we have

The catalyst weight and rector volume are related by the catalyst bulk density
(g/dm3)
The reaction rate per unit volume and the reaction rate per unit catalyst weight
are also related by the bulk density, rb

The differential form of the PBR mole balance is

Type of Reactor Characteristics

Fluidized Bed Reactor Heterogeneous reactions; like a
CSTR in that the reactants are well
mixed

Kinds of Phases Usage Advantages Disadvantages

Present
Gas-solid Heterogeneous Good mixing Bed-fluid
has phase mechanics not
Gas-solid reactions with a Good uniformity well known
catalyzed catalyst of temperature
Severe agitation
Catalyst can be can result in
continuously catalyst
regenerated with destruction and
the use of an dust formation
auxiliary loop
Uncertain scale-
up

Model a Fluidized Bed as a CSTR

How a Packed Bed Reactor Works
Packed bed reactors are very versatile and are used in many chemical
processing applications such as absorption, distillation, stripping, separation
processes, and catalytic reactions. Across the diverse applications in which they
are used, the physical dimensions of the beds can vary greatly. Typical reactors
consist of a chamber, such as a tube or channel that contains catalyst particles or
pellets, and a liquid that flows through the catalyst. The liquid interacts with the
catalyst across the length of the tube, altering the chemical composition of the
substance.
Design Challenges of Packed Bed Reactors
When designing a packed bed reactor ,the design must include mass transfer (or
species transport) in the bed as well as heat transfer and chemical reactions.
Understanding and optimizing the heat transfer through packed beds is
important in order to decrease the cost of running the equipment. The packed
catalyst is also critically important to the successful modeling of the device; the
catalyst can be modeled as a porous structure, which leads to particle transport
with different orders of magnitude, making the analysis of mass and energy
transport a challenging task.
Another challenge when designing these devices lies in the pressure drop that
occurs across the length of the reactor. The pressure drop can be reduced by
using larger catalyst particles, but this causes lower intraparticle diffusion,
making the reaction progress slower. The trade-off here is to find a particle size
that is large enough to limit the pressure drop and small enough to allow the
reaction to proceed at a fast enough rate. A catalyst particle radius is typically in
the order of magnitude of 1 millimeter. The space located between particles is
described as macro porous structure of the bed, while pores inside the catalyst
themselves form what is known as the microstructure.

Various Applications

Depending on the application at hand, many different variations of the device

can be designed. Examples of this could include different temperature and inlet
concentration of the reactants, changes that can affect the reaction rate and the
conversion that occurs. Additionally, depending on the application, there are
many different packing shapes available for packed bed reactors that can affect
the rate of the reaction.

Design variables that might change depending on the application: the catalyst
diameter (active surface area per unit volume of material), structural strength,
constructability, manufacturing cost, micro- and macroporous volume, and
transport properties.
Two examples of packed bed reactor systems

Example I is a simplified reaction model for the partial oxidation of ethylene.

The data have been adopted from Westerterp and Ptasinski (1984). The reaction
takes place in excess of ethylene. Two main by-products CO2 and H2O are
formed according to the following reaction scheme:

Under industrial conditions (10 bar and at 200-250 Co, with maximal
temperature rise in the reactor about 20-40 Co) the parallel reactions are
dominant and the combustion of ethylene oxide can be neglected. Thus, the
simplified reaction scheme reads:

The reaction rate expressions are given by

This is a moderate reaction system with smooth temperature and concentration

profiles in the reactor.

Example II represents partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. The data

used in this example are obtained from pilot plant reactor experiments reported
by Windes et al. (1989).
The reaction is carried out on commercial iron-oxide/molybdenum-oxide
catalyst in excess of oxygen at atmospheric pressure and at 250-400 Co.
The desired reaction

Is accompanied with an undesirable consecutive reaction

Here

The observed temperature rise in the reactor was up to 150-200 oC. These
severe operating conditions make a priory modeling of the system very
complicated. Nevertheless, the high sensitivity of the selectivity to variations in
temperature and the danger of moving into a runaway region necessitate careful
modeling of the system. The data used for the modeling of systems I and II are
given in Table 2.2.
Continuous biodiesel production in a packed bed reactor from microalgae
Chlorella sp. using DBSA catalyst

Biodiesel production from Chlorella sp. oil using dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid

catalyst in the packed bed reactor filled with a cylindrical glass raschig rings
was investigated. The best conditions for the esterification and
transesterification reactions were found to be (process temperature: 373.15 K,
residence time: 30 min, methyl alcohol/oil ratio: 30, and catalyst loading:
11 wt%) which provide a yield of 99%.

The water content effect was tested and the best value for the production of
more than 90% biodiesel yield should be less than 0.5 wt%. Acid value was
found to be decreased strongly using the DBSA catalyst in the esterification
reaction. DBSA was found to be a highly active catalyst for the
transesterification of Chlorella sp.

compared to the activity of H2SO4 catalyst. The residence time of only 30 min
using the DBSA catalyst would make the process more economical process
compared to the batch process using sulfuric acid catalyst which consume more
than 12 h. The flow characterization in the packed bed reactor was tested and
characterized as laminar viscous flow with a Reynold number of 6.42 × 10−5.

Graphical abstract
Continuous transesterification in a packed bed reactor

A direct transesterification was conducted using the filled bed reactor (internal
diameter 2.5 cm, bed height 60 cm and total packed bed volume: 1178 cm3 at
normal pressure. The reactor temperature was kept under constant temperature
using a water Jacket. The reactor was filled randomly by a porosilicate glass
cylindrical packing. The schematic diagram for the experimental process system
and the methodology were displayed in Fig. .

Fig. . (A) Representation figure of the filled bed reactor set-up: 1- Electrical heater; 2-
mechanical mixer; 3- microalgae oil tank; 4- methyl alcohol tank; 5- dosing pump; 6-
check valve; 7- rashig ring cylindrical packing; 8- water bath; 9- inlet water; 10- outlet
water. 11- globe valve 12- biodiesel tank, (B) Schematic Diagram representing the methodology.
Methyl alcohol was mixed with a suitable amount of DBSA as a catalyst.
Methyl alcohol-catalyst mixture and Chlorella sp. Oil was charged into the
system using a dosing pumps. Before entering the packed bed reactor,
methyl alcohol and Chlorella sp. Oil was preheated to 333.15 K. The
parameters had been studied in the packed bed reactor and were as follows:
process temperature (303.15 to 413.15 K), methyl alcohol/oil ratio (5–50),
residence time (5–50 min), catalyst loading (1–19 wt%), and water content
(0.5–6 wt%). The yield of biodiesel was investigated at different parameter
condition and the experiments were repeated in triplicate (standard deviation
was less than 5% for any point). The residence time inside the packed bed
reactor was estimated using the subsequent equation [14]:

where τ, Vf, υo, h, d, β are the residence time (min), volume of voidage (ml),
volumetric stream rate (ml/min), height of packing in filled bed reactor (cm),
inside diameter for the reactor (cm), and bed porosity, respectively.

The cylindrical packing were weighed to determine the specific material density
and by using the particle density and the bulk density, the porosity was
determined. The glass Raschig ring’s density was found to be 2.52 × 10 3 kg/m3.
Afterwards, for purifying the biodiesel product, excess alcohol was evaporated
using rotary evaporator and hexane was added. Finally, The mixture was
vacuum filtrated and the filtrate was dried over anhydrous MgSO4. GC-FID was
used for the characterization of the product obtained from the packed bed
reactor system. The tests were conducted in triplicate.

The physical properties of the packing material used in the present study.

The yield of microalgae biodiesel was calculated according to the following

equation:
where Wb, Wt, Ws, are the mass of biodiesel, total sample, and standard,
respectively, Ab, As are the top area of biodiesel, and standard,
respectively, CFb, CFs are the correction factor for biodiesel, and standard.
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