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Estimation of Temperature and Residence Time of Carbon Black Oil Furnace

Industrial Reactors

Conference Paper · January 2006

DOI: 10.1115/IMECE2006-15671

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 Proceeding of IMECE2006-15671
2006 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress
Chicago Illinois, November 5-10, 2006

IMECE2006-15671

ESTIMATION OF TEMPERATURE AND RESIDENCE TIME

OF CARBON BLACK OIL FURNACE INDUSTRIAL REACTORS

A. Javadi1,2, M. Soltanieh1, S. Sahebdelfar1 D . Bastani1, and K. Javadi2

1- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran,

P.O. Box, 11365-9465, Iran E-mail: javadi@mehr.sharif.edu

2- Aerospace Research Institute, Ministry of Science and Research and Technology,

Tehran, P. O. Box, 15875-3885, Iran

ABSTRACT observed. However, comparison the effects of the air/oil ratio

In the absence of powerful rigorous models, in this research a
simple but practical method for calculating the temperature
and residence time and carbon black yield in oil-furnace
reactors is proposed. For this purpose an empirical formula of
the form CXHY is assumed for the carbon black feedstock
based on typical feedstock used in this industry. Based on the
prevailing reactor conditions, thermodynamic considerations
and available outlet tail gas from the reactor, a few
representative reactions are considered to describe the entire
reaction network. These include complete combustion for the
fuel and, incomplete combustion and pyrolysis for the
feedstock. Carbon black yield can be estimated from a mass
balance. From the combined mass and heat balance, the
reactor temperature as well as the residence time is predicted.
The reactions can also be used to obtain the composition of
the tail gas. Despite the simplicity of the model, in all cases
studied, relatively good agreements were observed between
the calculated values and the available industrial data as well
as those obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
simulation. An exception was the effects of the air/oil ratio on
the reactor mean residence time in the CFD approach. The
influences of air/oil ratio and inlet air temperature on reactor
mean-temperature were studied. In both cases one observes
good agreement between our results and CFD simulation data.
They both show an increase in reactor mean-temperature as
expected. The effects of process air flow rate on reactor
residence time also were studied and a good agreement was
on reactor residence time showed quite different trends. While
the results of CFD simulation predicts insignificant change in
reactor residence time versus air/oil ratio, our results show a
decline in the residence time in this case. To explain this,
prediction of carbon black particle size was considered.
Utilizing our predicted residence time results for prediction of
particle size showed a good agreement with industrial data,
while in contrast the CFD simulation data show opposite trend
with the industrial data and our work. Therefore, it can be said
that one of the most important reasons caused poor prediction
in referred CFD simulation in some cases could be
considerable error in prediction of the residence time.
Keywords: carbon black, oil-furnace reactor, soot formation,
pyrolysis, combustion
INTRODUCTION
Carbon black is widely used as a filler to modify the
mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of the medium in
which it is dispersed. This particulate carbon product is the
main reinforcing agent of rubber. It is mostly produced by the
oil-furnace process through the incomplete combustion of a
hydrocarbon feedstock. Particle size (as measured by surface
area) is the most important carbon black property being used
as a basis for rubber-grade carbon black classification and
nomenclature.

1 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

Due to the ever-increasing feedstock price and environmental
issues, one of the most important objectives in carbon black
industry is to achieve the desired grade with the highest yield.
Experience shows that temperature and residence time have
the most important influence on quality and production yield
[1-7]. These parameters are important keys for controlling the
production process and achievement desired production grade
and yield. However, difficulties of chemical reactions, energy
conversions and flow filed of incomplete combustion of
complex feedstock in these reactors are the major obstructions
to develop practical models or simulations for prediction of
these important parameters.
Modeling of combustion in reacting flow systems even for a
simple fuel such as methane requires the solution of a complex
flow field involving more than 50 chemical species [8].
Therefore, modeling and prediction of the incomplete
combustion of a complex hydrocarbon feedstock in a carbon
black reactor would be cumbersome. A few researchers
worked on the modeling and evaluation of carbon black
reactors [1, 4, 6, 7]. They have mostly studied simple cases,
while studies on industrial oil-furnace reactors are rather rare
[1, 6].
Ive and Forney [1] developed a numerical model to predict the
formation of carbon black particles by benzene pyrolysis in a
pilot plant reactor similar to an oil-furnace. They used 15
reactions to describe the gas-phase kinetics in which the
phenyl radicals were treated as the important intermediates in
the formation of carbon black. The Abraham mechanism [1]
was used for nucleation of primary particles. A discrete
distribution of 10 particle radii was used to approximate the
simultaneous growth and coagulation of spherical carbon
particles. The results showed that a self-preserving log-normal
distribution of carbon particles develops after an initial
nucleation and growth period. They also studied the influence
of the temperature, residence time and benzene concentration
on the particle size. It was shown that the range of temperature
has an important role to define a special residence time range
during soot formation.
Tesner and Shurupov [6] studied soot formation reactions
during pyrolisis of polycyclic aromatic compounds such as
naphthalene, antheracene and pyrene. They developed an
exponential reaction model for prediction of the number
density of soot formation during pyrolysis. The particle
number density of soot aerosol formed was demonstrated to be
linearly dependant on hydrocarbon concentration and
exponentially on pyrolysis temperature. They demonstrated
that the soot formation tendency of the hydrocarbons
investigated as relative to methane can be arranged at 1623 K
as follows: methane; ethylene; acetylene; diacetylene;
benzene; toluene; naphthalene; anthracene; pyrene:1; 4; 7.6;
50; 7.4; 5.5; 4; 112; 91; 74, respectively. Their contribution
can be very useful to the carbon black industry because
polycyclic aromatic compounds comprise important
feedstocks. The process, however, was different from typical
2 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
practice, with the energy source being an electric heater. Also,
their studies were limited to a fix residence time and yield.
Lockwood and Nierkerk [4] simulated industrial oil-
furnace reactors using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD)
code by finite volume method with the SIMPLE algorithm.
Although they studied industrial reactors and performed a fair
parametric study to evaluate the influence of various
parameters such as process air flow, preheat temperature,
air/feedstock ratio, reactor volume, and chock Reynolds
number, their results show some deviation in certain cases. For
example, their results show an increase in particle size with
increasing air/feedstock ratio that is in contrary to what is
observed in carbon black industry and our results.
Javadi [7] proposed a global reaction mechanism for the
industrial oil-furnace reactors. An effective feedstock mole
fraction was defined to calculate temperature and residence
time of the reactor using the energy and mass balance on the
reactor. The simple soot formation model proposed by Tesner
and Shurupov [6] was extended to incorporate the effects of
the residence time, yield, effective mole fraction of feedstock,
and volume rate of tail gas on primary particle size. The model
was able to represent the industrial data favorably. The model
was capable of prediction of primary particle size whereas the
available CFD model failed to predict.
Reactor temperature and the residence time are the key
parameters to determine the properties of the carbon being
produced. Therefore, any simulation or modeling needs
precise estimates of these two parameters. In the present work,
a method to estimate these parameters is proposed and the
results are checked with data obtained from the industry and
CFD simulation.
CALCULATION METHODOLOGY
To begin with, the feedstock should be defined. Polyaromatic
(high C/H ratio) feedstocks are highly desirable for production
of carbon black. One indirect measure for aromaticity is the
BMCI (Bureau of Mines Correlation Index) related to the
boiling point and density of the feedstock [5]. The higher the
BMCI, the more aromatic is the nature of the feed.
Table 1 shows the typical feedstocks and the ranges of their
properties. The representative molecular weight is 300±50,
and C/H ratio number is greater than 1.1 (carbon to hydrogen
mass ratio higher than 0.9). In this work, an average molecular
weight of 300 is used. Therefore, an empirical formula of the
form C22H20 satisfies the specifications of a typical feedstock.
Figure 1 shows schematic representation of an oil-furnace
carbon black reactor. It consists of two parts; a precombustion
zone where natural gas (≈90% methane, with the balance
being mostly ethane) burns in excess preheated air according
to the following reactions to produce the heat required for the
pyrolysis reaction.
CH 4 + 2O 2 → CO 2 + 2H 2 O (1)

7 Rather, they can represent the overall stoichiometry of the
C2H6 + O 2 → 2CO 2 + 3H 2 O (2)
2
In the second or mixing zone, where pyrolysis and carbon
formation occurs, the feedstock is sprayed into the hot exhaust
gas of the first zone:
(3)
C 22 H 20 → (1 − w)(22C + 10H 2 ) + w(aCH 4 + bC 2 H 2 )
The sum of CH4 and C2H2 in the reactor exhaust (dry basis)
is typically around 1% (Table 2 and 3), therefore these two
compounds can be safely eliminated in Eq. 3 from the
stoichimetry, i.e. w ≈ 0 .
Both evaporation of the feed and the pyrolysis reaction are
endothermic. Therefore, to maintain the temperature in this
zone part of the furnace, oil is burnt according to the
following reaction.
C 22 H 20 + aO2 → bCO + cCO2 + dH 2 + eH 2 O (4)
Because of insufficient oxygen and with the presence of
the fresh carbon powder in bulk flow, formation of water in
this reaction is negligible [4], then c ≈ 0, e ≈ 0 . In other
words, exclusion of CO2 and H2O in reactions 4 can be
assumed due to the oxygen deficient condition and the fact
that the following endothermic reactions are favored in the
prevailing high temperature condition.
C + CO 2 → 2CO (5)
CO + H 2 O → CO 2 + H 2 (6)
One can observe that the overall transformation is
accompanied by an increase in the number of moles. It should
3 Copyright © 2006 by ASME
be emphasized that these are not the real reactions to occur.
reaction. The above set of reactions might be used to predict
the carbon black yield as well as the tail gas composition
through mass balance. A combination of mass and energy
balance might be used to estimate the reactor temperature and
the residence time.
Noting the variation of the percentage of the nitrogen
between the input and output streams in Tables 2 and 3, it may
be concluded that an increase of around 10-20% in total mole
flow rate of gases is expected on dry basis. To obtain more
exact value, the specific grade should be taken into
consideration. Therefore, in Table 4 in the case of N330 series
where (Total Process Air Flow) =2.315 kg/s=0.0803 kmol/s,
(Air/fuel) =27.873, and (Air/Feedstocks) =3.622, these
information can be gained:, Fuel = 0.083 kg/s=0.0048 kmol/s
Considering a typical natural gas composition of 90%
methane and 10% Ethane, M w = 17.4 ), oil = 0.639 kg/s =
0.00213 kmol/s, the percentage of nitrogen in the input is 74
% as. compared with an average percent of 65.5% nitrogen in
the output given in Tables 2 and 3, which corresponds to 13%
increase in total gas mole flow rate. The Gaseous Mole
Variation (GMV) is defined as below:
GMV =
(7)
(gas flow)out /(gas flow)in = N i / N f = 1.13
In other words, the total gas mole flow rate out of the reactor
(on dry basis) for this case study can be estimated from:
(gasflow)out = GMV* (gasflow)in
= 1.13 × (0.0803 + 0.0048) = 0.085 kmol/s (8)
Then, total moles of the carbon dioxide out of reactor can be
estimated:
(CO2 ) out = 0.05× 0.085 = 0.00425 kmol/s
Comparing this value with the carbon dioxide formed during
complete combustion of the fuel, i.e. through Eqns. 1 and 2,
(CO 2 ) precombust or = 1.1 × (input fuel ) = 0.005 3 kmol/s
reveals that there is no noticeable carbon dioxide production
during pyrolysis which confirms c ≈ 0 in Eq. (4).
Similarly, the carbon monoxide concentration in the tail gas is
around 12.7% on dry basis which compares well with the
typical values reported in Tables 2 and 3. Finally, the
percentage of hydrogen in the output stream is determined as
21.13 % on dry basis which is close to the upper range given
in Table 2. However, it is larger than the typical value in Table
3. One should note that some portion of this hydrogen is in the
structure of CH4 and C2H2 that there are not included in our
reaction and is noticeable in Table 3.
Also this difference implies that part of the hydrogen ESTIMATION OF CARBON YIELD
produced might have been burnt. However, part of this
From the stochiometery of the reactions, one might conclude
hydrogen should be that remained in combination with carbon
that:
black, as hydrogen is one the most important heteroatom in
carbon black graphite-like structure. Oil b = (1/11)O2 ex (9)
Oil p = Oil total - Oil b (10)

Where, in these equations:

O2ex= Inlet excess oxygen (mole rate)
Oiltotal= Total inlet oil
Oilb= Burnt oil portion
Oilp= Pyrolyzed oil portion

Now, considering a typical portion about 0.21% for oxygen in

the fresh natural air, an important parameter called “feedstock
effective fraction” or (Fef) related to portion of oil that
decomposes in the reaction zone for production of carbon
particles can be defined as:

Fef = M wf * (Oil total - (1/53)Air ex ) (11)

Airex= Excess inlet air (mole rate)

where Mwf is the feedstocks average molecular weight. Indeed
the basis of equation (9) and consequently equation (11)
comes through equations 1-8 considering foregoing
explanations based on possible reactions, thermo-kinetics
aspects and typical available compositions of tail gases in
practical oil furnace carbon black units. In other words, based
on these analysis it can be concluded that there is little
possibility for production of carbon and carbon monoxide in
equations (1) and (2) due to the presence a high oxygen
concentration and complete combustion in precombustor zone;
whereas there is little possibility for production of carbon
dioxide and water in equation (4) due to presence of high
concentration of fresh carbon. These are the major
assumptions which provide equations 3, 4, 9 that are the main
equations in the current analysis for prediction of tail gas
compositions, temperature and residence time of rector.
Parameter Fef plays an important role for estimation of
production yield. An elementary yield (Ye) may be defined
according to Fef that can be used for evaluation of real final
yield (Yf) in industrial units.
Ye = Oil p / Oil total (12)

ENERGY BALANCE: Estimation Of Temperature

Energy balance calculations on the reactor involve the global
reactions of previous sections. The following energy terms
were considered in the energy balance calculation:

4 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

1- Energy input with the process air:
Qair = [ m a c p ΔT ] Air
Where ma and cp are the mass flow and heat capacity for air,
respectively, and T is the temperature in Kelvin. The heat
capacity of air here should be considered at the input process
air temperature.
2- Heat generation by combustion of fuel
Q fuel = (m fu .H u ) fuel
where mfu is the fuel inlet flow rate and Hu=209 kcal/mol is
the heating value of natural gas (90 % methane and 10 %
ethane).
data for a typical hard grade reactor (such as N200 series) as it
(13) can be observed in table 5.
Table 6 shows the results of calculation for a domestic
industrial plant according to the operation conditions
employed. In this table a good agreement between prediction
values using current analysis and the actual data in this
industrial plant can be observed. However, it should be noted
that both predicted results and the actual data for N330 series
is well below (around 48-49%) the values reported elsewhere
(see, for example, Table 4). Our study revealed that this can be
mainly due to the low BMCI of the utilized feed and also
relatively low process air temperature that forced burning a
(14) higher portion of inlet oil to reach the desired reactor
temperature to have desired carbon grade [7].

3- Incomplete combustion of burned oil

Referring to Eq. (3), the heat of reaction is, Qoilb=890 kcal/mol
[9]

4- Energy consumption for vaporization of oil from inlet

temperature.
The molecular weight (or boiling point) and density of the
feedstock can be used to estimate its thermal properties (see,
for example, Ref. 9). The heat of vaporization, then, is

Qoil −V = ∫
T2

T1
(0.336 + 4.73 *10 T )dT + Q
−4
λ (15)

5- Energy consumption for pyrolyis oil

Referring to Eq. 4, and assuming a graphite-like chemical
structure for carbon black, one can approximate
ΔH reac = 133kcal / mol

6- Total energy balance

Using the values calculated through steps 1-5 above, one can
make a total energy balance from which ΔQ = mc p .ΔT ,

where m is the total moles leaving the reactor and c p is

average heat capacity of the outlet stream. ΔQ is the net of
heat released in 1-5.

ESTIMATION OF RESIDENCE TIME

Assuming ideal gas behavior for the carbon laden gas, the
volumetric flow rate of the gas can be estimated. As the
typical pressure is around 1 bar and the temperature is 2000 K,
the ideal gas law can be used for calculation of the gas volume
rate, and Vg =16.9 m3/sec. Using volume of reactor, extracted
from Table 4, the Residence Time (t) = (Vo/Vg ) = 13.4 ms.
The predicted residence time lies in the range of industrial

5 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 modification. There are relatively few works giving a
methodology for calculation of the reactor temperature. The
Table 6. Prediction results for a domestic practical reactor temperature and residence times are partially reported
manufacture in the literature (see, for example Table 5), which may reflect
Carbon black grade N330 N330 N550 the difficulty in measurement or estimation.
series 1 series 2
Predicted temperature 1871 1882 1800
(K)
Predicted residence 23 25.7 145 Table 7. Composition of the dried tail gases predicted for
time (ms) practical case (Series4 of table 4).
Typical practical 30 30 200 N2 65 %
residence time CO2 5.5 %
Predicted Elementary 49% 48% 52% CO 12.8 %
Yeild (Ye) H2 17.2 %
Error in prediction of 4 % 3% 6%
yield in comparison
with practical data

Table 8. Comparison of the results of this work for estimation

of reactor temperature and carbon black production yield with
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION calibrated* CFD simulated results of reference [4]
Table 4 presents the typical parameters for industrial plants carbon black grade N220 N220 N220
[4]. Series 4 is used for checking the method employed in this Seri 1 Seri 2 Seri 3
work. The predicted tail gas composition is given in Table 7. A Temperature: Calibrated 1804 1910 1947
fair agreement is observed between the calculated values and CFD simulation results
reported industrial data in Table 2 and 3. Assuming that the Temperature: This Work 1833 1905 1932
heat loss through reactor walls to be small compared to the Temperature: available 1820 NA NA
terms in the energy balance equation, the reactor can be practical data
assumed to be adiabatic [2, 3]. Then, the reactor temperature Yield: Calibrated CFD 62.9 56.7 56.9
can be evaluated by standard methods for the calculation of simulation results
adiabatic flame temperature [10]. Yield: This work 66.2 61.0 59.4
Table 8 shows comparison of the results of this work for Yield: practical data 60.5 54.9 55.0
estimation of reactor mean temperature and carbon black * Authors of Reference [4] reported that the mean reactor temperature
production yield with calibrated CFD simulated results of predicted by their model for given experimental air/feedstock ratio (AOR) was
reference [4]. Authors of reference [4] reported that the mean too low in comparison with available typical practical data, and to achieve
required typical mean reactor temperature they did modeling with a 30%
reactor temperature predicted by their model for given experimental increase in real AOR and consequently all predicted results are modified with
air/oil ratio (AOR) reported in Table 4, was too low in comparison this kind of calibration.
with available typical actual data (Table 5), and to achieve the
required typical mean reactor temperature they did modeling with a
30% increase in real AOR and consequently all predicted results are
modified with this kind of calibration. They reported that the
predicted low reactor mean temperature in their model without Comparison of Results with CFD Simulation
additional calibration might be explained by the fact that, due Finally, the results of this work may be compared with CFD
to the restriction of a single fuel combustion model, a mean simulations results, such as that of Lockwood and Niekerk [4].
calorific value was assumed for the precombustor fuel and Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the influence of air/oil ratio and
carbon black feedstock but in reality the calorific value of the inlet air temperature on reactor mean-temperature,
carbon black feedstock is lower than that of the fuel and since respectively. In both figures one observes good agreement
the mixture in the reactor section is feedstock rich, it will between our results and CFD simulation data. They both show
result in a reduced reactor temperature. an increase in reactor mean-temperature as expected. Figure 4
A relatively good agreement between our results and shows the effects of process air flow rate on reactor residence
simulated results of CFD via modified reactor input conditions time. In this figure good agreement between our results and
in Table 8 is observed. However in our analysis the real input CFD data is observed. In figure 5, where the effects of the
conditions and experimental data has been considered and this air/oil ratio on reactor residence time are plotted, however, the
demonstrates better capability of our analysis in comparison with trends are quite different. The results of CFD simulation show
those CFD simulated results without calibration and additional no noticeable change in reactor residence time versus air/oil

6 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

ratio, while our results show a decline in the residence time in Therefore, it can be said that one of the most important
this case. In the absent of sufficient experimental and actual reasons caused poor prediction in CFD simulation in this case
data for residence time, because of reported a strong could be considerable error in prediction of the residence time.
functionality of particle size to the reactor residence time [1, 2, Of course our current simple analysis can not predict the detail
5, 7, 11], for evaluation of foregoing difference between our flow field and can not analyze the process of different and
estimation and those presented CFD results in prediction of complex phenomena of various industrial oil furnace reactors.
residence time, comparison of the estimation of primary However, in the absence of rigorous models and without detail
particle size via both current analysis and CFD simulation in analysis for evaluation of the effect of major parameters on the
Figure 6 is considered [7]. The presented primary particle size performance of carbon black oil furnace reactors, we tried to
in this figure have been predicted using following model present a simple analysis in which by considering some major
developed by Javadi et. al. [7, 11] utilizing the estimated overall chemical reactions, utilizing tail gas analysis and
temperature and residence time presented in this work. considering an overall energy balance, one can make an
estimation of temperature, residence time and production yield
⎛ E ⎞⎛ 1 ⎞⎛ P ⎞ of carbon black oil furnace process.
N = C[ M f ] exp⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟⎜ ⎟ (16)
As the authors reported in reference [4], variation of the choke
⎝ T ⎠⎝ t ⎠⎜⎝ Fsf ⎟
⎠ Reynolds number has no significant effect on the reactor
process major parameters such as mean temperature, residence
Where, N is the number density of primary particle size time, carbon black yield, particle size. Therefore, it can be
C is the first constant of the model [6] , M f = Fef / M wf is concluded that the oil furnace process is is controlled mainly
the feedstock effective mole fraction, E is the second constant by chemical reactions and due to high degree of turbulence in
of the model related to activation energy depends on the reactor mass and heat transfer do not control the process..
temperature and composition of pyrolized oil [6], T, P, t are Therefore simple kinetic and thermodynamic-based model
the mean reactor temperature, pressure and residence time, presented here can make relatively good overall estimation of
respectively. Also, Fef is the feedstock effective mass fraction, the major process parameters as shown in this paper.. If more
obtained from Equation (11), and Mwf is the feedstocks accurate actual data,,such as feedstock molecular weight,
average molecular weight. It should be noted that the composition and heat properties, tail gas analysis, reactor
residence time is the most important parameter which affects geometry, etc, ,for a specific industrial process are available,
the primary particle size of a carbon black oil furnace reactor then one can provide more accurate thermodynamic balance,
[1, 2, 5, 7, 11]. The next important papameter is the reactor total outlet gases moles, etc that finally can make better
residence time in prediction of the carbon black particle size. estimation of the reactor mean temperature, residence time
In figure (6) comparison of the results of utilizing temperature and yield production for industrial applications.
and residence time estimated via the current analysis in
equation (16) for prediction of the effects of air/oil ratio on the
primary particle size on a domestic manufacture process
shows good agreement with the practical data (PPS-B). Also
while the calibrated CFD simulation results (PPS-L-CFD
predicted) from Ref. [4] show an opposite trend in comparison
with almost all industrial data as the authors of that paper have
also presented [4], our analysis for prediction of their case
study demonstrates relatively parallel trend with available
typical industrial data (different reactor geometry). On the
other hand, increasing of air/oil ratio has relatively known
overall operational effects such as increase in portion of burnt
oil due to existence of more excess air and consequently
increase in generated heat energy, total flowing gases moles
through reactor and increase the mean reactor temperature,
that all can make also a shorter residence time (as our analysis
demonstrates). Therefore a decrease in carbon particle size is
expected as practical processes also illustrate [1, 2, 5, 7, 11].
Experimental data reported in T[1, 2, 5, 7, 11]able 4 from
reference [4] also shows that an increase in air/feedstock ratio
(air/oil, AOR) from carbon black grade N330 to carbon grade
N220 makes an decrease in typical residence time from 30 ms
to 20 ms.

7 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

 PPS-L- prsent predicted
55 PPS-L-CFD Predicted
PPS-S-Industrial Data
PPS-S-Present Predicted
PPS-B-Typical Practical Data
50
PRIMARY PARTICLE SIZE( nm )

45

40

35

30

25

3 4 5 6 7 8
AIR/OIL

Fig 6: Comparison of the results of utilizing temperature and

residence time estimated via current analysis in a recent soot
formation model [7, 11] for prediction of primary particle size
in comparison with calibrated CFD results from reference [4],
typical industrial data, and a domestic practical manufacture.
PPS-L: utilized case study in ref. 4, PPS-S: a domestic
manufacture process, PPS-B: Typical practical data (possible
different reactor geometry).

8 Copyright © 2006 by ASME

CONCLUSIONS Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology,
New York, NY, Wiley, 1992, Vol. 4.
In absent of powerful rigorous models for prediction of
4. F. C. Lockwood, J. E. Van Nierek, Parametric study
temperature and residence time of oil furnace carbon black
of carbon black oil furnace, Combus. Flame,
reactor, a simple but practical method for calculating the
103(1995)76-90.
temperature and residence time and carbon black yield was
5. J.J., Mcketta, “Carbon Black, Furnace black”,
proposed in this work. Despite the simplicity of the model, in
Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and designing,
all cases studied, good agreements were observed between the
Marcell Dekker, New York, 1978, Vol. 6.
calculated values and the available industrial data as well as
6. P. A. Tesner, S.V. Shurupov, Soot formation during
those obtained from computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
pyrolysis of naphthalene, anthracene and pyrene,
simulations reported in the literature. An exception was the
Combus. Sci. Tech. vol. 126, 1997. 139-151.
effect of the air/oil ratio on the reactor mean residence time in
7. A. Javadi, Parametric Study and Approach to a New
the CFD approach. The influences of air/oil ratio and inlet air
Semi-empirical Model for Prediction of Process in
temperature on reactor mean-temperature were studied. In
Carbon Black Reactors, MS. Dissertation,
both cases one observes good agreement between our results
Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering,
and CFD simulation data. They both show an increase in
Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2000.
reactor mean-temperature as expected. The effects of process
8. Smooke, M. D., Mcenally, C. S. and Pfefferle, I. D.,
air flow rate on reactor residence time also were studied and a
Computational and experimental study of soot
good agreement was observed. However, comparison the
formation in coflow, laminar diffusion flame,
effect of the air/oil ratio on reactor residence time showed a
Combustion and Flame, 117, p. 117-139 (1999).
are quite different trends. While the results of CFD simulation
9. W. L. Nelson, Petroleleum Refining Engineering,
predicts insignificant change in reactor residence time versus
McGraw Hill, New York, 1975.
air/oil ratio, our results show a decline in the residence time in
10. G. J. Van Wylen, R. E. Sonnetag, Fundamentals of
this case. In the absent of sufficient experimental and actual
Classical Thermodynamics, Wiley, New York, 1977
data for residence time, because of reported a strong
11. A. Javadi, M. Soltanieh, S. Sahebdelfar D . Bastani,
functionality of particle size to reactor residence time [1, 2, 5,
and K. Javadi "A new semi-empirical model and
7, 11], for evaluation of foregoing difference between our
parametric study for prediction of carbon black
estimation and those presented CFD results in prediction of
reactor", 7th Iranian chemical engineering congress,
residence time, comparison of the estimation of primary
November, 200, Tehran, Iran.
particle size via both current analysis and CFD simulation
were considered. Prediction of primary particle size utilizing
the estimated temperature and residence time using presented
analysis in this work showed good agreement with industrial
data, while the CFD simulation data in contrast show an
opposite trend with industrial data compared to our work.
Therefore, it can be concluded that one of the most important
reasons causing poor prediction by CFD simulations in some
cases could be the considerable error in prediction of the
residence time that can come from unsuitable soot formation
models.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors would like to show their appreciation to Staff of
Doodeh Sanati Pars (D.S.P) Carbon Black Company, for their
helpful in access to some Industrial Data.

REFERENCES
1. J. J. Ivie, L. J. Forney, A numerical model of the
synthesis of carbon black by benzene pyrolysis,
AIChE J. vol. 34, No. 11, 1988. 1831-1820.
2. J. B. Donnet, R. C. Bansal, M. -J. Wang, eds, Carbon
Black Science and Technology, Marcel Dekker, New
York, 1993.
3. E. M. Dannenberg, L. Paquin, H. Gwinnel, Carbon
(carbon black) in J. Kroschwitz, M Howe-Grant, eds.

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