Commercial Scale Slurry Bubble Column Reactor Optimization
Author(s)
W. Strasser & A. Wonders
Abstract
Commercial scale slurry bubble column
reactor optimization
W. Strasser & A. Wonders
Eastman Chemical Company, USA
Abstract
An in-depth numerical study has been carried out to investigate a high-pressure
commercial scale (2–8 meter diameter) slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR).
Typical superficial gas velocities are in the range of 0.5–3 m/s, and overall vapor
hold-ups are in the range of 0.45–0.85. The study revealed that steady
compartmental reaction models do not match plant data when reaction time
constants are very fast. Also, off-the-shelf commercial CFD codes do not
produce useful information about a reactive column of this scale and aeration
without tuning to reconcile with vapor hold-up and reactant operating data
\“anchors” from in-plant units. Important measures include both transient and
time-averaged profiles, integrals, and extrema of vapor hold-up and reactants.
The present study proposes reactor designs that improve productivity and
product quality.
Keywords: oxidation, staging, chaos, turbulence, pX, TPA.
1 Introduction
The liquid-phase partial oxidation of para-xylene (pX) to terephthalic acid (TPA)
is conducted on a very large commercial scale (agitated vessels and bubble
columns), principally for providing raw material for polyester fiber and
packaging products. Huge oxidation reactors provide individual capacities
presently ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 metric tons per day (TPD) of TPA for new
construction. Although the partial oxidation of pX to TPA proceeds at very high
yields and purities, further small improvements have a significant impact due to
scale. The overall stoichiometry of TPA production is deceptively simple, as
shown in equation (1).
O H TPA O pX 2 2 2 3 + = + (1)
Keywords
oxidation, staging, chaos, turbulence, pX, TPA.
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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