Two-Dimensional Models for Fixed-Bed Reactors

Consider a tubular fixed-bed reactor accomplishing a highly exothermic gas-phase reaction. Assuming that axial dispersion can be neglected, the mass and energy balances can be written as follows and allow for radial gradients  

Froment [hid. Eng. Chem., 59 (1967) 18] developed a two-dimensional model for a fixed-bed reactor accomplishing the following highly exothermic gas phase reactions  

The steady-state mass and energy balances are (in dimensionless form)  

6 = dimensionless temperature Z = dimensionless axial coordinate R dimensionless radial coordinate 1 F l F2) 27i 

This reactor description is a coupled set of parabolic partial differential equations that are solved numerically. The results shown here were obtained using the software package PDECOL [N. K. Madsen and R. F. Sincovec, ACM Toms, 5 (1979) 326]. 

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