Coupling catalytic bed fluidization with impeller rotation for improved hydrodynamic characterization of Berty reactors

Abstract

We developed an integrated modeling framework to capture the gas–solid mixing patterns in internal circulating Berty reactors operating under batch fluidized mode. Our framework combines computational fluid dynamics for the gas phase with impeller rotation and computational particle fluid dynamics for solid fluidization in the catalyst basket. We proposed several key hydrodynamic indicators for the Berty-type reactor and compared the prediction results from the integrated simulation strategy with previous settings without considering the actual bed fluidization. Deviations in bed velocity, gas–solid contact time, and recirculation rate underscored the necessity of employing accurate hydrodynamic characteristics when designing Berty-type reactors. The consistent impeller relationships under various fluidization conditions suggested that the hydrodynamics in internal circulating Berty reactors are predominantly influenced by impeller rotation, irrespective of bed status. In this context, we introduced a fluidized bed expansion correlation to the impeller relationship, offering a more reliable hydrodynamic explanation for the Berty fluidized bed reactor in batch mode. This can also serve as a design foundation for internal recycling reactors.