Inclined rotating fixed bed reactors – a process intensification concept for heterogeneous catalytic multiphase reactions

The inclined rotating tubular fixed bed reactor has been introduced recently as a concept for the implementation of multiphase processes, in particular for heterogeneously catalysed gas-liquid reactions with mass transfer limitations.
Often, trickle bed reactors suffer from liquid maldistribution and low mass and heat transfer rates and have therefore been subject to process intensification. Periodic liquid flow rate modulation at the reactor inlet was introduced, which leads to elevated space-time-yields in comparison to the steady-state operation. However, the beneficial effects decay rapidly along the reactor length and maldistribution is not effectively counterbalanced.
To fully utilise the positive effects of such modulation strategy with the new reactor concept, the tubular reactor with the fixed catalyst packing is inclined against the vertical to establish a stratified flow. The superimposed continuous reactor rotation around the axis ensures a wetting intermittency via periodic immersion of the whole catalyst packing in the stratified liquid phase. Furthermore, it enables also tuning the liquid residence time at constant gas and liquid flow rates.
The wetting intermittency results in a complete utilization of the catalyst on the reactor scale and in periodically thinned liquid films at the catalyst surface, which enhances the accessibility of the gaseous reactants to the active sites. The latter is proven by an increased space-time-yield compared to conventional trickle bed reactor operation for the hydrogenation of α methylstyrene to cumene.
In this presentation, the performance of the new reactor concept will be assessed based on reactive studies. Furthermore, the results will be discussed with respect to the prevailing flow regimes investigated via gamma-ray computed tomography, as well as liquid residence time and axial dispersion obtained by a stimulus-response technique using embedded wire-mesh sensors.