Insights into structure-performance relationship in radial flow fixed bed reactor for CO2 methanation

The extraction of petroleum and natural gas is often accompanied by a large number of associated gases, especially the high CO2 content reservoirs facing the emission of a large amount of CO2. CO2 methanation is recognized as one of the suitable candidates for CO2 utilization to reduce the emission of CO2. Because of the highly exothermic nature of the reaction, however, it is very important to enhance the heat transfer process inside the reactor and inhibit the formation of hot spots. In the fixed bed reactor, the heat transfer in the radial direction is greatly limited compared with that in the axial direction. Thus, this work adopted the radial flow reactor to evaluate the CO2 methanation process by the means of a numerical model based on OpenFOAM. Four types of radial flow reactor con-figurations, namely centrifugal Z-type, centrifugal P-type, centripetal Z-type, and cen-tripetal P-type, were compared. The fluid flow, heat transfer, and reaction performances for these reactors were discussed under consistent operating conditions. Results show that the centrifugal P-type structure has the most uniform flow field. In terms of heat transfer and reaction performance, the centripetal Z-type structure is the best among the four radial flow reactor configurations. These findings provide a theoretical basis and technical guidance for designing and developing radial flow reactors.& COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the CO2 methanation process using a radial flow reactor and compares four different configurations. The fluid flow, heat transfer, and reaction performances of these reactors are discussed under consistent operating conditions. The results show that the centrifugal P-type structure has the most uniform flow field, while the centripetal Z-type structure performs the best in terms of heat transfer and reaction performance. These findings provide a theoretical basis and technical guidance for designing and developing radial flow reactors.