Ebullated bed reactor modeling for residue conversion

Ebullated bed reactors are suitable for deeply converting heavy feedstocks such as residues. In this study, a dynamic reactor model is developed taking into account hydrodynamics, catalytic and thermal kinetics. First, a validation of the hydrodynamic model is performed on a bench scale reactor using a radioactive tracer test for residence time distribution measurements under industrial conditions. In a second step, the complete dynamic model including kinetics is validated on the same reactor for various operating conditions. The model gives good predictions of conversions and yields. An improvement is required to assess this model for a larger range of operating conditions. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.