3D CFD Simulations of Local Carbon Formation in Steam Methane Reforming Catalyst Particles

Abstract

Abstract The deactivation of catalysts is an important problem in the strongly endothermic steam methane reforming reaction. The local carbon laydown on the catalyst surface may lead to local hot spots, breakage of catalyst particles, and blockage of the reactor tube. Local carbon formation was studied at different operating conditions using particle-scale 3D CFD models of full and hollow cylindrical particles. The results showed that a low steam-to-carbon ratio may cause local carbon formation at high temperature (\gt900K) on the surface of the catalyst particle. The risk of carbon formation was highest at the surface hot spots and inside the catalyst particles where the methane cracking reaction rate exceeded those of the gasification reactions. The internal surface in the 1-hole catalyst particle showed favorable conditions for carbon formation and deposition, similarly to the external surface of the particle. 3D CFD simulations of a 0.76 m length of a full tube of spherical catalyst particles with tube-to-particle diameter ratio 5.96 showed that the rate of carbon formation was much higher next to the heated tube wall and decreased significantly from the tube wall to the tube center.