Sequential modular simulation of circulating fluidized bed reactors

Bypassing the mathematical complexity of equation-oriented approaches in predicting the performance of chemical reactors has recently stimulated a huge amount of interest. Among chemical reactors, circulating fluidized bed reactors (CFBR) have secured an important role in a broad range of applications in energy sectors due to their advantages, including high fluid-solid contact efficiency, uniform temperature, and enhanced heat and mass transfer rates. A sequence-based model was developed to predict the behaviour of CFBR. Complex phenomena in CFBR were mimicked by two sub-models, the hydrodynamics module, which addressed the physical changes, and the reaction kinetics module, which described the chemical evolution of species. The performance of the proposed model was validated with a library of catalytic ozone decomposition experimental data in CFBR. A new infrastructure for modelling CFBR, which may be combined with the current process simulation software, e.g., Aspen Plus©, for advanced process modeling applications, was introduced. (author)