Intensification of a chemical reactor for methanol synthesis through forced periodic operations- Evaluation based on Nonlinear Frequency Response Analysis

Abstract

In this work, the NFR method is implemented for evaluation of possible improvement for the reaction of methanol synthesis by hydrogenation of CO and CO2, using a standard Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst. For start, a forced periodically operated isothermal continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is considered. A simplified (lumped) kinetic model of methanol synthesis with 14 parameters which were estimated from the results of an extensive experimental investigation is used. The NFR method is performed for evaluation of possible increase of methanol production by modulating the mole fractions of CO and CO2 in the feed stream, as well as their simultaneous modulation. The necessary asymmetrical second order frequency response functions correlating the methanol production with the modulated inputs are derived and the forcing parameters leading to improvement of the reactor performance are determined. The results of the NFR analysis will further be used for rigorous optimisation of the forced periodic operations and planning the best experimental scenarios. The final step will be experimental investigation and confirmation on a laboratory scale reactor.