PETR 67 |
| The main objective of this work is to study the dynamic behavior of catalytic reactors. The focus is on investigating the impact of catalyst deactivation on the dynamics of such reactors. Atmospheric residue desulfurization process was considered. The objective has been fulfilled by developing a "first-principle" dynamic model for the catalytic reactor under study. The catalytic reactor has been modeled as a set of coupled nonlinear partial differential equations, which were solved simultaneously using FEMLAB. In addition to the startup period, simulation runs included the dynamic responses of the reactor to changes in key operating variables. These included feed temperature, throughput, H2/Oil ratio, and catalyst type. The impact of catalyst deactivation on the dynamics of the reactor has been studied by comparing two sets of responses. Constant catalyst activity was assumed for the first set of responses. The second set considered the long time dynamic behavior of the reactor by including the catalyst deactivation model. The main conclusion of the study is that the dynamic behavior is highly nonlinear, especially when catalyst deactivation is considered. For effective and robust control of this process, nonlinearity should be considered early at both system identification and control algorithm development stages. |
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2nd International Symposium on Hydrotreating/Hydrocracking Technologies
1:30 PM-4:30 PM, Monday, 11 September 2006 Palace -- Presidio Room, Oral
Division of Petroleum Chemistry |