Liquid distribution and RTD in trickle bed reactors: Experiments and CFD simulations

Hydrodynamics and mixing in trickle bed reactors (TBR) are governed by bed porosity, capillary forces, wetting and non-uniform distribution at the inlet. In this work, experiments were carried out to study pressure drop, liquid hold-up and residence time distribution for pre-wetted and non-wetted bed. CFD models were developed, in which bed heterogeneity and capillary models were incorporated. Mixing and RTD were simulated using the CFD model. This study was further extended to study the flow mal-distribution in TBR. Based on these results, current capabilities and limitations of the CFD model were discussed. The model and the results discussed here would be useful to extend application of CFD models for simulating mixing in TBR.