Fixed bed reactor modelling and experimental data for catalytic dehydrogenation in seasonal energy storage applications
Dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane to toluene is studied by modelling and experimentally in two fixed bed reactor systems in the laboratory and pilot plant scale. Kinetic and transport parameters are estimated and measured. Interstage membranes for hydrogen separation are used to improve efficiency and exceed equilibrium conversion by 1-12%. The complexity of modelling the laboratory scale necessitates a pseudo-homogeneous two-dimensional model to compensate for radial gradients giving satisfactory agreement between simulated and measured data. The pilot plant scale system is simpler to model, a pseudo-homogeneous one-dimensional model describes the system with good accuracy. The highest yield achieved in the pilot plant scale system is 98%.
fixed bed reactor modelling experimental seasonal energy storage membrane