Improved Hydrodynamic Model for Wetting Efficiency, Pressure Drop, and Liquid Holdup in Trickle-Bed Reactors

An improved hydrodynamic model is developed for estimating wetting efficiency, pressure drop, and liquid holdup in trickle-bed reactors. The model is based on the hydrodynamic model presented in Alopaeus et al. [Alopaeus, V.; Hynynen, K.; Aittamaa, J.; Manninen, M. Modeling of Gas−Liquid Packed-Bed Reactor with Momentum Equations and Local Interactions Closures. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2006, 45, 8189.], which is extended to take into account partial wetting of the packing. In addition, the applicability of the 1D model for three-dimensional situations is considered in the process of model development. The wetting efficiency model is formulated on the basis of dimensional analysis and carrying out systematic tests with varying combinations of dimensionless groups. In addition, the wetting efficiency model is not evaluated solely on the wetting efficiency data, but also it is tested systematically with the hydrodynamic model. Furthermore the consistency of the model characteristics to common experimental observations is discussed. Finally, the model’s ability to predict wetting efficiency, dimensionless pressure drop, and liquid saturation was compared to other existing models and improvements were found in all areas. The resulting hydrodynamic model can be used equally as a tool for design and modeling of large scale industrial reactors as well as a tool for complicated three-dimensional simulations