Delivery D.22
In this report, model tar compounds cracking is first studied experimentally on various bare and modified zeolite materials, where promising yields and selectivities are achieved even at room temperature. Next, based on the experimental results, the reaction pathway of tetralin transformation into BTX was proposed. Hydrocracking, ring opening, ring contraction, dehydrogenation/hydrogenation, alkylation/dealkylation, isomerization, and overcracking reactions were involved. The surface microkinetic model was coupled with the reactor mass transport model, and optimization of the reaction rate parameters was performed in order to improve the model predictive power. The final model yielded very good agreement between the model and experimental data, and described the process of deactivation due to coking with high accuracy. The model was then used to simulate the reactor at various conditions in order to obtain additional information and to deepen the understanding of the system.
Fig. 1: Simulation results for a packed bed reactor, showing the time and space dependence of tetralin (reagent) concentration in the reactor (450 °C, 1 atm, 42 mL/min flow rate)
