Numerical Simulation of Internal Loop Reactor for Heavy Oil Slurry Bed Hydroprocessing

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of internal loop reactor for heavy oil slurry bed hydroprocessing have been done in commercial code Fluent 6.3 using Euler two-phase flow model and standard k-e turbulence model. The effects of the physical properties on the flow field in the reactor are investigated. The results show that the gas density has little effect but the liquid viscosity has a significant effect on flow field and gas hold-up. An analysis of the effect of reactor structures and scale-up on the flow field and gas hold-up are also provided, and optimal structure is obtained through simulations. The conclusions obtained in this paper have great significance for the slurry bed hydrocracking process.