Experimental and Theoretical Steady State Maximum Temperature Localization along an Exothermic Tubular Chemical Reactor

Abstract

This article deals with the experimental and theoretical localization of steady state maximum temperature along an exothermic tubular reactor in counter current flow configuration; which represents a key parameter for safety in the chemical engineering processes. The fluid flowing in the inner tube is a mixture of sodium thiosulfate solution in reaction with hydrogen peroxide. To control the reactive fluid temperature, the inner tube is cooled with a refrigerant fluid flowing through the annular space. The steady state is obtained from the resolution of the nonlinear partial differential equations with the McCormack numerical method. The steady state temperature of the reactive fluid along the tubular reactor presents a maximum value due to the exothermic chemical reaction. The maximum temperature value which represents the critical point of the reactor is investigated. In particular its localization is studied for the first time according to various parameters such as flow rates, reactant concentrations and inlet temperatures.