Modeling the Carbon Black Production in Enclosed FSP Reactor

Abstract

Carbon black is a high-interest industrial material due to its favorable characteristics and applications as nanopar-ticles. This substance is generated by combustion processes in diffusive or turbulent flames. Over the years, distinct models were developed and presented to model soot and carbon black formation kinetics in combustion chambers and reactors. One method to manufacture nanoparticles is the Flame Spray Pyrol-ysis process, with the advantage of offering a more controlled environment to tailor particle’s properties. In this work, simulations of the FSP process are carried out considering the formation of carbon black nanoparticles. CFD simulations were performed approaching the continuous phase by an Eulerian framework and the dispersed phase (spray droplets) by a Lagrangian framework. A three-equation model is applied to predict the carbon black formation kinetics, and particle radiation is also considered. The injected fuel at the nozzle is composed of pure p-xylene. A 2D axisymmetric approach is considered to rep-resent the enclosed FSP cylindrical reactor, and two different do-mains were investigated: with and without the surroundings of the reactor. Adiabatic and non-adiabatic wall cases are simu-lated to study the temperature and carbon black formation pro-files. The influence of particle radiation is also analyzed. Results show that the insulated reactor (adiabatic wall) has a higher temperature profile along the reactor, affecting nucleation and oxidation rates of carbon black.