CFD simulation of gas and solids mixing in FCC strippers

Abstract

The gas and solid mixing in fluid catalytic cracking strippers with and without internals were investigated using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model coupled with the modified Gidaspow drag model was used to simulate the gas-solid flow behavior. The grid independency study and the comparison of 2D and 3D simulations were carried out first. The residence time distribution model and axial dispersion model were utilized to obtain the parameters indicating the back-mixing degree, such as mean residence time, dimensionless variance and Peclet number of gas and solids. Moreover, the influence of bubble size and gas/solid flow distribution on the mass transfer between the bubble and emulsion phase were also analyzed. The results show that the baffles in the V-baffle stripper can efficiently enhance the gas and solids mixing, reduce the back-mixing degree of gas and solids, strengthen the mass transfer between the bubble and emulsion phase, and hence improve the stripping efficiency. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).