Liquid distribution studies in trickle-bed reactors

Liquid distribution plays an important role in determining the reactor performance in a trickle-bed reactor. Radial liquid distribution was studied in a trickle-bed reactor with five different shapes and sizes of catalyst packing in a uniformly distributed liquid inlet. The liquid tends to flow preferentially along the existing filaments where the porosity is high. The introduction of gas flow into the liquid–solid system smoothens the liquid distribution to some extent due to the competition between liquid and gas phases for the interstitial pore space.