Application of multiphase reaction engineering and process intensification to the challenges of sustainable future energy and chemicals

Abstract Multiphase reaction engineering and process intensification can play a critical role in developing technologies to unlock the value and opportunities of shale gas, and to mitigate carbon footprints in providing sustainable options for future energy and chemicals. New and intensified reactor designs and separation systems will be essential for efficient methane conversion, biomass upgrading to fuels and chemicals, as well as for affordable carbon capture. The following review summarizes future energy challenges, and assesses the state of the art of chemical engineering science in providing the necessary tools for more rapid, efficient, and reliable technology development and scale up.

[1]  Jean-Claude Charpentier,et al.  What Kind of Modern “Green” Chemical Engineering is Required for the Design of the “Factory of Future”?☆ , 2016 .

[2]  Dieter Mewes,et al.  Calculation of flow fields in two and three-phase bubble columns considering mass transfer , 2005 .

[3]  Peter Harriott,et al.  Chemical Reactor Design , 2002 .

[4]  B. Arias,et al.  Emerging CO2 capture systems , 2015 .

[5]  Anders Holmen,et al.  Direct conversion of methane to fuels and chemicals , 2009 .

[6]  S. K. Bej,et al.  Studies on the performance of a microscale trickle bed reactor using different sizes of diluent , 2000 .

[7]  R. V. Chaudhari,et al.  Multiphase Catalytic Hydrogenolysis/Hydrodeoxygenation Processes for Chemicals from Renewable Feedstocks: Kinetics, Mechanism, and Reaction Engineering , 2013 .

[8]  Galen Barbose,et al.  Tracking the Sun VII: An Historical Summary of the Installed Price of Photovoltaics in the United States from 1998 to 2013 , 2012 .

[9]  Christos T. Maravelias,et al.  A general framework for the assessment of solar fuel technologies , 2015 .

[10]  Zhao Yinfeng,et al.  3D Numerical Simulation of a Large Scale MTO Fluidized Bed Reactor , 2013 .

[12]  A. Lyngfelt,et al.  A fluidized-bed combustion process with inherent CO2 separation; Application of chemical-looping combustion , 2001 .

[13]  Jean-Claude Charpentier,et al.  The triplet "molecular processes-product-process" engineering: the future of chemical engineering ? , 2002 .

[14]  A. Avci,et al.  Intensified catalytic reactors for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and for reforming of renewable fuels to hydrogen and synthesis gas , 2016 .

[15]  Kyoung‐Su Ha,et al.  Modeling a channel-type reactor with a plate heat exchanger for cobalt-based Fischer–Tropsch synthesis , 2014 .

[16]  F. Hai,et al.  Introduction - A review of membrane reactors , 2011 .

[17]  Mp Duduković,et al.  Scale-up and multiphase reaction engineering , 2015 .

[18]  G. Tryggvason,et al.  DNS-based prediction of the selectivity of fast multiphase reactions: Hydrogenation of nitroarenes , 2008 .

[19]  Iqbal M. Mujtaba,et al.  Whole Crude Oil Hydrotreating from Small-Scale Laboratory Pilot Plant to Large-Scale trickle-Bed Reactor: Analysis of Operational Issues through Modeling , 2012 .

[20]  Wenbin Li,et al.  An anisotropic Reynolds mass flux model for the simulation of chemical reaction in gas-particle CFB risers , 2015 .

[21]  Li Jia,et al.  Positioning and revision of CCUS technology development in China , 2016 .

[22]  A. Vourros,et al.  Methane steam reforming at low temperatures in a BaZr0.7Ce0.2Y0.1O2.9 proton conducting membrane reactor , 2016 .

[23]  Frédéric Risso,et al.  Experimental study of mass transfer in a dense bubble swarm , 2011 .

[24]  A. Dixon,et al.  Experimental and simulation studies of the production of renewable hydrogen through ethanol steam reforming in a large-scale catalytic membrane reactor , 2016 .

[25]  Thomas Francis Degnan.  Chemical reaction engineering challenges in the refining and petrochemical industries — the decade ahead , 2015 .

[26]  Jianli Hu,et al.  Intensified Fischer–Tropsch synthesis process with microchannel catalytic reactors , 2009 .

[27]  S. Stagg-Williams,et al.  A Review of Mixed Ionic and Electronic Conducting Ceramic Membranes as Oxygen Sources for High-Temperature Reactors , 2011 .

[28]  Wei Ge,et al.  Meso-scale oriented simulation towards virtual process engineering (VPE)-The EMMS Paradigm , 2011 .

[29]  B. B. Breman,et al.  Intensification of the Sasol SPD Reactor — Realizing Potential , 2014 .

[30]  G. Groppi,et al.  Enabling small-scale methanol synthesis reactors through the adoption of highly conductive structured catalysts , 2013 .

[31]  Kai Sundmacher,et al.  Simultaneous design of the optimal reaction and process concept for multiphase systems , 2014 .

[32]  K. Sundmacher,et al.  Towards a Methodology for the Systematic Analysis and Design of Efficient Chemical Processes - Part 1: From Unit Operations to Elementary Process Function- , 2008 .

[33]  F. Snijkers,et al.  Innovative Oxygen Carriers Uplifting Chemical-looping Combustion , 2014 .

[34]  E. Stitt,et al.  Effect of Fines and Porous Catalyst on Hydrodynamics of Trickle Bed Reactors , 2005 .

[35]  Robert L. Kabel,et al.  Scaleup of chemical processes : conversion from laboratory scale tests to successful commerical size design , 1985 .

[36]  Chikezie Nwaoha,et al.  Gas-to-liquids (GTL): A review of an industry offering several routes for monetizing natural gas , 2012 .

[37]  D. Mears,et al.  Tests for Transport Limitations in Experimental Catalytic Reactors , 1971 .

[38]  G. Naterer,et al.  Scale-up analysis and exergoeconomic assessment of large scale photo-catalytic hydrogen production plants , 2014 .

[39]  D. Dayton,et al.  Biomass Hydropyrolysis in a Pressurized Fluidized Bed Reactor , 2013 .

[40]  A. Bakopoulos.  Multiphase fluidization in large-scale slurry jet loop bubble columns for methanol and or dimethyl ether production , 2006 .

[41]  Wei Ge,et al.  Multi-scale methodology for complex systems , 2004 .

[42]  Wei Ge,et al.  Analytical multi-scale method for multi-phase complex systems in process engineering—Bridging reductionism and holism , 2007 .

[43]  Yong Wang,et al.  Review of developments in portable hydrogen production using microreactor technology. , 2004, Chemical reviews.

[44]  Yongrong Yang,et al.  Effects of liquid action mechanisms on hydrodynamics in liquid-containing gas–solid fluidized bed reactor , 2016 .

[45]  A. Prakash,et al.  Heat Transfer in a Slurry Bubble Column Reactor: A Critical Overview , 2012 .

[46]  Sean P. Fitzgerald,et al.  Scale-Up of Microchannel Reactors For Fischer—Tropsch Synthesis , 2010 .

[47]  J. Kuipers,et al.  A numerical model of gas-fluidized beds , 1992 .

[48]  A. Majumdar,et al.  Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable energy future , 2012, Nature.

[49]  J. Fierro,et al.  Direct methane conversion routes to chemicals and fuels , 2011 .

[50]  Robert W. Lyczkowski,et al.  The History of Multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamics , 2010 .

[51]  Gert Jan Kramer,et al.  No quick switch to low-carbon energy , 2009, Nature.

[52]  Thermodynamic Benchmarking of CO2 Capture Systems: Exergy Analysis Methodology for Adsorption Processes , 2014 .

[53]  A. Lyngfelt,et al.  Chemical-looping Combustion of Solid Fuels – Technology Overview and Recent Operational Results in 100 kW Unit☆ , 2014 .

[54]  J. R. Ommen,et al.  Scale-up of fluidized beds with vertical internals: Studying the sectoral approach by means of optical probes , 2014 .

[55]  A. Rożeń,et al.  Scaling-up Effect in Chemical Engineering , 2002 .

[56]  V. Balakotaiah,et al.  Thermal effects and bifurcations in gas phase catalytic partial oxidations , 2014 .

[57]  Christodoulos A. Floudas,et al.  A multi-scale framework for CO2 capture, utilization, and sequestration: CCUS and CCU , 2015, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[58]  Jose C. Merchuk,et al.  Airlift Bioreactors: Review of Recent Advances , 2008 .

[59]  Yutaka Tsuji,et al.  Multi-scale modeling of dense phase gas–particle flow , 2007 .

[60]  Jan J. Lerou,et al.  Chemical reaction engineering : A multiscale approach to a multiobjective task , 1996 .

[61]  J. Khinast,et al.  Reactive mass transfer at gas–liquid interfaces: impact of micro-scale fluid dynamics on yield and selectivity of liquid-phase cyclohexane oxidation , 2003 .

[62]  D. Vlachos,et al.  Recent developments on multiscale, hierarchical modeling of chemical reactors , 2002 .

[63]  J.A.M. Kuipers,et al.  Detailed computational and experimental fluid dynamics of fluid beds , 2003 .

[64]  Ashfaq Shaikh,et al.  Scale-up of Bubble Column Reactors: A Review of Current State-of-the-Art , 2013 .

[65]  Robert J. Kee,et al.  Process intensification in the catalytic conversion of natural gas to fuels and chemicals , 2017 .

[66]  Milorad P. Dudukovic,et al.  Reaction engineering: Status and future challenges , 2010 .

[67]  L. Gladden.  Magnetic resonance in reaction engineering: beyond spectroscopy , 2013 .

[68]  Liang-Shih Fan,et al.  Thermodynamic and Experimental Analyses of the Three-Stage Calcium Looping Process , 2010 .

[69]  D. Vlachos.  A Review of Multiscale Analysis: Examples from Systems Biology, Materials Engineering, and Other Fluid–Surface Interacting Systems , 2005 .

[70]  A. Behr,et al.  Bubble-size distributions and interfacial areas in a jetloop reactor for multiphase catalysis , 2009 .

[71]  Liang-Shih Fan,et al.  Chemical‐looping technology platform , 2015 .

[72]  D. Gidaspow,et al.  A bubbling fluidization model using kinetic theory of granular flow , 1990 .

[73]  Edward S. Rubin,et al.  The potential of renewables versus natural gas with CO2 capture and storage for power generation under CO2 constraints , 2015 .

[74]  Tom Van Gerven,et al.  Structure, energy, synergy, time - the fundamentals of Process Intensification , 2009 .

[75]  W. Tao,et al.  A critical review of the pseudopotential multiphase lattice Boltzmann model: Methods and applications , 2014 .

[76]  J. Moulijn,et al.  Catalyst Performance Testing in Multiphase Systems: Implications of Using Small Catalyst Particles in Hydrodesulfurization , 2013 .

[77]  D. Gidaspow.  Multiphase Flow and Fluidization: Continuum and Kinetic Theory Descriptions , 1994 .

[78]  A. Shaikh,et al.  A new method for identification of the main transition velocities in multiphase reactors based on information entropy theory , 2013 .

[79]  R. Kee,et al.  Progress in the direct catalytic conversion of methane to fuels and chemicals , 2016 .

[80]  Jan Harmsen,et al.  Process intensification in the petrochemicals industry: Drivers and hurdles for commercial implementation , 2010 .

[81]  K. Jun,et al.  Efficient utilization of associated natural gas in a modular gas-to-liquids process: Technical and economic analysis , 2016 .

[82]  K. Luo,et al.  Lattice Boltzmann methods for multiphase flow and phase-change heat transfer , 2015, 1508.00940.

[83]  A. Basile,et al.  The oncoming energy vector: Hydrogen produced in Pd-composite membrane reactor via bioethanol reforming over Ni/CeO2 catalyst , 2016 .

[84]  Yassir Makkawi,et al.  Fluidization regimes in a conventional fluidized bed characterized by means of electrical capacitance tomography , 2002 .

[85]  J. Joshi,et al.  Computational Modeling of Multiphase Reactors. , 2015, Annual review of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

[86]  Junye Wang,et al.  Barriers of scaling-up fuel cells: Cost, durability and reliability , 2015 .

[87]  Chao Yang,et al.  Experimental determination and numerical simulation of mixing time in a gas–liquid stirred tank , 2009 .

[88]  Karl Walczak,et al.  Energy System Design to Maximize Net Energy Production Considering Uncertainty in Scale-up: A case study in artificial photosynthesis , 2014 .

[89]  G. J. Harmsen,et al.  Industrial applications of multi-functional, multi-phase reactors , 1999 .

[90]  Joonas Sorvari,et al.  Mixing performance evaluation of additive manufactured milli-scale reactors , 2016 .

[91]  A. I. Stankiewicz,et al.  Process Intensification: Transforming Chemical Engineering , 2000 .

[92]  Sharon Robinson,et al.  Vision 2020. Reaction Engineering Roadmap , 2001 .

[93]  Nuno Couto,et al.  From laboratorial to pilot fluidized bed reactors: Analysis of the scale-up phenomenon , 2016 .

[94]  A. Narvaez,et al.  Small-medium scale polygeneration systems: Methanol and power production , 2014 .

[95]  Zai-Sha Mao,et al.  Experimental study on gas–liquid–liquid macro-mixing in a stirred tank , 2012 .

[96]  M. Duduković,et al.  A new approach for scale-up of bubble column reactors , 2014 .

[97]  J. M. Smith,et al.  Large multiphase reactors : Some open questions , 2006 .

[98]  Daniel A. Hickman,et al.  Successful Scale-up of an Industrial Trickle Bed Hydrogenation Using Laboratory Reactor Data , 2013 .

[99]  Milorad P. Dudukovic.  Relevance of Multiphase Reaction Engineering to Modern Technological Challenges , 2007 .

[100]  Aytekin Gel,et al.  Applying uncertainty quantification to multiphase flow computational fluid dynamics , 2013 .

[101]  Abhoyjit S. Bhown.  Status and Analysis of Next Generation Post-combustion CO2 Capture Technologies , 2014 .

[102]  Selim M. Senkan,et al.  High-throughput screening of solid-state catalyst libraries , 1998, Nature.

[103]  Liang-Shih Fan,et al.  Shale gas-to-syngas chemical looping process for stable shale gas conversion to high purity syngas with a H2 : CO ratio of 2 : 1 , 2014 .

[104]  Myung-June Park,et al.  Computational fluid dynamics model of a modular multichannel reactor for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis: Maximum utilization of catalytic bed by microchannel heat exchangers , 2013 .

[105]  P. Wright,et al.  Tomographic analysis of dry and semi-wet bed fluidization: the effect of small liquid loading and particle size on the bubbling behaviour , 2004 .

[106]  K. Denbigh,et al.  Chemical reactor theory , 1965 .

[107]  Roger A. Sheldon,et al.  CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUOTIENT , 1994 .

[108]  Jinghai Li,et al.  Exploring complex systems in chemical engineering - the multi-scale methodology , 2003 .