Comparison of Counter-Current Cooling and Pool Boiling System Through Modeling and Simulation of a Pilot-Scale Fixed bed Reactor for Dimethyl Ether(DME) Synthesis

The behavior of a one-step fixed bed reactor which directly synthesizes dimethyl ether(DME) from Natural Gas was simulated. In the reactor, the prevention of the occurrence of hot spots which can cause deactivation of catalysts is pivotal, since methanol synthesis and dehydration reaction involved in the synthesis of DME are highly exothermic. Therefore, we simulated and compared performance of the reactor with counter-current cooling and pool boiling system that can be applied to a commercial plant. As a result, we found that counter-current cooling system is more effective in terms of CO conversion and DME productivity. However, pool boiling system can operate in a small temperature gradient that can decrease problems caused by hot spot. And, the system can operate in a safer range.