Behavior of a Two-Phase Gas-Liquid Flow at the Inlet into a Catalytic Reactor

The behavior of a two-phase flow inside the inlet pipeline of a catalytic reactor is investigated. In addition to the classical approach using familiar flow diagrams, means of computational fluid dynamics are used for three-dimensional modeling of the spatial distribution of phases in the pipeline during operation. Results show a nonuniform distribution of the liquid phase over the over the pipeline outlet cross section surface, plus a mass flow of the liquid phase that is not stable over time. The maximum peak flow rates exceed the average values by similar to 300%. Compared to data from flow diagrams, CFD modeling shows that a change in the gas flow in the investigated range does not alter the nature of a two-phase flow, but an increase in the gas flow reduces the irregularity of the distribution of the liquid phase over the pipeline outlet cross section. Data on the behavior of a flow are needed to design catalytic reactor structures that ensure the uniform distribution of a two-phase flow to the catalyst bed for, e.g., hydrotreating reactors in the oil refining industry.