Mathematical Modeling of Sorption Enhanced Direct DME Synthesis Assisted by Fluidization Concept

Dimethyl ether (DME) can be produced from natural gas through synthesisgas, directly, and introduced as a clean and economical alternative fuel. Inthe present study, a mathematical model of the fluidized bed reactor forDME synthesis with in-situ water adsorption is investigated, theoretically.The two-phase theory of bubbling regime is applied to model thefluidization concept. The density difference between binary adsorbent andcatalyst particles separate them. The heavy catalyst particles tend to sinkand the light adsorbent particles tend to rise. During the direct DMEsynthesis process, the motivation for in situ water removal by usingadsorbent particles (Zeolite 4A) is to displace the methanol dehydrationequilibrium to boost DME productivity. Simulation results prove thatselective water adsorption from direct DME synthesis in SorptionEnhanced Fluidized Bed Reactor (SE-FBR) leads to a considerableintensification of DME production compared to zero solid mass ratiocondition as well as conventional reactor.

Keywords:

Direct DME synthesis , Zeolite 4A , Sorption-Enhanced process , Fluidized bed reactor