Multi-scale model of a top-fired steam methane reforming reactor and validation with industrial experimental data

A multi-scale model is presented for a steam methane reforming reactor. The reactor is a typical top-fired, packed-bed multi-tubular reactor. The model embeds, at the microscopic scale, a 1-dimensional simulation of mass transport and reaction inside the catalyst particles. At the intermediate (mesoscopic) scale, the tubular reactor model is based on local mass, energy, and momentum balances, coupled to appropriate steam methane reforming reaction kinetics; the equations are written and solved in 2-dimensional cylindrical symmetry. At the macroscopic level, the tube simulation is then coupled to the furnace simulation. For the latter, a 1-dimensional model is proposed, based on local mass and energy balances, coupled to linear combustion kinetics. Overall, the model contains only one adjustable parameter i.e., Lf, the length of the flame in the furnace. The model equations are integrated through a finite element method. The predictive capability of the model is assessed through validation against previous literature results, as well as three sets of experimental data obtained from a full-scale industrial SMR reactor, operating from middle to high capacity. The model makes it possible to account for the effects of the catalyst features, on the one hand, and the operating conditions of the furnace, on the other. The model provides a detailed study of the phenomena occurring inside the steam methane reforming reactor, with an acceptable computational burden and time. This lays the foundations for in-depth fault detection and identification studies and online deployment of the model for control purposes.