Non-adiabatic radial-flow reactor for styrene production

SAVORETTI, ANDREA; BORIO, DANIEL; BUCALA, VERONICA; PORRAS, JOSE

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 1999 vol. 54

0009-2509

A non-adiabatic radial reactor is proposed to carry out the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene. Radial flow and continuous heating (using superheated steam) are the main features of the new design. Steam used as heating medium flows through tubes, which are radially installed in the catalyst bed. By means of steady-state simulations, this new design has been compared with two adiabatic beds with radial flow and reheating between stages (similar to those used in industry). For equal steam consumption, the proposed design leads to higher selectivity to styrene than the industrial adiabatic design. This enhancement in selectivity (which is observed for different conversion levels) would significantly improve the economics of the styrene production process