Pam Kubinski, Bethany Schmid, Joe Haupt

Project Specifications
Background

Reactor Designs
Results Optimization Comparison

Formation of Maleic anhydride from n-butane

Fixed bed reactor design 40,000 Mtons/yr

Reactor Designs
Single reaction kinetics
Isothermal, isobaric Isothermal including pressure drop

Kinetics from literature

Multiple Reactions-isothermal Multiple Reactions-including energy balance

Produced from oxidation of:

N-butane Benzene N-butene
Maleic Anhydride

Used in manufacture of
Resins Lubricant Additives Surface Coatings Plasticizers

http://www.huntsman.com/performance_products/eng/Home/Maleic_Anhydride/Maleic_Anhydride/index.cfm?PageID=5727

Reaction and Kinetics

C4H10 + 3.5 O2 C4H2O3 + 4H20

Added Constraints
80% Conversion No side reactions Bulk Density 900 kg/m3

Inlet Conditions
220 kPa 1.7 mol % Butane 400 C

Conversion Profiles for Various Isotherms

1.00 0.90 Conversion of Butane 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 400 375 350 450

425

0.40
0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 0 20000 40000 60000 Catalyst Weight (kg)

As inlet temperature increases conversion of butane increases

Additional Constraints
Used Ergun Equation Evaluated
5 mm particles 7 mm Particles

= 0.44

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Effect of Temperature on n-Butane Conversion

1 0.9 0.8

300 C

325 C 350 C 375 C 400 C 425 450

475 C 300 C 325 C 350 C 375 C 400 C 425 C

N-Butane Conversion

0.7

0.6
0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Reactor Volume (m3)

450 C 475 C

Solid lines- isobaric Dotted lines- including pressure drop

25

Percent Pressure Drop

20

15

10

0 6.2 6.6 Reactor Diameter 7 7.4

Held reactor volume constant Varied tube diameter

100 90 80 Pressure Drop (%) 70 0.005m Dp 0.010m Dp

60
50 40 30 20 10 0 0 1

3 Length (m)

Held reactor volume constant Varied reactor length

Desired Reaction Butane + Oxygen

1 3 2

Maleic Anhydride + Water

Total Oxidation Reaction CO, CO2, H2O Total Oxidation Products

Decomposition Reaction

C4H10 + 3.5 O2 C4H2O3 + 4H2O C4H2O3 + O2 4CO + CO2 + H2O C4H10 + 5.5O2 2CO + 2CO2 + 5H2O

0.06

0.05
nButane Molar Composition 0.04

Maleic Anhydride
0.03 Water Carbon Dioxide 0.02 Carbon Monoxide

0.01

100000

200000
Catalyst Weight (kg)

300000

400000

500000

Flows excluding inert

Effect of Temperature on Selectivity

0.4 0.39 0.38 0.37 Selectivity 0.36 0.35 0.34 0.33 0.32

0.31
0.3 623 643 663 683 703 723 Temperature (K)

Additional Specifications
Constant coolant temperature - 400 C Constant heat capacities- low T Overall Heat Transfer Constant - 107 J/(m2-s-K) Multi-tubular Reactor

Hot Spot! Temperature Profiles varying Ta

720 710 Temperature (K) 700 690 680 670 660 650 0 2 4 6 8 10 Reactor Length (m) 693 683 673 663 653

Ta 693 673 653

Selectivity 0.293 0.326 0.442

Temperature Variance Throughout Reactor as a Function of

693 688 683 Temperature (K) Temperature (K) 678 673 668 663 658 653 0 693 688 683 678 673 668 To = 673K To = 663K To = 653K To = 683K To = 693K

Inlet Temperature

663
658 653 0 50000 100000

5000 10000 15000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 Catalyst Weight (kgcat) Catalyst Weight (kgcat)

400000

450000

Optimal Reactor Design Inlet temperature Reactor Volume

Number of Tubes Conversion Pressure Drop Selectivity Hot spot temperature

703 K 253.5 m3
76,535 0.860 9.97% 0.319 733.3 K

Increased inlet temperature Minimized reactor volume

Variable Inlet Temperature (C)

Final Design 400

Optimized 430

Conversion Catalyst Weight (kg) Reactor Length

Percent Pressure Drop Heat Gain (coolant) Selectivity

0.803 503,000 9.85

8.54 1.27 0.326

0.860 228,175 5.94

9.97 1.66 0.319