Evaluation of coke deposition in catalyst particles using particle-resolved CFD model

Catalyst deactivation by carbon deposition is an important phenomenon of catalytic industrial processes, which will lead to the decrease of reaction rates and even the blockage of the reactor. In this work, coke deposition process is investigated by means of a particle-resolved CFD model considering the change of catalyst physical property and activity caused by carbon formation. The spatial and instantaneous distributions of coke deposition in the single catalyst particle and packed bed are evaluated. Meanwhile, the interaction of reaction performance and catalyst activity under coke deposition is further analyzed. The results reveal that the local catalyst activity is different from the core to the shell zone. In addition, the wall effect on coke accumulation in a fixed bed is revealed. The results indicate that more coke is formed near the wall with lower catalyst activity.