ABSTRACT

Petroleum refining industry processes many millions of tons of oil daily through packed bed reactors. These reactors contain more than 100 thousand tons of catalyst. Efficient use of this catalyst is critical for the industry’s profitability. However, it is generally known that all this catalyst mass does not get fully utilized due to inefficiencies in reactor design and operation.

Key problem is non-uniform distribution of gas and liquid in these multiphase reactors. Also, it is not sufficient to have good distribution at the reactor inlet, but the design has to sustain good distribution throughout the reactor. There are many other consequences of non-uniform flow distribution besides inefficiency of catalyst utilization. The talk discusses several examples of poor design, consequences, and corrective methods. There has been significant new effort to improve flow distribution in reactors with the realization that sizable benefits can accrue with good design and operational practices.

Flow distribution is also a more generic problem covering many other types of reactors. Discussion will include these other cases.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dr. Krishniah Parimi is a co-founder and President of a start-up company, Energia Technologies, located in San Leandro, California. Energia Technologies specializes in developing innovative processes in renewable biofuels. He received his Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Chemical Engineering from the IIT Kharagpur, a Ph.D. degree in the same field from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. in 1974, followed by an M.B.A from the University of Pittsburgh. He has worked for over 30 years for Chevron corporation in US and has many publications and patents to his credit. He is currently managing research programs in sustainable energy areas under funding from the US Department of Defense