OPTIMAL DESIGN FOR THE RESIDUAL OIL HYDRODEMETALLATION IN A FIXED BED REACTOR

A restricted diffusion model was used to investigate the optimal design for the residual oil hydrodemetallation in a fixed bed reactor. Based on the total lifetime activity, the optimal catalyst pore sizes and their corresponding optimal division locations in the bed were determined. The results indicate that the total amount of demetallation could be significantly improved by using a multi-layers reactor and the nonuniform activity catalysts. In addition, the influence of the Thiele modulus on the optimal designs were illustrated.