Chemical Product and Process

Modeling
Volume 6, Issue 1

2011

Article 36

Modeling of a FixedBed Reactor for the

Production of Phthalic Anhydride
Amir Rahimi, University of Isfahan
Sogand Hamidi, University of Isfahan

Recommended Citation:
Rahimi, Amir and Hamidi, Sogand (2011) "Modeling of a FixedBed Reactor for the Production
of Phthalic Anhydride," Chemical Product and Process Modeling: Vol. 6: Iss. 1, Article 36.
DOI: 10.2202/1934-2659.1626
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/cppm/vol6/iss1/36
2011 De Gruyter. All rights reserved.

Modeling of a FixedBed Reactor for the

Production of Phthalic Anhydride
Amir Rahimi and Sogand Hamidi

Abstract
In this study, the performance of a fixedbed tubular reactor for the production of phthalic
anhydride is mathematically analyzed. The conversion degree and reactor temperature values are
compared with the measured one in a tubular reactor applied in Farabi petrochemical unit in Iran
as well as reported data in the literature for a pilot plate. The comparisons are satisfactory. The
effects of some operating parameters including reactor length, feed temperature, reactor pressure,
and existence of an inert in the catalytic bed are investigated. The optimum value of each
parameter is determined on the basis of the corresponding operating conditions.
KEYWORDS: phthalic anhydride; fixedbed, tubular reactor, catalyst, modeling

Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

1. Introduction
Industrial production of phthalic anhydride (PA) began almost 140 years ago
when the naphthalene oxidation process was developed (Towae and Bhargava,
1998). PA is used widely for producing polyesters, phthalocyanines and
plasticizers like PVC (Dias et al., 1995). The techniques of production of PA have
been widely developed or improved since 1960. In recent decades the previous
methods like the indirect liquid phase oxidation of naphthalene have been
replaced by the new techniques like direct gas phase oxidation of orthoxylene in
a catalytic fixedbed reactor (Weissermel and Arpe, 2003).
In general, the techniques for producing phthalic anhydride are classified
in the following four various methods (Howard, 1977):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Using naphthalene in a fixedbed reactor

Using naphthalene in a movingbed reactor
Using orthoxylene in a fixedbed reactor with high volumetric flow rate
Using orthoxylene in a fixedbed reactor with low volumetric flow rate

High expenses, low availability and low purity are among the
disadvantages of using naphthalene as a reactant. On the other hand, using ortho
xylene as a reactant includes the advantages of high heat effect of reaction with
oxygen, high purity of products, long catalyst lifetime, high excess and
availability. In fact, modern commercial processes for PA production are based on
the selective gas phase oxidation of orthoxylene overV2O5/TiO2 catalysts either
in fixed or in fluidized bed reactors. This process is complex, and involves
different byproducts resulting from oxidation of PA, such as carbon oxides (CO2
and CO) (Gimeno et al., 2008).In general, the following parallel reactions are
introduced for oxidation of orthoxylene:
K1
K2
O.Xylene + O 2
Phthalic.A
CO 2 + CO

(1)

K3
O.Xylene + O 2
CO 2 + CO

(2)

The selective oxidation of orthoxylene to PA catalyzed by V2O5/TiO2 has

been the subject of several studies (Bond, 1989; Dias et al., 1995; Dias et al.,
1996; Saleh et al., 1986). V2O5/TiO2 results the best catalyst for performing this
reaction (Wachs, 1990) since there exists a precise crystallographic fit between
TiO2 surface and V2O5. In this area, Anastasov (2003) investigated theoretically
and experimentally the behavior of a reactor of a fixed bed composed by high
productive V2O5TiO2 supported catalysts for oxidation of oxylene into PA.
Bhat and Gupta (2008) also simulated an industrial PA reactor having several
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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

zones of catalyst packed inside the tubes, with intermediate regions in the tubes
not having any catalyst so that the reaction mass can cool down. Bhat and Gupta
(2008) then use their reactor model to carry out multi-objective optimization of
PA reactors.
The temperature control in nonadiabatic reactions is one of the most
notable difficulties in designing the reactors. Particularly, the reactions with an
adiabatic temperature higher than 600C are always problematic. To avoid this
problem, such reactions are always designed to be carried out in multitube
reactors. In these reactors 1000020000 tubes are typically applied with diameters
of 12 inches. Since diameter of the catalytic bed is small enough, the heat
transfer rate increases intensively.
In accordance with the aforesaid, in this study the performance of an
industrial fixedbed reactor producing phthalic anhydride are mathematically
modeled and simulated. The referred reactor is a multitube one which uses melted
salt as the cooling fluid in the shell side. Heat transfer principle is of great
significance in designing and simulation of the catalytic fixedbed reactors
concerning with the oxidation reactions, which is discussed in the following
sections in detail.
2. Kinetics
The production of PA is an example of a fast oxidation reaction in which lack of
an appropriate temperature control may result in producing some undesired
carbon oxide products. Experimental investigations show that by using V2O5
catalyst, which is commonly used for oxidation reactions, the degree of
conversion of PA may not exceed 68%. Also, because of high explosiveness of
orthoxylene vapors, the inlet amount of orthoxylene is usually selected to be
less than 1 mole % (Howard, 1977).
On the other hand, direct oxidation of orthoxylene by a catalyst typically
results in producing various products. Fortunately, the percentage of the side
products such as maleic anhydride and benzoic acid is small enough that one may
accurately ignore these reactions in the modeling of the whole process.
Several studies have been made concerning the kinetics of the production
and consumption reactions of PA. The fact is that, if the temperature is not
accurately controlled the possibility of PA to be converted to the above mentioned
undesired products increases significantly
The heats of reactions (1) and (2) are 1283 and 4556 kJ/mol of ortho
xylene, respectively. The rate expressions and rate constants of the referred
reactions have been presented as follows (Froment, 1967):

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Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

r1 = k1 PA PO

r2 = k 2 PB PO

r3 = k3 PA PO

71400
+ 19.837)
RT
130200
k 2 = exp(
+ 20.86)
RT
120000
k3 = exp(
+ 18.97)
RT

k1 = exp(

(3)
(4)
(5)

where A is oxylene, B is phthalic anhydride, O is oxygen, and rates are in terms

of kmoles converted/(kg cat.hr). In addition, at the following section notation C is
used for carbon oxides (CO/CO2).
3. Mathematical modeling
Mass balance equations

For a onedimensional model it is assumed that the component concentrations and

the bed temperature are uniform at any crosssection of the reactor and vary only
with longitudinal position. Due to the extremely short residence time of the
components inside the reactor, the axial dispersion terms are ignored.
The rate expressions (3)(5) may be rearranged in order to express the
production rate of PA and carbon oxides. Here, the yields of PA and CO/CO2 are
defined as follows, respectively:
XB =

moles of PA formed
moles of xylene charged

(6)

XC =

moles of xylene converted to CO/CO 2

moles of xylene charged

(7)

Considering the above definitions as well as constant mole fraction of

oxygen (O2 presents in excess), the rate expressions may be given by:
rB = r1 r2 = Pt 2 yO0 y A0 [k1 (1 X B X C ) k 2 X B ]

(8)

rC = r2 + r3 = Pt 2 yO0 y A0 [k 2 X B + k3 (1 X B X C )]

(9)

By the use of these rate expressions the mass balance equation for phthalic
anhydride is expressed as:
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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

G (1 + BI ) y B Ab z G (1 + BI ) y B Ab

z + z

+ rB M F b ( Ab z ) = 0

(10)

where BI is the mass of inerts per unit mass of catalyst, and yB is mole fraction of
PA as follows:
y B = y A0 X B

(11)
Therefore,
rB M F b
dX B
=
dz
G (1 + BI ) y A0

(12)

Similarly, the mass balance equation for carbon oxides results in the
following equation:
dX C
rC M F b
=
dz
G (1 + BI ) y A0

(13)

In Eqs. (12) and (13), the rates of reactions are substituted from Eqs. (8) and (9),
respectively.
Energy balance equation

Making energy balance equation for a longitudinal shell, the temperature

distribution equation is obtained as follows:

[r (H B ) + rC (H C )]
4U
dT
=
(T T j ) + b B
GC p (1 + BI )
dz DGC P

(10)

For solving the energy balance equation, it is necessary to accurately

determine the overall heat transfer coefficient (U). As mentioned before, the heat
effects and the ability to calculate correct value of the heat transfer coefficient are
very important in these reactors. To calculate these parameters, several procedures
and correlations are presented in the literature. In this study, the overall heat
transfer coefficient is determined according to Howard et al. (1977), which is
discussed in Appendix A in detail.

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Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

4. Numerical techniques

The governing equations obtained in the preceding section are solved numerically
by using the forthorder RungeKutta method and the profiles of conversion
degree and temperature are predicted.
5. Results and discussions
5.1. Model validation

Fig. 1 shows profiles of yields of PA (XB) and carbon oxides (XC) through reactor
length for operating conditions similar to Howard (1977). The physical and
operating conditions are listed in Table 1. XB sharply increases through the reactor
while the increase in XC is almost linear. Here, the final values of both XB and XC
are in an excellent agreement with the values obtained experimentally by Howard
(1977).
Table 1. Operating conditions of a pilot plant studied by Howard (1977)
Parameter (Unit)
Value
Mass flux of feed (kg/hr)
4670
Mole percent of oxylene in feed (%)
0.93
Mole percent of oxygen in feed (%)
20.8
Number of tubes
2500
Tube diameter (cm)
2.5
Reactor length (m)
3
Diameter of catalyst pellets (mm)
3
Bed density (kg/m3)
1300
Specific heat of feed (J/kgC)
1045

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

0.8

Tf = 370C
Pt = 1.1 atm
Tj = 380C

0.7

Reported
Exp.
data data

G = 4670 kg/hr
BI = 0

0.6

PA

Yield

0.5
0.4
0.3

Reported
Exp.
datadata

0.2
CO & CO

0.1
0

0.5

1.5
2
Reactor length (m)

2.5

Fig. 1. Yield of PA and carbon oxides through reactor length for operating
conditions of Howard (1977)
Next, the model predictions are compared with measured data related to an
industrial tubular reactor in Farabi petrochemical (F.P.C) unit in Iran. The
physical properties of the reactor and the operational conditions are listed in Table
2. Fig. 2 illustrates the yields of PA and carbon oxides through reactor length. The
final value for XB predicted by the model is a bit lesser than the measured one.
The reason may be assigned to the effect of other possible reactions which take
place practically in the reactor, while neglected in the model. In practice, no
unreacted oxylene is observed left at the exit from the reactor, while, the model
prediction for the remained oxylene is about 10%. This is due to the absence of
such reactions in the model.
Table 2. Operating conditions and characteristics of PA reactor in F.P.C unit
Parameter (Unit)
Oxylene in feed (kg/hr)
Air in feed (kg/hr)
Oxylene mass inlet/pipe (kg/hr.tube)
Mass flux of feed (kg/hr)
Mole percent of oxylene in feed (%)
Mole percent of oxygen in feed (%)
Feed temperature (C)
Cooling fluid temperature (C)
Number of tubes
Tube diameter (cm)
Tube length (m)
Reactor pressure (atm)
Diameter of catalyst pellets (mm)
Bed pressure drop (mm Hg)
Bed density (kg/m3)
Specific heat of feed (J/kgC)
Tubes material of construction

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Value
2627
77257
0.176
10900
0.93
20.8
150
390
14928
2.5
3
1.61.8
8
30
880900
1045
steel

Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

0.8
Plant data

Tf = 150C
Pt = 1.6 atm
Tj = 380C

0.7

PA

G = 10900 kg/hr
BI = 0

0.6

Yield

0.5
0.4
0.3
CO & CO

0.2
Plant data

0.1
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

z (m)

Fig. 2. Yield of PA and carbon oxides through reactor length for operating
conditions of F.P.C unit
Fig. 3 shows profile of gas temperature in reactor under the conditions of
Table 2. Gas temperature significantly increases from 150C at the inlet due to the
high exothermicity of the chemical reactions. The temperature reaches its
maximum value in a length about 0.6 m from the entrance. The maximum value
predicted (420C) with its location is in a good agreement with the measured one.
Therefore, the model well simulates the performance of PA reactor in F.P.C unit.
To ensure the accuracy of the model, a two-dimensional model is also
developed in which the radial distribution of temperature and concentration are
also considered inside the reactor. The results are shown in Fig. 4. This figure
shows that the results of the two mentioned models are not very different
concerning the studied operating conditions. The reason of this similarity may be
because of the small diameter of the tube which results in a uniform distribution
in radial direction. However, the same result may not be concluded in catalytic
beds with large diameters. Generally, in this situation, the results of a twodimensional model may be more accurate due to considering more reliable
assumptions.

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

500
450

Plant data

Gas temperature (C)

400
350
300
250
200
150

Tf = 150C
Pt = 1.6 atm
Tj = 380C

100

G = 10900 kg/hr
BI = 0

50
0

0.5

1.5
2
Reactor length (m)

2.5

Fig. 3. Gas temperature through reactor length for operating conditions of F.P.C
unit
1.5
1
CO & CO
Radial distance (cm)

PA

0.5
0
-0.5
Pt = 1.1 atm
Tj = 380C

-1

G = 4670 kg/hr
BI = 0

-1.5

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Yeild

Fig. 4. Radial distribution profiles of conversion degree of phthalic anhydride and

carbon oxides in a distance equal to 150 cm from the reactor inlet

5.2. The parametric study

Reactor length

Among the most effective parameters on the reactor performance is the reactor
length. The mean residence time of the components inside the reactor affect
significantly on the final degree of conversion due to the particular characteristics
of the reaction kinetics. If the reactor length (and accordingly, the mean residence
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Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

time of PA inside the reactor) is too long, PA may convert essentially to carbon
oxides. Since higher yield of PA is always of interest, determining an optimum
value for reactor length is valuable.
Fig. 5 depicts a situation that the reactor with the corresponding operating
conditions of Table 1, could be longer than 3 m. Fig. 5 shows that, an increase in
length from 3 to 4.5 m does not contribute effectively in increasing yield of PA.
Superior than 4.5 m from the entrance, PA is essentially decreased due to
conversion to carbon oxides. The results of Fig. 5 confirm that the optimum value
for reactor length is about 3 m.
0.8
2

G = 4670 kg/m hr

0.7

Pt = 1.1atm
Tj = 380C

0.6
0.5
Yield (-)

PA

Tf = 370C
BI = 0

0.4
0.3
CO2 & CO

0.2
0.1
0

3
4
Reactor length (m)

Fig. 5. Effect of reactor length on the yields of PA and carbon oxides

Feed temperature

Fig. 6 illustrates the effect of feed temperature on the final yields of PA and
carbon oxides. The results of Fig. 6 reveal the maximum yield of PA may be
attained when the inlet gas temperature is about 378C. Although the optimum
value for inlet gas temperature depends on the operating conditions, different
operating conditions tested showed that the optimum value usually is in the range
from 350 to 380C. However, in higher pressures (like 2 atm) the optimum feed
temperature is much lesser than these values. For the PA reactor in Farabi
petrochemical unit (Pt is about 1.8 atm), the gas feed temperature is usually
controlled at about 150C. Since the rate expressions vary with the square of
pressure, the reaction rates are intensified in high pressures leading to lower the
feed temperature required. In fact, there is no further need to increase the feed
temperature in highpressure operating conditions.
Temperature control is an important key for operating the process. Higher
feed temperature, higher the reaction rates at the reactor entrance. Thus, the heat

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

released is high enough to intensively increase the bed temperature. The catalysts
may be damaged in this situation which leads to increase yield of carbon oxides.
In other words, PA is converted to carbon oxides quickly. This situation is well
observed in Fig. 6 for feed temperatures higher than 380C. Consequently,
temperature control and determination of the optimum value for feed temperature
are quite important for a proper operation.
0.8
0.7

Final yield

0.6

Pt = 1.1 atm
Tj = 380C

G = 4670 kg/hr
BI = 0

0.5

PA

0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
300

CO & CO

310

320

330 340 350 360

Feed temperature ( C)

370

380

390

Fig. 6. Effect of feed temperature on the yields of PA and carbon oxides

Fig. 7 shows the profile of temperature differences between the reactor
bed and the shell (equal to temperature of gas entering the reactor). High reaction
rates at the reactor entrance result in a great heat released which increases
temperature differences between the reactor bed and the cooling fluid. The
temperature difference increases up to a certain length (about 20 cm in Fig. 7),
and then decreases gradually. Since the catalyst is deactivated more rapidly at the
entrance regions in comparison with the other zones, the location of hot spot may
move gradually. The maximum value of the bed temperature is attained at the
following lengths where the catalyst activity is high. So, in most PA production
units, the movement of location of the hot spot during the course of operations is
an appropriate criterion to designate the catalyst lifetime.
Reactor pressure

The pressure is an important issue in the gasphase reactors. Fig. 8 shows the
effect of reactor pressure on the yields of PA and CO/CO2. According to Eqs. (4)
and (5) the reaction rates vary with the square of the pressure. Therefore, in higher
pressures the reaction rates intensify. Furthermore, increasing the residence time
of the materials inside the reactor at higher pressures may increase the conversion

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10

Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

degrees. The conversion degrees are extremely low in the pressures smaller than 1
atm. The increased residence time, which together with the higher pressure
increases the conversion of PA to CO and CO2 (the second reaction in Eq. 1), and
therefore decreases the yield to PA. Fig. 8 shows how the decrease in PA yield is
accompanied by an increase in yield to CO & CO2. As seen in Fig. 8, the
maximum yield of PA is attained at a pressure of 1.3 atm for the studied operating
conditions.
22
20
Temperature difference ( C)

18
16
14
12
10
8
6

Tf = 370C
Pt = 1.1 atm
Tj = 380C

4
2
0

G = 4670 kg/hr
BI = 0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

z (m)

Fig. 7. Temperature differences between bed and shell

0.8
0.7

Final yield

0.6

PA

Tf = 370C
Tj = 380C

G = 4670 kg/hr
BI = 0

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2

CO & CO

0.1
0
0.4

0.6

0.8

1
1.2
1.4
Reactor pressure (atm)

1.6

1.8

Fig. 8. Effect of reactor pressure on the yields of PA and carbon oxides

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

Existence of inert in catalyst

Introducing an inert in the catalytic beds has become widespread, where it is not
necessary to use pure catalyst because of high reaction rates. In fact, at the reactor
entrance, where the reactant concentrations are high enough, there is no need to
intensify reaction rates by using pure catalysts. Here, it is supposed to use a 50%
pure catalyst in the first quarter of the reactor length and pure catalyst in the other
regions. Fig. 9(a) depicts yield of PA and carbon oxides, and Fig. 9(b) shows the
temperature difference between the bed and the cooling fluid though the reactor
length. Two maximum values are observed in Fig. 9(b). The first peak is assigned
to the high reaction rates at the entrance regions, while the second corresponds to
a region that the impurity of the catalysts is finished which results in further
increasing the reaction rates. The bed temperature then decreases. According to
Fig. 9(b), the maximum value of the difference is 17C, while if the impurity is
not introduced, this value is about 19C according to Fig. 7. It seems that using an
inert, such as aluminum, at the entrance regions is an efficient way to control
the bed temperature.

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Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

0.7
PA

BI= 0.5 for 0 < z < 0.75 m

0.6

Tf = 370C
Pt = 1.1 atm
Tj = 380C

0.5

Yield

G = 4670 kg/hr

0.4
0.3
0.2
CO & CO

0.1

(a)

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

z (m)
22
BI= 0.5 for 0 < z < 0.75 m

20
Temperature difference (C)

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

(b)
0

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

z (m)

Fig. 9. Effect of existence of inert in the catalysts on (a) the yield of PA and
carbon oxides, and (b) the temperature differences between bed and shell

Conclusion

A model is developed for a fixed packedbed reactor for the production of

phthalic anhydride. The results show good agreement with the measured ones in a
tubular reactor applied in Farabi petrochemical unit in Iran as well as reported
data in the literature for a pilot plate. The parametric studies reveal that optimal
values exist for the reactor length, feed temperature, reactor pressure, and catalyst
impurity. Under the studied conditions the following conclusion are made:

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

The optimum value for reactor length is about 3. An increase in length from 3
to 4.5 m does not contribute effectively in increasing yield of PA. while,
superior than 4.5 m, PA is essentially converted to carbon oxides.
Temperature control is an important key for operating the process. The
optimum value of feed temperature usually is in the range from 350 to 380C.
At higher temperatures the catalysts may be damaged which leads to increase
yield of carbon oxides.
An optimal value for reactor pressure exists where the maximum yield of PA
is attained (1.3 atm for reactor under study). Higher than this optimal, the
decrease in the yield of phthalic anhydride is observed due to the decrease in
the residence time of the materials inside the reactor.
Using an inert, such as aluminum, at the entrance regions is an efficient
way to control the bed temperature. However, the final value of yield of PA
may be lowered when an inert is introduced.

Appendix A
Overall heat transfer coefficient

Since the mean temperature at each crosssection of the bed can be obtained at a
distance equal to R / 2 from center of the tube, and considering R as the
effective heat transfer coefficient of the bed, the volumetric heat transfer flux at
each crosssection of the length of the reactor may be obtained as follows
(Howard, 1977):
qv =

32R
(TRb Tm )
D2

(A1)

In Eq. (A1), TRb is the bed temperature in a distance corresponding to 15

times of catalyst diameter from the tube wall. Also, the volumetric flux of heat
transfer may be expressed as follows:
qv =

4U
4
(T j Tm ) = hT (T j TRb )
D
D

(A2)

where U is defined as:

U=

hT
1 + (hT D) /(8R )

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(A3)

14

Rahimi and Hamidi: Modeling of Phthalic Anhydrid Reactor

In Eq. (A2), hT is the overall heat transfer coefficient between the fluid
bulk and the cooling fluid which is expressed as bellow:
1
1
1
=
+ + Rwall
hT hw ho

(A4)

Due to the use of melted salt in the shell (with a great heat transfer
coefficient), the outside heat transfer resistance may be ignored. Thus, the overall
heat transfer coefficient may be obtained by the following equation:
D
1
1
=
+
U hw 8R

(A5)

where, R and hw are calculated from the following correlations presented in the
literature (Kunii and Smith, 1960; Yagi and Wakao, 1959):
d pG

d pG
0.0025

R = 0R +
2
1 + 46 ( D / d p )
hw = hw0 + 0.01152

D
dp

(A6)
(A7)

where,
hw0 =

8.40R
D1.33

(A8)

In Eqs. (A7) and (A8), based on the various experimental results and
investigations, 0R is given to be 0.220.24.
Nomenclature
A
Ab
B
BI
C
Cp

orthoxylene
bed cross-sectional area (m2)
phthalic anhydride
inert to catalyst ratio
carbon oxides (CO/CO2)
specific heat (J/kg.K)

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Chemical Product and Process Modeling, Vol. 6 [2011], Iss. 1, Art. 36

D
dp
F.P.C
G
hw
ho
k
O
PA
Pt
r
R
T
Tm
Tj
TRb
U
XB
XC
y
y0

reactor diameter (m)

catalyst diameter (m)
Farabi petrochemical unit
Mass flow rate of feed (kg/hr)
convective heat transfer coefficient inside tube (W/m2.K)
convective heat transfer coefficient outside the tube (W/m2.K)
reaction rate constant (kmol/kg cat.hr.atm2)
oxygen
phthalic anhydride
pressure (atm)
reaction rate (kmole/kg cat.hr)
gas constants (J/mol.K)
temperature (K)
mean bed temperature (K)
melted salt temperature (K)
bed temperature in a distance corresponding to 15 times of particle diameter
from the tube wall (K)
overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2.K)
yield of phthalic anhydride
yield of carbon oxides
mole fraction
inlet mole fraction

Greek letters
bed density (kg/m3)
b
effective conductivity of bed (W/m.K)
R
gas viscosity (kg/m.s)

H
heat of reaction (J/kg)

References
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DOI: 10.2202/1934-2659.1626

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Published by De Gruyter, 2011

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