2020
Numerical simulations of SPSRs with cylindrical pellets indicates that flow hydrodynamics as well as conversion can be close to plug flow behaviour if designed and implemented correctly; and comparable with spherical pellets. Shielding of the external (catalytic) pellet area due to pellet cap-pellet cap contacts was found to significantly reduce conversion, although this effect is probably overstated as a result of the simplification of assuming external surface reaction only. The design criterion for spherical pellets from Phase I was adjusted for set-ups with cylindrical pellets representing the correlation between deviation to plug flow conversion and information on reactor geometry, fluid and flow properties.
