Simulation and Experiment of Residence Time Distribution in Short-Contact Cyclone Reactors

The Eulerian-Eulerian model and species transport method were used for the residence time distribution (RTD) predictions of the short-contact cyclone reactor. A video camera and colored particle tracer were employed in the experiment. The component concentration distribution and RTD characteristics were analyzed. The results indicate that the vacuum gas oil (VGO) and catalysts flow down spirally along the wall and the gasoline and dry gas are mostly in the central part, so the VGO has more contact time with catalysts than other gas components. The RTDs indicate that there exists vortex, backflow and other secondary flow in the reactor. The simulated results show a good agreement with the experimental data.