Burnup performance of OTTO cycle pebble bed reactors with ROX fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Hai Quan; Obara, Toru

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A 300 MW t Small Pebble Bed Reactor with Rock-like oxide fuel is proposed. • Using ROX fuel can achieve high discharged burnup of spent fuel. • High geological stability can be expected in direct disposal of the spent ROX fuel. • The Pebble Bed Reactor with ROX fuel can be critical at steady state operation. • All the reactor designs have a negative temperature coefficient. - Abstract: A pebble bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (PBR) with rock-like oxide (ROX) fuel was designed to achieve high discharged burnup and improve the integrity of the spent fuel in geological disposal. The MCPBR code with a JENDL-4.0 library, which developed the analysis of the Once-Through-Then-Out (OTTO) cycle in PBR, was used to perform the criticality and burnup analysis. Burnup calculations for eight cases were carried out for both ROX fuel and a UO 2 fuel reactor with different heavy-metal loading conditions. The effective multiplication factor of all cases approximately equalled unity in the equilibrium condition. The ROX fuel reactor showed lower FIFA than the UO 2 fuel reactor at the same heavy-metal loading, about 5–15%. However, the power peaking factor and maximum power per fuel ball in the ROX fuel core were lower than that of UO 2 fuel core. This effect makes it possible to compensate for the lower-FIFA disadvantage in a ROX fuel core. All reactor designs had a negative temperature coefficient that is needed for the passive safety features of a pebble bed reactor

Researchers solve big mysteries of pebble bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shams, Afaque; Roelofs, Ferry; Komen, E.M.J. [Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), Petten (Netherlands); Baglietto, Emilio [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering; Sgro, Titus [CD-adapco, London (United Kingdom). Technical Marketing

2014-03-15

The PBR is one type of High Temperature Reactors, which allows high temperature work while preventing the fuel from melting (bringing huge safety margins to the reactor) and high electricity efficiency. The design is also highly scalable; a plant could be designed to be as large or small as needed, and can even be made mobile, allowing it to be used onboard a ship. In a PBR, small particles of nuclear fuel, embedded in a moderating graphite pebble, are dropped into the reactor as needed. At the bottom, the pebbles can be removed simply by opening a small hatch and letting gravity pull them down. To cool the reactor and create electricity, helium gas is pumped through the reactor to pull heat out which is then run through generators. One of the most difficult problems to deal with has been the possible appearance of local temperature hotspots within the pebble bed heating to the point of melting the graphite moderators surrounding the fuel. Obviously, constructing a reactor and experimenting to investigate this possibility is out of the question. Instead, nuclear engineers have been attempting to simulate a PBR with various CFD codes. The thermo-dynamic analysis to simulate realistic conditions in a pebble bed are described and the results are shown. (orig.)

Analysis of impact of mixing flow on the pebble bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao Chen; Li Fu; Guo Jiong

2014-01-01

The impact of the mixing flow in the pebble flow on pebble bed high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTR) was analyzed in the paper. New code package MFVSOP which can simulate the mixing flow was developed. The equilibrium core of HTR-PM was selected as reference case, the impact of the mixing flow on the core parameters such as core power peak factor, power distribution was analyzed with different degree of mixing flow, and uncertainty analysis was carried out. Numerical results showed that the mixing flow had little impact on key parameters of pebble bed HTR, and the multiple-pass-operation-mode in pebble bed HTR can reduce the uncertainty arouse from the mixing flow. (authors)

Theory and measurements of electrophoretic effects in monolith, fixed-bed, and fluidized-bed plasma reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morin, T.J.

1989-01-01

Pressure gradients and secondary flow fields generated by the passage of electrical current in a d.c. gas discharge or gas laser are topics of longstanding interest in the gaseous electronics literature. These hydrodynamic effects of space charge fields and charged particle density gradients have been principally exploited in the development of gas separation and purification processes. In recent characterization studies of fixed-bed and fluidized-bed plasma reactors several anomalous flow features have been observed. These reactors involve the contacting of a high-frequency, resonantly-sustained, disperse gas discharge with granular solids in a fixed or fluidized bed. Anomalies in the measured pressure drops and fluidization velocities have motivated the development of an appropriate theoretical approach to, and some additional experimental investigations of electrophoretic effects in disperse gas discharges. In this paper, a theory which includes the effects of space charge and diffusion is used to estimate the electric field and charged particle density profiles. These profiles are then used to calculate velocity fields and gas flow rates for monolith, fixed-bed, and fluidized-bed reactors. These results are used to rationalize measurements of gas flow rates and axial pressure gradients in high-frequency disperse gas discharges with and without an additional d.c. axial electric field

Pellet bed reactor for multi-modal space power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buden, D.; Williams, K.; Mast, P.; Mims, J.

1987-01-01

A review of forthcoming space power needs for both civil and military missions indicates that power requirements will be in the tens of megawatts. The electrical power requirements are envisioned to be twofold: long-duration lower power levels will be needed for station keeping, communications, and/or surveillance; short-duration higher power levels will be required for pulsed power devices. These power characteristics led to the proposal of a multi-modal space power reactor using a pellet bed design. Characteristics desired for such a multimegawatt reactor power source are standby, alert, and pulsed power modes; high-thermal output heat source (approximately 1000 MWt peak power); long lifetime station keeping power (10 to 30 years); high temperature output (1500 K to 1800 K); rapid-burst power transition; high reliability (above 95 percent); and stringent safety standards compliance. The proposed pellet bed reactor is designed to satisfy these characteristics

Hydrodynamics of multi-phase packed bed micro-reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Márquez Luzardo, N.M.

2010-01-01

Why to use packed bed micro-reactors for catalyst testing? Miniaturized packed bed reactors have a large surface-to-volume ratio at the reactor and particle level that favors the heat- and mass-transfer processes at all scales (intra-particle, inter-phase and inter-particle or reactor level). If the

Design and development of fluidized bed reactor system for production of trichlorosilane as a precursor for high purity silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Rajesh; Mohan, Sadhana; Bhanja, K.; Nayak, S.; Bhattacharya, S.K.

2009-01-01

Trichlorosilane is widely used as precursor material for production of high purity silicon. It is mainly produced by reaction of metallurgical grade silicon with anhydrous HCl gas in a fluidized bed reactor. To develop this process on commercial scale a pilot size fluidized bed reactor system was designed and developed and successfully operated. This paper discusses the critical issues related to these activities. (author)

Preliminary Safeguards Assessment for the Pebble-Bed Fluoride High-Temperature Reactor (PB-FHR) Concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Disser, Jay; Arthur, Edward; Lambert, Janine

2016-09-01

This report examines a preliminary design for a pebble bed fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor (PB-FHR) concept, assessing it from an international safeguards perspective. Safeguards features are defined, in a preliminary fashion, and suggestions are made for addressing further nuclear materials accountancy needs.

Comparison of packed bed and fluidized bed membrane reactors for methane reforming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2009-01-01

In this work the performance of different membrane reactor concepts, both fluidized bed and packed bed membrane reactors, have been compared for the reforming of methane for the production of ultra-pure hydrogen. Using detailed theoretical models, the required membrane area to reach a given

Calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reactivity in a packed bed reactor of a chemical heat pump for high-temperature gas reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Yukitaka; Yamada, Mitsuteru; Kanie, Toshihiro; Yoshizawa, Yoshio

2001-01-01

The thermal performance of a chemical heat pump that uses a calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reaction system was discussed as a heat storage system for utilizing heat output from high temperature gas reactors (HTGR). Calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reactivity for the heat pump was measured using a packed bed reactor containing 1.0 kg of reactant. The reactor was capable of storing heat at 900 deg. C by decarbonation of calcium carbonate and generating up to 997 deg. C by carbonation of calcium oxide. The amount of stored heat in the reactor was 800-900 kJ kg -1 . The output temperature of the reactor could be controlled by regulating the carbonation pressure. The thermal storage performance of the reactor was superior to that of conventional sensible heat storage systems. A heat pump using this CaO/CO 2 reactor is expected to contribute to thermal load leveling and to realize highly efficient utilization of HTGR output due to the high heat storage density and high-quality temperature output of the heat pump

Fixed-bed Reactor Dynamics and Control - A Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, S. B.

1986-01-01

The industrial diversity of fixed bed reactors offers a challenging and relevant set of control problems. These intricate problems arise due to the rather complex dynamics of fixed bed reactors and to the complexity of actual reactor configurations. Many of these control problems are nonlinear...... and multi-variable. During the last decade fixed bed reactor control strategies have been proposed and investigated experimentally. This paper reviews research on these complex control problems with an emphasis upon solutions which have been demon-strated to work in the laboratory and hold promise...

Pebble-bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lohnert, G.; Mueller-Frank, U.; Heil, J.

1976-01-01

A pebble-bed nuclear reactor of large power rating comprises a container having a funnel-shaped bottom forming a pebble run-out having a centrally positioned outlet. A bed of downwardly-flowing substantially spherical nuclear fuel pebbles is positioned in the container and forms a reactive nuclear core maintained by feeding unused pebbles to the bed's top surface while used or burned-out pebbles run out and discharge through the outlet. A substantially conical body with its apex pointing upwardly and its periphery spaced from the periphery of the container spreads the bottom of the bed outwardly to provide an annular flow down the funnel-shaped bottom forming the runout, to the discharge outlet. This provides a largely constant downward velocity of the spheres throughout the diameter of the bed throughout a substantial portion of the down travel, so that all spheres reach about the same burned-out condition when they leave the core, after a single pass through the core area

Global scaling analysis for the pebble bed advanced high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blandford, E.D.; Peterson, P.F.

2009-01-01

Scaled Integral Effects Test (IET) facilities play a critical role in the design certification process of innovative reactor designs. Best-estimate system analysis codes, which minimize deliberate conservatism, require confirmatory data during the validation process to ensure an acceptable level of accuracy as defined by the regulator. The modular Pebble Bed Advanced High Temperature Reactor (PB-AHTR), with a nominal power output of 900 MWth, is the most recent UC Berkeley design for a liquid fluoride salt cooled, solid fuel reactor. The PB-AHTR takes advantage of technologies developed for gas-cooled high temperature thermal and fast reactors, sodium fast reactors, and molten salt reactors. In this paper, non-dimensional scaling groups and similarity criteria are presented at the global system level for a loss of forced circulation transient, where single-phase natural circulation is the primary mechanism for decay heat removal following a primary pump trip. Due to very large margin to fuel damage temperatures, the peak metal temperature of primary-loop components was identified as the key safety parameter of interest. Fractional Scaling Analysis (FSA) methods were used to quantify the intensity of each transfer process during the transient and subsequently rank them by their relative importance while identifying key sources of distortion between the prototype and model. The results show that the development of a scaling hierarchy at the global system level informs the bottom-up scaling analysis. (author)

Fluidized Bed Reactor as Solid State Fermenter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krishnaiah, K.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Various reactors such as tray, packed bed, rotating drum can be used for solid-state fermentation. In this paper the possibility of fluidized bed reactor as solid-state fermenter is considered. The design parameters, which affect the performances are identified and discussed. This information, in general can be used in the design and the development of an efficient fluidized bed solid-state fermenter. However, the objective here is to develop fluidized bed solid-state fermenter for palm kernel cake conversion into enriched animal and poultry feed.

Fluidized-bed reactors processes and operating conditions

CERN Document Server

Yates, John G

2016-01-01

The fluidized-bed reactor is the centerpiece of industrial fluidization processes. This book focuses on the design and operation of fluidized beds in many different industrial processes, emphasizing the rationale for choosing fluidized beds for each particular process. The book starts with a brief history of fluidization from its inception in the 1940’s. The authors present both the fluid dynamics of gas-solid fluidized beds and the extensive experimental studies of operating systems and they set them in the context of operating processes that use fluid-bed reactors. Chemical engineering students and postdocs as well as practicing engineers will find great interest in this book.

High flux Particle Bed Reactor systems for rapid transmutation of actinides and long lived fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.; Ludewig, H.; Maise, G.; Steinberg, M.; Todosow, M.

1993-01-01

An initial assessment of several actinide/LLFP burner concepts based on the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) is described. The high power density/flux level achievable with the PBR make it an attractive candidate for this application. The PBR based actinide burner concept also possesses a number of safety and economic benefits relative to other reactor based transmutation approaches including a low inventory of radionuclides, and high integrity, coated fuel particles which can withstand extremely high in temperatures while retaining virtually all fission products. In addition the reactor also posesses a number of ''engineered safety features,'' which, along with the use of high temperature capable materials further enhance its safety characteristics

Theoretical comparison of packed bed and fluidized bed membrane reactors for methane reforming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2010-01-01

In this theoretical work the performance of different membrane reactor concepts, both fluidized bed and packed bed membrane reactors, has been compared for ultra-pure hydrogen production via methane reforming. Using detailed theoretical models, the required membrane area to reach a given conversion

Flow distribution of pebble bed high temperature gas cooled reactors using large eddy simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gokhan Yesilyurt; Hassan, Y.A.

2003-01-01

A High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) is one of the renewed reactor designs to play a role in nuclear power generation. This reactor design concepts is currently under consideration and development worldwide. Since the HTGR concept offers inherent safety, has a very flexible fuel cycle with capability to achieve high burnup levels, and provides good thermal efficiency of power plant, it can be considered for further development and improvement as a reactor concept of generation IV. The combination of coated particle fuel, inert helium gas as coolant and graphite moderated reactor makes it possible to operate at high temperature yielding a high efficiency. In this study the simulation of turbulent transport for the gas through the gaps of the spherical fuel elements (fuel pebbles) will be performed. This will help in understanding the highly three-dimensional, complex flow phenomena in pebble bed caused by flow curvature. Under these conditions, heat transfer in both laminar and turbulent flows varies noticeably around curved surfaces. Curved flows would be present in the presence of contiguous curved surfaces. In the case of a laminar flow and of an appreciable effect of thermogravitional forces, the Nusselt (Nu) number depends significantly on the curvature shape of the surface. It changes with order of 10 times. The flow passages through the gap between the fuel balls have concave and convex configurations. Here the action of the centrifugal forces manifests itself differently on convex and concave parts of the flow path (suppression or stimulation of turbulence). The flow of this type has distinctive features. In such flow there is a pressure gradient, which strongly affects the boundary layer behavior. The transition from a laminar to turbulent flow around this curved flow occurs at deferent Reynolds (Re) numbers. Consequently, noncircular curved flows as in the pebble-bed situation, in detailed local sense, is interesting to be investigated. To the

Computational and experimental prediction of dust production in pebble bed reactors, Part II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiruta, Mie; Johnson, Gannon [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States); Rostamian, Maziar, E-mail: mrostamian@asme.org [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States); Potirniche, Gabriel P. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States); Ougouag, Abderrafi M. [Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 N Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States); Bertino, Massimo; Franzel, Louis [Department of Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284 (United States); Tokuhiro, Akira [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho, 1776 Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (United States)

2013-10-15

Highlights: • Custom-built high temperature, high pressure tribometer is designed. • Two different wear phenomena at high temperatures are observed. • Experimental wear results for graphite are presented. • The graphite wear dust production in a typical Pebble Bed Reactor is predicted. -- Abstract: This paper is the continuation of Part I, which describes the high temperature and high pressure helium environment wear tests of graphite–graphite in frictional contact. In the present work, it has been attempted to simulate a Pebble Bed Reactor core environment as compared to Part I. The experimental apparatus, which is a custom-designed tribometer, is capable of performing wear tests at PBR relevant higher temperatures and pressures under a helium environment. This environment facilitates prediction of wear mass loss of graphite as dust particulates from the pebble bed. The experimental results of high temperature helium environment are used to anticipate the amount of wear mass produced in a pebble bed nuclear reactor.

Method and apparatus for a combination moving bed thermal treatment reactor and moving bed filter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badger, Phillip C.; Dunn, Jr., Kenneth J.

2015-09-01

A moving bed gasification/thermal treatment reactor includes a geometry in which moving bed reactor particles serve as both a moving bed filter and a heat carrier to provide thermal energy for thermal treatment reactions, such that the moving bed filter and the heat carrier are one and the same to remove solid particulates or droplets generated by thermal treatment processes or injected into the moving bed filter from other sources.

Operation of Packed-Bed Reactors Studied in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Motil, Brian J.; Balakotaiah, Vemuri

2004-01-01

The operation of a packed bed reactor (PBR) involves gas and liquid flowing simultaneously through a fixed-bed of solid particles. Depending on the application, the particles can be various shapes and sizes but are generally designed to force the two fluid phases through a tortuous route of narrow channels connecting the interstitial space. The PBR is the most common type of reactor in industry because it provides for intimate contact and high rates of transport between the phases needed to sustain chemical or biological reactions. The packing may also serve as either a catalyst or as a support for growing biological material. Furthermore, this type of reactor is relatively compact and requires minimal power to operate. This makes it an excellent candidate for unit operations in support of long-duration human space activities.

The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor: An obituary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, Steve, E-mail: stephen.thomas@gre.ac.u [Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), Business School, University of Greenwich, 30 Park Row, London SE10 9LS (United Kingdom)

2011-05-15

The High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) has exerted a peculiar attraction over nuclear engineers. Despite many unsuccessful attempts over half a century to develop it as a commercial power reactor, there is still a strong belief amongst many nuclear advocates that a highly successful HTGR technology will emerge. The most recent attempt to commercialize an HTGR design, the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), was abandoned in 2010 after 12 years of effort and the expenditure of a large amount of South African public money. This article reviews this latest attempt to commercialize an HTGR design and attempts to identify which issues have led to its failure and what lessons can be learnt from this experience. It concludes that any further attempts to develop HTGRs using Pebble Bed technology should only be undertaken if there is a clear understanding of why earlier attempts have failed and a high level of confidence that earlier problems have been overcome. It argues that the PBMR project has exposed serious weaknesses in accountability mechanisms for the expenditure of South African public money. - Research highlights: {yields} In this study we examine the reasons behind the failure of the South African PBMR programme. {yields} The study reviews the technical issues that have arisen and lessons for future reactor developments. {yields} The study also identifies weaknesses in the accountability mechanisms for public spending.

3D DEM simulation and analysis of void fraction distribution in a pebble bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Xingtuan; Gui, Nan; Tu, Jiyuan; Jiang, Shengyao

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We show a detailed analysis of void fraction (VF) in HTR-10 of China using DEM. • Radial distribution (RD) of VF is uniform in the core and oscillated near the wall. • Axial distribution (AD) is linearly varied along height due to effect of gravity. • Steady RD of VF in the conical base is Gaussian-like, larger than packing bed. • Joint linear and normal distribution of VF is analyzed and explained. - Abstract: The current work analyzes the radial and axial distributions of void fraction of a pebble bed high temperature reactor. A three-dimensional pebble bed corresponding to our test facility of pebble bed type gas-cooled high temperature reactor (HTR-10) in Tsinghua University is simulated via discrete element method, and the radial and axial void fraction profiles are calculated. It validates the oscillating characteristics of radial void fraction near the wall. Detailed calculations show the differences of void fraction profiles between the stationary packing bed and the dynamically discharging bed. Based on the vertically and circumferentially averaged radial distribution and horizontally averaged axial distribution of void fraction, a fully three-dimensional analytical distribution of void fraction throughout the bed is established. The results show the combined effects of gravity and void variation in the pebble bed caused by the pebble discharging. It indicates the linearly increased packing effect caused by gravity in the vertical (axial) direction and the normal distribution of void in the horizontal (radial) direction by pebble drainage. These two effects coexist in the conical base of the bed whereas only the former effect exists in the cylindrical volume of the bed

A scaled experimental study of control blade insertion dynamics in Pebble-Bed Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buster, Grant C., E-mail: grant.buster@gmail.com; Laufer, Michael R.; Peterson, Per F.

2016-07-15

Highlights: • A granular dynamics scaling methodology is discussed. • Control blade insertion in a representative pebble-bed core is experimentally studied. • Control blade insertion forces and pebble displacements are experimentally measured. • X-ray tomography techniques are used to observe pebble displacement distributions. - Abstract: Direct control element insertion into a pebble-bed reactor core is proposed as a viable control system in molten-salt-cooled pebble-bed reactors. Unlike helium-cooled pebble-bed reactors, this reactor type uses spherical fuel elements with near-neutral buoyancy in the molten-salt coolant, thus reducing contact forces on the fuel elements. This study uses the X-ray Pebble Bed Recirculation Experiment facility to measure the force required to insert a control element directly into a scaled pebble-bed. The required control element insertion force, and therefore the contact force on fuel elements, is measured to be well below recommended limits. Additionally, X-ray tomography is used to observe how the direct insertion of a control element physically displaces spherical fuel elements. The tomography results further support the viability of direct control element insertion into molten-salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor cores.

Renewable side reflector structure for a pebble bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, Roger.

1977-01-01

The description is given of a renewable side reflector structure for a pebble bed high temperature reactor of the kind comprising a cylindrical graphite vessel constituting the neutron reflector, this vessel being filled with graphite pebbles containing the nuclear fuel and enclosed in a concrete protective containment. The internal peripheral area of the vessel is constituted by a line of adjacent graphite rods mounted so that they can rotate about their longitudinal axis and manoeuvrable from outside the concrete containment by means of a shaft passing into it [fr

High temperature CO2 capture using calcium oxide sorbent in a fixed-bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dou Binlin; Song Yongchen; Liu Yingguang; Feng Cong

2010-01-01

The gas-solid reaction and breakthrough curve of CO 2 capture using calcium oxide sorbent at high temperature in a fixed-bed reactor are of great importance, and being influenced by a number of factors makes the characterization and prediction of these a difficult problem. In this study, the operating parameters on reaction between solid sorbent and CO 2 gas at high temperature were investigated. The results of the breakthrough curves showed that calcium oxide sorbent in the fixed-bed reactor was capable of reducing the CO 2 level to near zero level with the steam of 10 vol%, and the sorbent in CaO mixed with MgO of 40 wt% had extremely low capacity for CO 2 capture at 550 deg. C. Calcium oxide sorbent after reaction can be easily regenerated at 900 deg. C by pure N 2 flow. The experimental data were analyzed by shrinking core model, and the results showed reaction rates of both fresh and regeneration sorbents with CO 2 were controlled by a combination of the surface chemical reaction and diffusion of product layer.

Experimental study of flow field characteristics on bed configurations in the pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Xinlong; Gui, Nan; Yang, Xingtuan; Tu, Jiyuan; Jia, Haijun; Jiang, Shengyao

2017-01-01

Highlights: • PTV study of flow fields of pebble bed reactor with different configurations are carried out. • Some criteria are proposed to quantify vertical velocity field and flow uniformity. • The effect of different pebble bed configurations is also compared by the proposed criteria. • The displacement thickness is used analogically to analyze flow field characteristics. • The effect of mass flow variation in the stagnated region of the funnel flow is measured. - Abstract: The flow field characteristics are of fundamental importance in the design work of the pebble bed high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR). The different effects of bed configurations on the flow characteristics of pebble bed are studied through the PTV (Particle Tracking Velocimetry) experiment. Some criteria, e.g. flow uniformity (σ) and mass flow level (α), are proposed to estimate vertical velocity field and compare the bed configurations. The distribution of the Δθ (angle difference between the individual particle velocity and the velocity vector sum of all particles) is also used to estimate the resultant motion consistency level. Moreover, for each bed configuration, the thickness of displacement is analyzed to measure the effect of the funnel flow zone based on the boundary layer theory. Detailed information shows the quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects on flow uniformity and other characteristics; and the sequence of levels of each estimation criterion is obtained for all bed configurations. In addition, a good design of the pebble bed configuration is suggested and these estimation criteria can be also applied and adopted in testing other geometry designs of pebble bed.

Development of a trickle bed reactor of electro-Fenton process for wastewater treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei, Yangming; Liu, Hong; Shen, Zhemin; Wang, Wenhua

2013-01-01

Highlights: • An electrochemical trickle bed reactor was composed of C-PTFE-coated graphite chips. • The trickle bed reactor had a high H 2 O 2 production rate in a dilute electrolyte. • An azo dye was effectively decomposed by the electro-Fenton process in the reactor. -- Abstract: To avoid electrolyte leakage and gas bubbles in the electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) reactors using a gas diffusion cathode, we developed a trickle bed cathode by coating a layer composed of carbon black and polytetrafluoroethylene (C-PTFE) onto graphite chips instead of carbon cloth. The trickle bed cathode was optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, in which carbon black, PTFE, and a surfactant were considered as the determinant of the performance of graphite chips. In the reactor assembled by the trickle bed cathode, H 2 O 2 was generated with a current of 0.3 A and a current efficiency of 60%. This performance was attributed to the fine distribution of electrolyte and air, as well as the effective oxygen transfer from the gas phase to the electrolyte–cathode interface. In terms of H 2 O 2 generation and current efficiency, the developed trickle bed reactor had a performance comparable to that of the conventional E-Fenton reactor using a gas diffusion cathode. Further, 123 mg L −1 of reactive brilliant red X-3B in aqueous solution was decomposed in the optimized trickle bed reactor as E-Fenton reactor. The decolorization ratio reached 97% within 20 min, and the mineralization reached 87% within 3 h

Anaerobic treatment of winery wastewater in fixed bed reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganesh, Rangaraj; Rajinikanth, Rajagopal; Thanikal, Joseph V; Ramanujam, Ramamoorty Alwar; Torrijos, Michel

2010-06-01

The treatment of winery wastewater in three upflow anaerobic fixed-bed reactors (S9, S30 and S40) with low density floating supports of varying size and specific surface area was investigated. A maximum OLR of 42 g/l day with 80 +/- 0.5% removal efficiency was attained in S9, which had supports with the highest specific surface area. It was found that the efficiency of the reactors increased with decrease in size and increase in specific surface area of the support media. Total biomass accumulation in the reactors was also found to vary as a function of specific surface area and size of the support medium. The Stover-Kincannon kinetic model predicted satisfactorily the performance of the reactors. The maximum removal rate constant (U(max)) was 161.3, 99.0 and 77.5 g/l day and the saturation value constant (K(B)) was 162.0, 99.5 and 78.0 g/l day for S9, S30 and S40, respectively. Due to their higher biomass retention potential, the supports used in this study offer great promise as media in anaerobic fixed bed reactors. Anaerobic fixed-bed reactors with these supports can be applied as high-rate systems for the treatment of large volumes of wastewaters typically containing readily biodegradable organics, such as the winery wastewater.

Thermofluid-neutronic stability of the rotating, fluidized bed, space-power reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, C.C.; Jones, O.C.; Becker, M.

1993-01-01

A rotating fluidized bed nuclear reactor has the potential of being a vary attractive option for ultra-high power space systems, especially for propulsion. Research has already examined fuel bed expansion due to variations in state variables, propellant flow rate, and rotational speed, and has also considered problems related to thermal stress. This paper describes the results of a coupled thermofluid-neutronic analysis where perturbations in fuel bed height caused by maneuvering changes in operating conditions alter power levels due to varying absorption of neutrons which would otherwise leak from the system, mainly through the nozzle. This first analysis was not a detailed stability analysis. Rather, it utilized simplified neutronic methods, and was intended to provide an order-of-magnitude assessment of the stability of the reactor with the intention to determine whether or not stability might be a 'concept killer'. Stability was compared with a fixed-fuel-bed reactor of identical geometry for three different cases comprising a set of small, medium and large sizes/powers from 250 MW to 5 GW. It was found that power fluctuations in the fluidized bed reactor were larger by 100 db or more than expected in a packed bed reactor of the same geometry, but never resulted in power excursions. Margins to unit gain in some cases, however, were sufficiently small that the approximations in this quasi-2-dimensional model may not be sufficiently accurate to preclude significant excursions. (orig.)

Transmutation of plutonium in pebble bed type high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bende, E.E.

1997-01-01

The pebble bed type High Temperature Reactor (HTR) has been studied as a uranium-free burner of reactor grade plutonium. In a parametric study, the plutonium loading per pebble as well as the type and size of the coated particles (CPs) have been varied to determine the plutonium consumption, the final plutonium burnup, the k ∞ and the temperature coefficients as a function of burnup. The plutonium loading per pebble is bounded between 1 and 3 gr Pu per pebble. The upper limit is imposed by the maximal allowable fast fluence for the CPs. A higher plutonium loading requires a longer irradiation time to reach a desired burnup, so that the CPs are exposed to a higher fast fluence. The lower limit is determined by the temperature coefficients, which become less negative with increasing moderator-actinide ratio. A burnup of about 600 MWd/kgHM can be reached. With the HTR's high efficiency of 40%, a plutonium supply of 1520 kg/GW e a is achieved. The discharges of plutonium and minor actinides are then 450 and 110 kg/GW e a, respectively. (author)

Semi-dry flue gas desulfurization using Ca(OH)2 in a fluidized bed reactor with bed materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Young Oak; Roh, Hak Jae; Oh, Chang Sup; Kim, Yong Ha

2010-01-01

The main objective of present work is to reduce sulfur dioxide emission from power plant for the environment protection. The fluidized bed (FB) was used as the reactor with bed materials in a new semi-dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) process to achieve high desulfurization efficiency (>98%). Fine powder of Ca(OH) 2 as sorbent and water were continuously fed separately to the bed reactor where bed materials (2 mm glass beads) were fluidized vigorously with flue gas (flow 720 Nm 3 / hr) using bench scale plant of stainless steel column. We have investigated different effects of water injection flow rate, Ca/ S molar ratio and weight of bed materials on SO 2 removal. The increments in the Ca/ S molar ratio and water injection flow rate have been resulted higher desulfurization efficiency with certain disadvantages such as higher sorbent cost and lower temperature of the treated flue gas, respectively. (author)

Modeling and Application of Pneumatic Conveying for Spherical Fuel Element in Pebble-Bed Modular High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Shuyong; Wang Junsan; Wang Yuding; Cai Ruizhong; Zhang Xuan; Cao Jianting

2014-01-01

The fuel handling system is an important system for on-load refueling in pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. A dynamic model of pneumatic conveying for spherical fuel element in fuel handling system was established to describe the pneumatically conveying process. The motion characteristics of fuel elements in pipeline and the effect of fuel elements on gas velocity were studied using the model. The results show that the theoretical analyses are consistent with the experimental. The research has been used in developing full scope simulator for pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, also provides references for the design and optimization of the fuel handling system. (author)

Development of a trickle bed reactor of electro-Fenton process for wastewater treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lei, Yangming [Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 401122 (China); School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Liu, Hong, E-mail: liuhong@cigit.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 401122 (China); Shen, Zhemin, E-mail: zmshen@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Wang, Wenhua [School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2013-10-15

Highlights: • An electrochemical trickle bed reactor was composed of C-PTFE-coated graphite chips. • The trickle bed reactor had a high H{sub 2}O{sub 2} production rate in a dilute electrolyte. • An azo dye was effectively decomposed by the electro-Fenton process in the reactor. -- Abstract: To avoid electrolyte leakage and gas bubbles in the electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) reactors using a gas diffusion cathode, we developed a trickle bed cathode by coating a layer composed of carbon black and polytetrafluoroethylene (C-PTFE) onto graphite chips instead of carbon cloth. The trickle bed cathode was optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, in which carbon black, PTFE, and a surfactant were considered as the determinant of the performance of graphite chips. In the reactor assembled by the trickle bed cathode, H{sub 2}O{sub 2} was generated with a current of 0.3 A and a current efficiency of 60%. This performance was attributed to the fine distribution of electrolyte and air, as well as the effective oxygen transfer from the gas phase to the electrolyte–cathode interface. In terms of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} generation and current efficiency, the developed trickle bed reactor had a performance comparable to that of the conventional E-Fenton reactor using a gas diffusion cathode. Further, 123 mg L{sup −1} of reactive brilliant red X-3B in aqueous solution was decomposed in the optimized trickle bed reactor as E-Fenton reactor. The decolorization ratio reached 97% within 20 min, and the mineralization reached 87% within 3 h.

MIT pebble bed reactor project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kadak, Andrew C. [Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge (United States)

2007-03-15

The conceptual design of the MIT modular pebble bed reactor is described. This reactor plant is a 250 Mwth, 120 Mwe indirect cycle plant that is designed to be deployed in the near term using demonstrated helium system components. The primary system is a conventional pebble bed reactor with a dynamic central column with an outlet temperature of 900 C providing helium to an intermediate helium to helium heat exchanger (IHX). The outlet of the IHX is input to a three shaft horizontal Brayton Cycle power conversion system. The design constraint used in sizing the plant is based on a factory modularity principle which allows the plant to be assembled 'Lego' style instead of constructed piece by piece. This principle employs space frames which contain the power conversion system that permits the Lego-like modules to be shipped by truck or train to sites. This paper also describes the research that has been conducted at MIT since 1998 on fuel modeling, silver leakage from coated fuel particles, dynamic simulation, MCNP reactor physics modeling and air ingress analysis.

MIT pebble bed reactor project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadak, Andrew C.

2007-01-01

The conceptual design of the MIT modular pebble bed reactor is described. This reactor plant is a 250 Mwth, 120 Mwe indirect cycle plant that is designed to be deployed in the near term using demonstrated helium system components. The primary system is a conventional pebble bed reactor with a dynamic central column with an outlet temperature of 900 C providing helium to an intermediate helium to helium heat exchanger (IHX). The outlet of the IHX is input to a three shaft horizontal Brayton Cycle power conversion system. The design constraint used in sizing the plant is based on a factory modularity principle which allows the plant to be assembled 'Lego' style instead of constructed piece by piece. This principle employs space frames which contain the power conversion system that permits the Lego-like modules to be shipped by truck or train to sites. This paper also describes the research that has been conducted at MIT since 1998 on fuel modeling, silver leakage from coated fuel particles, dynamic simulation, MCNP reactor physics modeling and air ingress analysis

The ESKOM pebble bed modular reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gittus, J.H.

1999-01-01

An audit has been made of the design, construction, safety, economics and marketability of the ESKOM pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR). In this paper that audit is briefly summarized. The principal conclusions of the audit are as follows. The design is sound. It is a logical development of the designs proposed for other, modern, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. More than 80% of the cost of constructing and commissioning a series of PBMRs would be spent in South Africa. The PBMR is much safer than existing nuclear power reactors and for many practical purposes it may be treated as a conventional chemical plant. The PBMR is economically competitive with thermal power stations. There is a substantial global market for the PBMR. (author)

Computational fluid dynamic modeling of fluidized-bed polymerization reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rokkam, Ram [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2012-01-01

Polyethylene is one of the most widely used plastics, and over 60 million tons are produced worldwide every year. Polyethylene is obtained by the catalytic polymerization of ethylene in gas and liquid phase reactors. The gas phase processes are more advantageous, and use fluidized-bed reactors for production of polyethylene. Since they operate so close to the melting point of the polymer, agglomeration is an operational concern in all slurry and gas polymerization processes. Electrostatics and hot spot formation are the main factors that contribute to agglomeration in gas-phase processes. Electrostatic charges in gas phase polymerization fluidized bed reactors are known to influence the bed hydrodynamics, particle elutriation, bubble size, bubble shape etc. Accumulation of electrostatic charges in the fluidized-bed can lead to operational issues. In this work a first-principles electrostatic model is developed and coupled with a multi-fluid computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to understand the effect of electrostatics on the dynamics of a fluidized-bed. The multi-fluid CFD model for gas-particle flow is based on the kinetic theory of granular flows closures. The electrostatic model is developed based on a fixed, size-dependent charge for each type of particle (catalyst, polymer, polymer fines) phase. The combined CFD model is first verified using simple test cases, validated with experiments and applied to a pilot-scale polymerization fluidized-bed reactor. The CFD model reproduced qualitative trends in particle segregation and entrainment due to electrostatic charges observed in experiments. For the scale up of fluidized bed reactor, filtered models are developed and implemented on pilot scale reactor.

Automated Design and Optimization of Pebble-bed Reactor Cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gougar, Hans D.; Ougouag, Abderrafi M.; Terry, William K.

2010-01-01

We present a conceptual design approach for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors using recirculating pebble-bed cores. The design approach employs PEBBED, a reactor physics code specifically designed to solve for and analyze the asymptotic burnup state of pebble-bed reactors, in conjunction with a genetic algorithm to obtain a core that maximizes a fitness value that is a function of user-specified parameters. The uniqueness of the asymptotic core state and the small number of independent parameters that define it suggest that core geometry and fuel cycle can be efficiently optimized toward a specified objective. PEBBED exploits a novel representation of the distribution of pebbles that enables efficient coupling of the burnup and neutron diffusion solvers. With this method, even complex pebble recirculation schemes can be expressed in terms of a few parameters that are amenable to modern optimization techniques. With PEBBED, the user chooses the type and range of core physics parameters that represent the design space. A set of traits, each with acceptable and preferred values expressed by a simple fitness function, is used to evaluate the candidate reactor cores. The stochastic search algorithm automatically drives the generation of core parameters toward the optimal core as defined by the user. The optimized design can then be modeled and analyzed in greater detail using higher resolution and more computationally demanding tools to confirm the desired characteristics. For this study, the design of pebble-bed high temperature reactor concepts subjected to demanding physical constraints demonstrated the efficacy of the PEBBED algorithm.

Continuous biological waste gas treatment in stirred trickle-bed reactor with discontinuous removal of biomass.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurenzis, A; Heits, H; Wübker, S; Heinze, U; Friedrich, C; Werner, U

1998-02-20

A new reactor for biological waste gas treatment was developed to eliminate continuous solvents from waste gases. A trickle-bed reactor was chosen with discontinuous movement of the packed bed and intermittent percolation. The reactor was operated with toluene as the solvent and an optimum average biomass concentration of between 5 and 30 kg dry cell weight per cubic meter packed bed (m3pb). This biomass concentration resulted in a high volumetric degradation rate. Reduction of surplus biomass by stirring and trickling caused a prolonged service life and prevented clogging of the trickle bed and a pressure drop increase. The pressure drop after biomass reduction was almost identical to the theoretical pressure drop as calculated for the irregular packed bed without biomass. The reduction in biomass and intermittent percolation of mineral medium resulted in high volumetric degradation rates of about 100 g of toluene m-3pb h-1 at a load of 150 g of toluene m-3pb h-1. Such a removal rate with a trickle-bed reactor was not reported before. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comparative study between fluidized bed and fixed bed reactors in methane reforming with CO2 and O2 to produce syngas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing Qiangshan; Lou Hui; Mo Liuye; Zheng Xiaoming

2006-01-01

Reforming of methane with carbon dioxide and oxygen was investigated over Ni/MgO-SiO 2 catalysts using fixed bed and fluidized bed reactors. The conversions of CH 4 and CO 2 in a fluidized bed reactor were close to thermodynamic equilibrium. The activity and stability of the catalyst in the fixed bed reactor were lower than that in the fluidized bed reactor due to carbon deposition and nickel sintering. TGA and TEM techniques were used to characterize the spent catalysts. The results showed that a lot of whisker carbon was found on the catalyst in the rear of the fixed bed reactor, and no deposited carbon was observed on the catalysts in the fluidized bed reactor after reaction. It is suggested that this phenomenon is related to a permanent circulation of catalyst particles between the oxygen rich and oxygen free zones. That is, fluidization of the catalysts in the fluidized bed reactor favors inhibiting deposited carbon and thermal uniformity in the reactor

Porous structure analysis of large-scale randomly packed pebble bed in high temperature gas-cooled reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Cheng; Yang, Xingtuan; Liu, Zhiyong; Sun, Yanfei; Jiang, Shengyao [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety; Li, Congxin [Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing (China). Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center

2015-02-15

A three-dimensional pebble bed corresponding to the randomly packed bed in the heat transfer test facility built for the High Temperature Reactor Pebble bed Modules (HTR-PM) in Shandong Shidaowan is simulated via discrete element method. Based on the simulation, we make a detailed analysis on the packing structure of the pebble bed from several aspects, such as transverse section image, longitudinal section image, radial and axial porosity distributions, two-dimensional porosity distribution and coordination number distribution. The calculation results show that radial distribution of porosity is uniform in the center and oscillates near the wall; axial distribution of porosity oscillates near the bottom and linearly varies along height due to effect of gravity; the average coordination number is about seven and equals to the maximum coordination number frequency. The fully established three-dimensional packing structure analysis of the pebble bed in this work is of fundamental significance to understand the flow and heat transfer characteristics throughout the pebble-bed type structure.

Computational and experimental prediction of dust production in pebble bed reactors, Part II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mie Hiruta; Gannon Johnson; Maziar Rostamian; Gabriel P. Potirniche; Abderrafi M. Ougouag; Massimo Bertino; Louis Franzel; Akira Tokuhiro

2013-10-01

This paper is the continuation of Part I, which describes the high temperature and high pressure helium environment wear tests of graphite–graphite in frictional contact. In the present work, it has been attempted to simulate a Pebble Bed Reactor core environment as compared to Part I. The experimental apparatus, which is a custom-designed tribometer, is capable of performing wear tests at PBR relevant higher temperatures and pressures under a helium environment. This environment facilitates prediction of wear mass loss of graphite as dust particulates from the pebble bed. The experimental results of high temperature helium environment are used to anticipate the amount of wear mass produced in a pebble bed nuclear reactor.

Particle bed reactor modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Sapyta, Joe; Reid, Hank; Walton, Lew

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: particle bed reactor (PBR) core cross section; PBR bleed cycle; fuel and moderator flow paths; PBR modeling requirements; characteristics of PBR and nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) modeling; challenges for PBR and NTP modeling; thermal hydraulic computer codes; capabilities for PBR/reactor application; thermal/hydralic codes; limitations; physical correlations; comparison of predicted friction factor and experimental data; frit pressure drop testing; cold frit mask factor; decay heat flow rate; startup transient simulation; and philosophy of systems modeling.

Fungi solubilisation of low rank coal: performances of stirred tank, fluidised bed and packed bed reactors

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Oboirien, BO

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Coal biosolubilisation was investigated in stirred tank reactor, fluidised bed and fixed bed bioreactors with a view to highlight the advantages and shortcomings of each of these reactor configurations. The stirred aerated bioreactor and fluidised...

The importance of the AVR pebble-bed reactor for the future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pohl, P.

2006-01-01

The AVR pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) at Juelich (Germany)) operated from 1967 to 1988 and was certainly the most important HTGR project of the past. The reactor was the mass test bed for all development steps of HTGR pebble fuel. Some early fuel charges failed under high temperature conditions and contaminated the reactor. An accurate pebble measurement (Cs 137) allowed to clean the core from unwanted pebbles after 1981. The coolant activity went down and remained very low for the remaining reactor operation. A melt-wire experiment in 1986 revealed max. coolant temperatures of >1280 deg. C and fuel temperatures of >1350 deg. C, explained by under-estimated bypasses. The fuel still in the core achieved high burn-ups and showed under the extreme temperature conditions excellent fission product retention. Thus, the AVR operation qualified the HTGR fuel, and an average discharge burn-up of 112% fifa revealed an excellent fuel economy of the pebble-bed reactor. Furthermore, the AVR operation offers many meaningful data for code-to-experiment comparisons. (authors)

Mathematical modelling of fluidized bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werther, J [BASF A.G., Ludwigshafen am Rhein (Germany, F.R.)

1978-11-01

Among the many fluidized bed models to be found in the literature, the two-phase model originally proposed by May has proved most suitable for accomodation of recent advances in flow mechanics: this model resolves the gas/solids fluidized bed into a bubble phase and a suspension phase surrounding the bubbles. Its limitation to slow reactions is a disadvantage. On the basis of the analogy between fluidized beds and gas/liquid systems, a general two-phase model that is valid for fast reactions has therefore been developed and its validity is confirmed by comparison with the experimental results obtained by others. The model describes mass transfer across the phase interface with the aid of the film theory known from gas/liquid reactor technology, and the reaction occurring in the suspension phase as a pseudo-homogeneous reaction. Since the dependence of the performance of fluidized bed reactors upon geometry is accounted for, the model can also be used for scale-up calculations. Its use is illustrated with the aid of design diagrams.

Neutron Fluence And DPA Rate Analysis In Pebble-Bed HTR Reactor Vessel Using MCNP

Science.gov (United States)

Hamzah, Amir; Suwoto; Rohanda, Anis; Adrial, Hery; Bakhri, Syaiful; Sunaryo, Geni Rina

2018-02-01

In the Pebble-bed HTR reactor, the distance between the core and the reactor vessel is very close and the media inside are carbon and He gas. Neutron moderation capability of graphite material is theoretically lower than that of water-moderated reactors. Thus, it is estimated much more the fast neutrons will reach the reactor vessel. The fast neutron collisions with the atoms in the reactor vessel will result in radiation damage and could be reducing the vessel life. The purpose of this study was to obtain the magnitude of neutron fluence in the Pebble-bed HTR reactor vessel. Neutron fluence calculations in the pebble-bed HTR reactor vessel were performed using the MCNP computer program. By determining the tally position, it can be calculated flux, spectrum and neutron fluence in the position of Pebble-bed HTR reactor vessel. The calculations results of total neutron flux and fast neutron flux in the reactor vessel of 1.82x108 n/cm2/s and 1.79x108 n/cm2/s respectively. The fast neutron fluence in the reactor vessel is 3.4x1017 n/cm2 for 60 years reactor operation. Radiation damage in stainless steel material caused by high-energy neutrons (> 1.0 MeV) will occur when it has reached the neutron flux level of 1.0x1024 n/cm2. The neutron fluence results show that there is no radiation damage in the Pebble-bed HTR reactor vessel, so it is predicted that it will be safe to operate at least for 60 years.

Thermal-hydraulic analysis techniques for axisymmetric pebble bed nuclear reactor cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroh, K.R.

1979-03-01

The pebble bed reactor's cylindrical core volume contains a random bed of small, spherical fuel-moderator elements. These graphite spheres, containing a central region of dispersed coated-particle fissile and fertile material, are cooled by high pressure helium flowing through the connected interstitial voids. A mathematical model and numerical solution technique have been developed which allow calculation of macroscopic values of thermal-hydraulic variables in an axisymmetric pebble bed nuclear reactor core. The computer program PEBBLE is based on a mathematical model which treats the bed macroscopically as a generating, conducting porous medium. The steady-state model uses a nonlinear Forchheimer-type relation between the coolant pressure gradient and mass flux, with newly derived coefficients for the linear and quadratic resistance terms. The remaining equations in the model make use of mass continuity, and thermal energy balances for the solid and fluid phases

[Rapid startup and nitrogen removal characteristic of anaerobic ammonium oxidation reactor in packed bed biofilm reactor with suspended carrier].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng; Sun, De-zhi; Yu, Guang-lu

2010-03-01

Packed bed biofilm reactor with suspended carrier was used to cultivate ANAMMOX bacteria with sludge inoculums from WWTP secondary settler. The startup of ANAMMOX reactor was comparatively studied using high nitrogen loading method and low nitrogen loading method with aerobically biofilmed on the carrier, and the nitrogen removal characteristic was further investigated. The results showed that the reactor could be started up successfully within 90 days using low nitrogen loading method, the removal efficiencies of ammonium and nitrite were nearly 100% and the TN removal efficiencywas over 75% , however, the high nitrogen loading method was proved unsuccessfully for startup of ANAMMOX reactor probably because of the inhibition effect of high concentration of ammonium and nitrite. The pH value of effluent was slightly higher than the influent and the pH value can be used as an indicator for the process of ANAMMOX reaction. The packed bed ANAMMOX reactor with suspended carrier showed good characteristics of high nitrogen loading and high removal efficiency, 100% of removal efficiency could be achieved when the influent ammonium and nitrite concentration was lower than 800 mg/L.

Advanced Core Design And Fuel Management For Pebble-Bed Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hans D. Gougar; Abderrafi M. Ougouag; William K. Terry

2004-10-01

A method for designing and optimizing recirculating pebble-bed reactor cores is presented. At the heart of the method is a new reactor physics computer code, PEBBED, which accurately and efficiently computes the neutronic and material properties of the asymptotic (equilibrium) fuel cycle. This core state is shown to be unique for a given core geometry, power level, discharge burnup, and fuel circulation policy. Fuel circulation in the pebble-bed can be described in terms of a few well?defined parameters and expressed as a recirculation matrix. The implementation of a few heat?transfer relations suitable for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors allows for the rapid estimation of thermal properties critical for safe operation. Thus, modeling and design optimization of a given pebble-bed core can be performed quickly and efficiently via the manipulation of a limited number key parameters. Automation of the optimization process is achieved by manipulation of these parameters using a genetic algorithm. The end result is an economical, passively safe, proliferation-resistant nuclear power plant.

Comparison of Several Thermal Conductivity Constants for Thermal Hydraulic Calculation of Pebble Bed Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Irwanto, Dwi; Setiadipura, Topan; Pramutadi, Asril

2017-07-01

There are two type of High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR), prismatic and pebble bed. Pebble Bed type has unique configuration because the fuels are randomly distributed inside the reactor core. In term of safety features, Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) is one of the most promising reactor type in avoiding severe nuclear accidents. In order to analyze heat transfer and safety of this reactor type, a computer code is now under development. As a first step, calculation method proposed by Stroh [1] is adopted. An approach has been made to treat randomly distributed pebble balls contains fissile material inside the reactor core as a porous medium. Helium gas act as coolant on the reactor system are carrying heat flowing in the area between the pebble balls. Several parameters and constants are taken into account in the new developed code. Progress of the development of the code especially comparison of several thermal conductivity constants for a certain PBR-case are reported in the present study.

Core homogenization method for pebble bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulik, V.; Sanchez, R.

2005-01-01

This work presents a core homogenization scheme for treating a stochastic pebble bed loading in pebble bed reactors. The reactor core is decomposed into macro-domains that contain several pebble types characterized by different degrees of burnup. A stochastic description is introduced to account for pebble-to-pebble and pebble-to-helium interactions within a macro-domain as well as for interactions between macro-domains. Performance of the proposed method is tested for the PROTEUS and ASTRA critical reactor facilities. Numerical simulations accomplished with the APOLLO2 transport lattice code show good agreement with the experimental data for the PROTEUS reactor facility and with the TRIPOLI4 Monte Carlo simulations for the ASTRA reactor configuration. The difference between the proposed method and the traditional volume-averaged homogenization technique is negligible while only one type of fuel pebbles present in the system, but it grows rapidly with the level of pebble heterogeneity. (authors)

A CFD Study on Inlet Plenum Flow Field of Pebble Bed Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Min Hwan; Lee, Won Jae; Chang, Jong Hwa

2005-01-01

High temperature gas cooled reactor, largely divided into two types of PBR (Pebble Bed Reactor) and PMR (Prismatic Modular Reactor), has becomes great interest of researchers in connection with the hydrogen production. KAERI has started a project to develop the gas cooled reactor for the hydrogen production and has been doing in-depth study for selecting the reactor type between PBR and PMR. As a part of the study, PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) was selected as a reference PBR reactor for the CFD analysis and the flow field of its inlet plenum was simulated with computational fluid dynamics program CFX5. Due to asymmetrical arrangement of pipes to the inlet plenum, non-uniform flow distribution has been expected to occur, giving rise to non-uniform power distribution at the core. Flow fields of different arrangement of inlet pipes were also investigated, as one of measures to reduce the non-uniformity

Pebble Bed Reactor Dust Production Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abderrafi M. Ougouag; Joshua J. Cogliati

2008-09-01

The operation of pebble bed reactors, including fuel circulation, can generate graphite dust, which in turn could be a concern for internal components; and to the near field in the remote event of a break in the coolant circuits. The design of the reactor system must, therefore, take the dust into account and the operation must include contingencies for dust removal and for mitigation of potential releases. Such planning requires a proper assessment of the dust inventory. This paper presents a predictive model of dust generation in an operating pebble bed with recirculating fuel. In this preliminary work the production model is based on the use of the assumption of proportionality between the dust production and the normal force and distance traveled. The model developed in this work uses the slip distances and the inter-pebble forces computed by the authors’ PEBBLES. The code, based on the discrete element method, simulates the relevant static and kinetic friction interactions between the pebbles as well as the recirculation of the pebbles through the reactor vessel. The interaction between pebbles and walls of the reactor vat is treated using the same approach. The amount of dust produced is proportional to the wear coefficient for adhesive wear (taken from literature) and to the slip volume, the product of the contact area and the slip distance. The paper will compare the predicted volume with the measured production rates. The simulation tallies the dust production based on the location of creation. Two peak production zones from intra pebble forces are predicted within the bed. The first zone is located near the pebble inlet chute due to the speed of the dropping pebbles. The second peak zone occurs lower in the reactor with increased pebble contact force due to the weight of supported pebbles. This paper presents the first use of a Discrete Element Method simulation of pebble bed dust production.

Pebble Bed Reactor Dust Production Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abderrafi M. Ougouag; Joshua J. Cogliati

2008-01-01

The operation of pebble bed reactors, including fuel circulation, can generate graphite dust, which in turn could be a concern for internal components; and to the near field in the remote event of a break in the coolant circuits. The design of the reactor system must, therefore, take the dust into account and the operation must include contingencies for dust removal and for mitigation of potential releases. Such planning requires a proper assessment of the dust inventory. This paper presents a predictive model of dust generation in an operating pebble bed with recirculating fuel. In this preliminary work the production model is based on the use of the assumption of proportionality between the dust production and the normal force and distance traveled. The model developed in this work uses the slip distances and the inter-pebble forces computed by the authors PEBBLES. The code, based on the discrete element method, simulates the relevant static and kinetic friction interactions between the pebbles as well as the recirculation of the pebbles through the reactor vessel. The interaction between pebbles and walls of the reactor vat is treated using the same approach. The amount of dust produced is proportional to the wear coefficient for adhesive wear (taken from literature) and to the slip volume, the product of the contact area and the slip distance. The paper will compare the predicted volume with the measured production rates. The simulation tallies the dust production based on the location of creation. Two peak production zones from intra pebble forces are predicted within the bed. The first zone is located near the pebble inlet chute due to the speed of the dropping pebbles. The second peak zone occurs lower in the reactor with increased pebble contact force due to the weight of supported pebbles. This paper presents the first use of a Discrete Element Method simulation of pebble bed dust production

Effect of bed configuration on pebble flow uniformity and stagnation in the pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gui, Nan; Yang, Xingtuan; Tu, Jiyuan; Jiang, Shengyao

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Pebble flow uniformity and stagnation characteristics are very important for HTR-PM. • Arc- and brachistochrone-shaped configuration effects are studied by DEM simulation. • Best bed configurations with uniform flow and no stagnated pebbles are suggested. • Detailed quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects are shown for explanation. - Abstract: Pebble flow uniformity and stagnation characteristics are very important for the design of pebble bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor. Pebble flows inside some specifically designed contraction configurations of pebble bed are studied by discrete element method. The results show the characteristics of stagnation rates, recycling rates, radial distribution of pebble velocity and residence time. It is demonstrated clearly that the bed with a brachistochrone-shaped configuration achieves optimum levels of flow uniformity and recycling rate concentration, and almost no pebbles are stagnated in the bed. Moreover, the optimum choice among the arc-shaped bed configurations is demonstrated too. Detailed information shows the quantified characteristics of bed configuration effects on flow uniformity. In addition, a good design of the pebble bed configuration is suggested

Pebble Bed Reactor: core physics and fuel cycle analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vondy, D.R.; Worley, B.A.

1979-10-01

The Pebble Bed Reactor is a gas-cooled, graphite-moderated high-temperature reactor that is continuously fueled with small spherical fuel elements. The projected performance was studied over a broad range of reactor applicability. Calculations were done for a burner on a throwaway cycle, a converter with recycle, a prebreeder and breeder. The thorium fuel cycle was considered using low, medium (denatured), and highly enriched uranium. The base calculations were carried out for electrical energy generation in a 1200 MW/sub e/ plant. A steady-state, continuous-fueling model was developed and one- and two-dimensional calculations were used to characterize performance. Treating a single point in time effects considerable savings in computer time as opposed to following a long reactor history, permitting evaluation of reactor performance over a broad range of design parameters and operating modes.

Thermal-hydraulic modeling of porous bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araj, K.J.; Nourbakhsh, H.P.

1987-01-01

Optimum design of nuclear reactor core requires an iterative approach between the thermal-hydraulic, neutronic and operational analysis. This paper concentrates on the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a hydrogen cooled, small particle bed reactor (PBR). The PBR core, modeled here, consists of a hexagonal array of fuel elements embedded in a moderator matrix. The fuel elements are annular packed beds of fuel particles held between two porous cylindrical frits. These particles, 500 to 600 μm in diameter, have a uranium carbide core, which is coated by two layers of graphite and an outer coating of zirconium carbide. Coolant flow, radially inward, from the cold frit through the packed bed and hot frit and axially out the channel, formed by the hot frit, to a common plenum. 5 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

Neutronic design of a Liquid Salt-cooled Pebble Bed Reactor (LSPBR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Zwaan, S. J.; Boer, B.; Lathouwers, D.; Kloosterman, J. L.

2006-01-01

A renewed interest has been raised for liquid salt cooled nuclear reactors. The excellent heat transfer properties of liquid salt coolants provide several benefits, like lower fuel temperatures, higher coolant outlet temperatures, increased core power density and better decay heat removal. In order to benefit from the online refueling capability of a pebble bed reactor, the Liquid Salt Pebble Bed Reactor (LSPBR) is proposed. This is a high temperature pebble-bed reactor with a fuel design similar to existing HTRs, but using a liquid salt as a coolant. In this paper, the selection criteria for the liquid salt coolant are described. Based on its neutronic properties, LiF-BeF 2 (FLIBE) was selected for the LSPBR. Two designs of the LSPBR were considered: a cylindrical core and an annular core with a graphite inner reflector. Coupled neutronic-thermal hydraulic calculations were performed to obtain the steady state power distribution and the corresponding fuel temperatures. Finally, calculations were performed to investigate the decay heat removal capability in a protected loss-of-forced cooling accident. The maximum allowable power that can be produced with the LSPBR is hereby determined. (authors)

CFD-DEM simulation of a conceptual gas-cooled fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almeida, Lucilla C.; Su, Jian

2015-01-01

Several conceptual designs of the fluidized-bed nuclear reactor have been proposed due to its many advantages over conventional nuclear reactors such as PWRs and BWRs. Amongst their characteristics, the enhanced heat transfer and mixing enables a more uniform temperature distribution, reducing the risk of hot-spot and excessive fuel temperature, in addition to resulting in a higher burnup of the fuel. Furthermore, the relationship between the bed height and reactor neutronics turns the coolant flow rate control into a power production mechanism. Moreover, the possibility of removing the fuel by gravity from the movable core in case of a loss-of-cooling accident increases its safety. High-accuracy modeling of particles and coolant flow in fluidized bed reactors is needed to evaluate reliably the thermal-hydraulic efficiency and safety margin. The two-way coupling between solid and fluid can account for high-fidelity solid-solid interaction and reasonable accuracy in fluid calculation and fluid-solid interaction. In the CFD-DEM model, the particles are modeled as a discrete phase, following the DEM approach, whereas the fluid flow is treated as a continuous phase, described by the averaged Navier-Stokes equations on a computational cell scale. In this work, the coupling methodology between Fluent and Rocky is described. The numerical approach was applied to the simulation of a bubbling fluidized bed and the results were compared to experimental data and showed good agreement. (author)

A Numerical Model for Trickle Bed Reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Propp, Richard M.; Colella, Phillip; Crutchfield, William Y.; Day, Marcus S.

2000-12-01

Trickle bed reactors are governed by equations of flow in porous media such as Darcy's law and the conservation of mass. Our numerical method for solving these equations is based on a total-velocity splitting, sequential formulation which leads to an implicit pressure equation and a semi-implicit mass conservation equation. We use high-resolution finite-difference methods to discretize these equations. Our solution scheme extends previous work in modeling porous media flows in two ways. First, we incorporate physical effects due to capillary pressure, a nonlinear inlet boundary condition, spatial porosity variations, and inertial effects on phase mobilities. In particular, capillary forces introduce a parabolic component into the recast evolution equation, and the inertial effects give rise to hyperbolic nonconvexity. Second, we introduce a modification of the slope-limiting algorithm to prevent our numerical method from producing spurious shocks. We present a numerical algorithm for accommodating these difficulties, show the algorithm is second-order accurate, and demonstrate its performance on a number of simplified problems relevant to trickle bed reactor modeling.

Measurement of flow field in the pebble bed type high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sa Ya; Lee, Jae Young

2008-01-01

In this study, flow field measurement of the Pebble Bed Reactor(PBR) for the High Temperature Gascooled Reactor(HTGR) was performed. Large number of pebbles in the core of PBR provides complicated flow channel. Due to the complicated geometries, numerical analysis has been intensively made rather than experimental observation. However, the justification of computational simulation by the experimental study is crucial to develop solid analysis of design method. In the present study, a wind tunnel installed with pebbles stacked was constructed and equipped with the Particle Image Velocimetry(PIV). We designed the system scaled up to realize the room temperature condition according to the similarity. The PIV observation gave us stagnation points, low speed region so that the suspected high temperature region can be identified. With the further supplementary experimental works, the present system may produce valuable data to justify the Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulation method

Analytical calculation of the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient for pebble bed and prismatic high temperature reactors for plutonium and uranium-thorium fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talamo, Alberto

2007-01-01

We analytically evaluated the fuel coefficient of temperature both for pebble bed and prismatic high temperature reactors when they utilize as fuel plutonium and minor actinides from light water reactors spent fuel or a mixture of 50% uranium, enriched 20% in 235 U, and 50% thorium. In both cores the calculation involves the evaluation of the resonances integrals of the high absorbers fuel nuclides 240 Pu, 238 U and 232 Th and it requires the esteem of the Dancoff-Ginsburg factor for a pebble bed or prismatic core. The Dancoff-Ginsburg factor represents the only discriminating parameter in the results for the two different reactors types; in fact, both the pebble bed and the prismatic reactors share the same the pseudo-cross-section describing an infinite medium made of graphite filled by TRISO particles. We considered only the resolved resonances with a statistical spin factor equal to one and we took into account 267, 72, 212 resonances in the range 1.057-5692, 6.674-14485, 21.78-3472 eV for 240 Pu, 238 U and 232 Th, respectively, for investigating the influence on the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient of the variation of the TRISO kernel radius and TRISO particles packing fraction from 100, 200 to 300 μm and from 10% to 50%, respectively. Finally, in the pebble bed core, we varied the radius of the pebble for setting a fuel temperature reactivity coefficient similar to the one of a prismatic core

Radioisotope tracer study in a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pant, H.J.; Pendharkar, A.S. [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Isotope Applications Div, Bombay (India); Prasad, J.S.; Maiti, R.N.; Chawla, R.; Lahri, R.N.; Ram Babu, D. [Engineers India Limited, Gurgaon, Haryana (India); Berne, Ph. [CEA Grenoble, DTEN/SAT, 38 (France)

2001-07-01

Trickle bed reactor (TBR) is a reactor in which a liquid and a gas phase flow concurrently downwards through a fixed bed of catalyst particles while the reaction takes place. The trickle bed reactors find a number of applications in petroleum refining, chemical. petro-chemical and bio-chemical processes due to their suitability for hydro-processing operations.The knowledge of radial distribution, mean residence time (MRT). liquid holdup and degree of axial mixing is a basic requirement to evaluate the reactor performance of a TBR, its optimal size, the physical and chemical interactions and the pumping requirements. Measurement and analysis of residence time distribution (RTD) of liquid phase facilitate the determination of these parameters. This paper describes the measurement of RTD of liquid phase in a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor operating at high pressure. Kerosene and nitrogen were used as liquid and gas phase, respectively. Porous alumina catalyst particles were used as packing. Bromine-82 as para-di-bromo benzene was used as a tracer to measure RTD of organic liquid phase. The RTD of kerosene was measured as a function of liquid and gas flow rates and pressure. The axial dispersion model with exchange between active and dead zones was proposed and used to simulate the measured RTD data and model parameters i.e mean residence time ({tau}), Peclet Number (Pe), dynamic fraction of the liquid ({phi}) and the number of transfer units (N) were obtained. The results of the simulations indicated intermediate degree of axial mixing of liquid phase. The RTD predicted by the axial dispersion model with exchange between active and dead zones fits well to the experimentally measured RTD data and thus is a suitable model to describe the dynamics of the liquid phase in TBRs filled with porous catalyst particles. (authors)

Random detailed model for probabilistic neutronic calculation in pebble bed Very High Temperature Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez Curbelo, J.; Rosales, J.; Garcia, L.; Garcia, C.; Brayner, C.

2013-01-01

The pebble bed nuclear reactor is one of the main candidates for the next generation of nuclear power plants. In pebble bed type HTRs, the fuel is contained within graphite pebbles in the form of TRISO particles, which form a randomly packed bed inside a graphite-walled cylindrical cavity. Pebble bed reactors (PBR) offer the opportunity to meet the sustainability requirements, such as nuclear safety, economic competitiveness, proliferation resistance and a minimal production of radioactive waste. In order to simulate PBRs correctly, the double heterogeneity of the system must be considered. It consists on randomly located pebbles into the core and TRISO particles into the fuel pebbles. These features are often neglected due to the difficulty to model with MCPN code. The main reason is that there is a limited number of cells and surfaces to be defined. In this study, a computational tool which allows getting a new geometrical model of fuel pebbles for neutronic calculations with MCNPX code, was developed. The heterogeneity of system is considered, and also the randomly located TRISO particles inside the pebble. Four proposed fuel pebble models were compared regarding their effective multiplication factor and energy liberation profiles. Such models are: Homogeneous Pebble, Five Zone Homogeneous Pebble, Detailed Geometry, and Randomly Detailed Geometry. (Author)

Hydrolysis of cellulose in a cellulase-bead fluidized bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karube, I; Tanaka, S; Shirai, T; Suzuki, S

1977-08-01

Cellulase was immobilized in a collagen fibril matrix, and no leakage of cellulase from the collagen fibril matrix was observed. The immobilized cellulase was more stable than the native cellulase. The substrate cellulose was hydrolyzed quantitatively with immobilized cellulase. The final reaction product was identified as glucose. Immobilized cellulase was used in a fluidized bed reactor where the pressure drop of the fluidized bed reactor was low and constant. Cellulose was hydrolyzed to glucose by the cellulase-bead fluidized bed reactor. The minimum flow velocity (U/sub mf/) was 0.5 cm/sec and the optimum flow velocity of the cellulose hydrolysis was 1 cm/sec.

Lagrangian Approach to Study Catalytic Fluidized Bed Reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Madi, Hossein; Hossein Madi Team; Marcelo Kaufman Rechulski Collaboration; Christian Ludwig Collaboration; Tilman Schildhauer Collaboration

2013-03-01

Lagrangian approach of fluidized bed reactors is a method, which simulates the movement of catalyst particles (caused by the fluidization) by changing the gas composition around them. Application of such an investigation is in the analysis of the state of catalysts and surface reactions under quasi-operando conditions. The hydrodynamics of catalyst particles within a fluidized bed reactor was studied to improve a Lagrangian approach. A fluidized bed methanation employed in the production of Synthetic Natural Gas from wood was chosen as the case study. The Lagrangian perspective was modified and improved to include different particle circulation patterns, which were investigated through this study. Experiments were designed to evaluate the concepts of the model. The results indicate that the setup is able to perform the designed experiments and a good agreement between the simulation and the experimental results were observed. It has been shown that fluidized bed reactors, as opposed to fixed beds, can be used to avoid the deactivation of the methanation catalyst due to carbon deposits. Carbon deposition on the catalysts tested with the Lagrangian approach was investigated by temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) analysis of ex-situ catalyst samples. This investigation was done to identify the effects of particles velocity and their circulation patterns on the amount and type of deposited carbon on the catalyst surface. Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne(EPFL), Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)

Theoretical and experimental research of natural convection in the core of the high temperature pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuerenkraemer, M.

1984-04-01

The physical model of the developed THERMIX-2D-code for computing thermohydraulic behaviour of the core of high temperature pebble bed reactors is verified by experiments with natural convection flow. Such fluid flow behaviour can be of very high importance for the real reactor in the case of natural heat removal decay. The experiments are performed in a special set up testing-stand with pressures up to 30 bars and temperatures up to 300 0 C by using air and helium as fluid. In comparison with the experimental data the numerical results show that a good and useful simulation is given by the program. Pure natural convection flow in packed pebble beds is calculated with a very high degree of reliability. The investigation of flow stability demonstrate that radial-symmetric relations are not given temporarily when national convection is overlayed by forced convection flow. In the discussion it is explained when and to what extent the program leds to useful results in such situations. The test of the effective heat conductivity lambdasub(eff) results in an improvement of the lambdasub(eff)-data used so far for temperatures below 1300 0 C. (orig.) [de

Rotating bed reactor for CLC: Bed characteristics dependencies on internal gas mixing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Håkonsen, Silje Fosse; Grande, Carlos A.; Blom, Richard

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A mathematical model for the rotating CLC reactor has been developed. • The model reflects the gas distribution in the reactor during CLC operation. • Radial dispersion in the rotating bed is the main cause for internal gas mixing. • The model can be used to optimize the reactor design and particle characteristics. - Abstract: A newly designed continuous lab-scale rotating bed reactor for chemical looping combustion using CuO/Al 2 O 3 oxygen carrier spheres and methane as fuel gives around 90% CH 4 conversion and >90% CO 2 capture efficiency based on converted methane at 800 °C. However, from a series of experiments using a broad range of operating conditions potential CO 2 purities only in the range 20–65% were yielded, mostly due to nitrogen slip from the air side of the reactor into the effluent CO 2 stream. A mathematical model was developed intending to understand the air-mixing phenomena. The model clearly reflects the gas slippage tendencies observed when varying the process conditions such as rotation frequency, gas flow and the flow if inert gas in the two sectors dividing the air and fuel side of the reactor. Based on the results, it is believed that significant improvements can be made to reduce gas mixing in future modified and scaled-up reactor versions

CFD study on the supercritical carbon dioxide cooled pebble bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Dali, E-mail: ydlmitd@outlook.com; Peng, Minjun; Wang, Zhongyi

2015-01-15

Highlights: • An innovation concept of supercritical carbon dioxide cooled pebble bed reactor is proposed. • Body-centered cuboid (BCCa) arrangement is adopted for the pebbles. • S-CO{sub 2} would be a good candidate coolant for using in pebble bed reactor. - Abstract: The thermal hydraulic study of using supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO{sub 2}), a superior fluid state brayton cycle medium, in pebble bed type nuclear reactor is assessed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology. Preliminary concept design of this S-CO{sub 2} cooled pebble bed reactor (PBR) is implemented by the well-known KTA heat transfer correlation and Ergun pressure drop equation. Eddy viscosity transport turbulence model is adopted and verified by KTA calculated results. Distributions of the temperature, velocity, pressure and Nusselt (Nu) number of the coolant near the surface of the middle spherical fuel element are obtained and analyzed. The conclusion of the assessment is that S-CO{sub 2} would be a good candidate coolant for using in pebble bed reactor due primarily to its good heat transfer characteristic and large mass density, which could lead to achieve lower pressure drop and higher power density.

An energy amplifier fluidized bed nuclear reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sefidvash, F.; Seifritz, W.

2001-01-01

The concept of a fluidized bed nuclear reactor driven by an energy amplifier system is described. The reactor has promising characteristics of inherent safety and passive cooling. The reactor can easily operate with any desired spectrum in order to be a plutonium burner or have it operate with thorium fuel cycle. (orig.) [de

Operational methods of the fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, V.; Sefidvash, F.

1993-01-01

The operational curve of reactivity as a function of porosity of the Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor is presented. The strategies for start-up, shut-down and maintaining the reactor critical during operation are described. The inherent safety of the reactor from neutronic point of view under steady state condition is demonstrated. (author)

Improved performance of parallel surface/packed-bed discharge reactor for indoor VOCs decomposition: optimization of the reactor structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Nan; Hui, Chun-Xue; Li, Jie; Lu, Na; Shang, Ke-Feng; Wu, Yan; Mizuno, Akira

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to develop a high-efficiency air-cleaning system for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) existing in the workshop of a chemical factory. A novel parallel surface/packed-bed discharge (PSPBD) reactor, which utilized a combination of surface discharge (SD) plasma with packed-bed discharge (PBD) plasma, was designed and employed for VOCs removal in a closed vessel. In order to optimize the structure of the PSPBD reactor, the discharge characteristic, benzene removal efficiency, and energy yield were compared for different discharge lengths, quartz tube diameters, shapes of external high-voltage electrode, packed-bed discharge gaps, and packing pellet sizes, respectively. In the circulation test, 52.8% of benzene was removed and the energy yield achieved 0.79 mg kJ −1 after a 210 min discharge treatment in the PSPBD reactor, which was 10.3% and 0.18 mg kJ −1 higher, respectively, than in the SD reactor, 21.8% and 0.34 mg kJ −1 higher, respectively, than in the PBD reactor at 53 J l −1 . The improved performance in benzene removal and energy yield can be attributed to the plasma chemistry effect of the sequential processing in the PSPBD reactor. The VOCs mineralization and organic intermediates generated during discharge treatment were followed by CO x selectivity and FT-IR analyses. The experimental results indicate that the PSPBD plasma process is an effective and energy-efficient approach for VOCs removal in an indoor environment. (paper)

A new fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sefidvash, F.

1986-01-01

A new nuclear reactor design based on the fluidized bed concept is proposed. A current design utilizes spherical fuel of slightly enriched Zircaloy-clad uranium dioxide fluidized by light water under pressure. The reactor is modular in system; therefore, any size reactor can be constructed from the basic standard modul. The reactor physics calculations show that reactivity increases with porosity to a maximum value and thereafter decreases. This produces inherent safety and eliminates the need for control rods and burnable poisons. The heat transfer calculations show that the maximum power extracted from the reactor core is not limited to the material temperature limits but to the maximum mass flow of coolant, which corresponds to the desired operating porosity. Design simplicity and inherent safety make it an attractive small reactor design. (Author) [pt

Tightly Coupled Multiphysics Algorithm for Pebble Bed Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, HyeongKae; Knoll, Dana; Gaston, Derek; Martineau, Richard

2010-01-01

We have developed a tightly coupled multiphysics simulation tool for the pebble-bed reactor (PBR) concept, a type of Very High-Temperature gas-cooled Reactor (VHTR). The simulation tool, PRONGHORN, takes advantages of the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment library, and is capable of solving multidimensional thermal-fluid and neutronics problems implicitly with a Newton-based approach. Expensive Jacobian matrix formation is alleviated via the Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method, and physics-based preconditioning is applied to minimize Krylov iterations. Motivation for the work is provided via analysis and numerical experiments on simpler multiphysics reactor models. We then provide detail of the physical models and numerical methods in PRONGHORN. Finally, PRONGHORN's algorithmic capability is demonstrated on a number of PBR test cases.

Analytical calculation of the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient for pebble bed and prismatic high temperature reactors for plutonium and uranium-thorium fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talamo, Alberto [Department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics, Royal Institute of Technology - KTH, Roslagstullsbacken 21, S-10691 Stockholm (Sweden)]. E-mail: alby@anl.gov

2007-01-15

We analytically evaluated the fuel coefficient of temperature both for pebble bed and prismatic high temperature reactors when they utilize as fuel plutonium and minor actinides from light water reactors spent fuel or a mixture of 50% uranium, enriched 20% in {sup 235}U, and 50% thorium. In both cores the calculation involves the evaluation of the resonances integrals of the high absorbers fuel nuclides {sup 240}Pu, {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th and it requires the esteem of the Dancoff-Ginsburg factor for a pebble bed or prismatic core. The Dancoff-Ginsburg factor represents the only discriminating parameter in the results for the two different reactors types; in fact, both the pebble bed and the prismatic reactors share the same the pseudo-cross-section describing an infinite medium made of graphite filled by TRISO particles. We considered only the resolved resonances with a statistical spin factor equal to one and we took into account 267, 72, 212 resonances in the range 1.057-5692, 6.674-14485, 21.78-3472 eV for {sup 240}Pu, {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th, respectively, for investigating the influence on the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient of the variation of the TRISO kernel radius and TRISO particles packing fraction from 100, 200 to 300 {mu}m and from 10% to 50%, respectively. Finally, in the pebble bed core, we varied the radius of the pebble for setting a fuel temperature reactivity coefficient similar to the one of a prismatic core.

Degradation of whey in an anaerobic fixed bed (AnFB) reactor

OpenAIRE

Handajani, Marisa

2004-01-01

An Anaerobic Fixed Bed (AnFB) reactor was run as an upflow anaerobic reactor with an arrangement of supporting material for growth of a biofilm. The supporting material was made from Liapor-clay-polyethylene sinter lamellas (Herding Co., Amberg). The AnFB reactor was used for treating high concentrations of whey-containing wastewater. Optimal operating conditions for whey treatment at a concentration of COD in the influent of around 50 g whey·l-1 were found for a hydraulic retention ...

Packed Bed Reactor Technology for Chemical-Looping Combustion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noorman, S.; Sint Annaland, van M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2007-01-01

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) has emerged as an alternative for conventional power production processes to intrinsically integrate power production and CO2 capture. In this work a new reactor concept for CLC is proposed, based on dynamically operated packed bed reactors. With analytical

Raising distillate selectivity and catalyst life time in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis by using a novel dual-bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavasoli, A.; Sadaghiani, K.; Khodadadi, A. A.; Mortazavi, Y.

2007-01-01

In a novel dual bed reactor Fischer-Tropsch synthesis was studied by using two diff rent cobalt catalysts. An alkali-promoted cobalt catalyst was used in the first bed of a fixed-bed reactor followed by a Raiment promoted cobalt catalyst in the second bed. The activity, product selectivity and accelerated deactivation of the system were assessed and compared with a conventional single bed reactor system. The methane selectivity in the dual-bed reactor was about 18.9% less compared to that of the single-bed reactor. The C 5+ selectivity for the dual-bed reactor was 10.9% higher than that of the single-bed reactor. Accelerated deactivation of the catalysts in the dual-bed reactor was 42% lower than that of the single-bed reactor. It was revealed that the amount of catalysts activity recovery after regeneration at 400 d eg C in the dual-bed system is higher than that of the single-bed system

Study of reactivity of fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rammsy, J.E.M.

1985-01-01

The reactor physics calculations of a 19 module Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor using Leopard and Odog codes are performed. The behaviour of the reactor was studied by calculating the reactivity of the reactor as a function of the parameters governing the operational and accidental conditions of the reactor. The effects of temperature, pressure, and vapor generation in the core on the reactivity are calculated. Also the start up behaviour of the reactor is analyzed. For the purpose of the study of a prototype research reactor, the calculations on a one module reactor have been performed. (Author) [pt

Pellet bed reactor for nuclear thermal propelled vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Genk, M.; Morley, N.J.; Haloulakos, V.E.

1991-01-01

The Pellet Bed Reactor (PeBR) concept is capable of operating at a high power density of up to 3.0 kWt/cu cm and an exit hydrogen gas temperature of 3000 K. The nominal reactor thermal power is 1500 MW and the reactor core is 0.80 m in diameter and 1.3 m high. The nominal PeBR engine generates a thrust of approximately 315 kN at a specific impulse of 1000 s for a mission duration to Mars of 250 days requiring a total firing time of 170 minutes. Because of its low diameter-to-height ratio, PeBR has enough surface area for passive removal of the decay heat from the reactor core. The reactor is equipped with two independent shutdown mechanisms; 8-B4C safety rods and 26 BeO/B4C control drums; each system is capable of operating and scraming the reactor safely. Due to the absence of core internal support structures, the PeBR can be fueled and refueled in orbit using the vacuum of space. These unique features of the PeBR provide for safety during launch, simplicity of handling, deployment, and end-of-life disposal, and vehicle extended lifetime. 11 refs

A Photocatalytic Active Adsorbent for Gas Cleaning in a Fixed Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Pucher

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Efficient photocatalysis for gas cleaning purposes requires a large accessible, illuminated active surface in a simple and compact reactor. Conventional concepts use powdered catalysts, which are nontransparent. Hence a uniform distribution of light is difficult to be attained. Our approach is based on a coarse granular, UV-A light transparent, and highly porous adsorbent that can be used in a simple fixed bed reactor. A novel sol-gel process with rapid micro mixing is used to coat a porous silica substrate with TiO2-based nanoparticles. The resulting material posses a high adsorption capacity and a photocatalytic activity under UV-A illumination (PCAA = photocatalytic active adsorbent. Its photocatalytic performance was studied on the oxidation of trichloroethylene (TCE in a fixed bed reactor setup in continuous and discontinuous operation modes. Continuous operation resulted in a higher conversion rate due to less slip while discontinuous operation is superior for a total oxidation to CO2 due to a user-defined longer residence time.

Small propulsion reactor design based on particle bed reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludewig, H.; Lazareth, O.; Mughabghab, S.; Perkins, K.; Powell, J.R.

1989-01-01

In this paper Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) designs are discussed which use 233 U and /sup 242m/Am as fissile materials. A constant total power of 100MW is assumed for all reactors in this study. Three broad aspects of these reactors is discussed. First, possible reactor designs are developed, second physics calculations are outlined and discussed and third mass estimates of the various candidates reactors are made. It is concluded that reactors with a specific mass of 1 kg/MW can be envisioned of 233 U is used and approximately a quarter of this value can be achieved if /sup 242m/Am is used. If this power level is increased by increasing the power density lower specific mass values are achievable. The limit will be determined by uncertainties in the thermal-hydraulic analysis. 5 refs., 5 figs., 6 tabs

Thermal safety analysis for pebble bed blanket fusion-fission hybrid reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Renjie

1998-01-01

Pebble bed blanket hybrid reactor may have more advantages than slab element blanket hybrid reactor in nuclear fuel production and nuclear safety. The thermo-hydraulic calculations of the blanket in the Tokamak helium cooling pebble bed blanket fusion-fission hybrid reactor developed in China are carried out using the Code THERMIX and auxiliary code. In the calculations different fuel pebble material and steady state, depressurization and total loss of flow accident conditions are included. The results demonstrate that the conceptual design of the Tokamak helium cooling pebble bed blanket fusion-fission hybrid reactor with dump tank is feasible and safe enough only if the suitable fuel pebble material is selected and the suitable control system and protection system are established. Some recommendations for due conceptual design are also presented

Critical Issues for Particle-Bed Reactor Fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Robert S.; Husser, Dewayne L.; Jensen, Russell R.; Kerr, John M.

1994-07-01

Particle-Bed Reactors (PBRs) potentially offer performance advantages for nuclear thermal propulsion, including very high power densities, thrust-to-weight ratios, and specific impulses. A key factor in achieving all of these is the development of a very-high-temperature fuel. The critical issues for all such PBR fuels are uranium loading, thermomechanical and thermochemical stability, compatibility with contacting materials, fission product retention, manufacturability, and operational tolerance for particle failures. Each issue is discussed with respect to its importance to PBR operation, its status among current fuels, and additional development needs. Mixed-carbide-based fuels are recommended for further development to support high-performance PBRs.

Comparative evaluation of pebble-bed and prismatic fueled high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasten, P.R.; Bartine, D.E.

1981-01-01

A comparative evaluation has been performed of the HTGR and the Federal Republic of Germany's Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) for potential commercial applications in the US. The evaluation considered two reactor sizes (1000 and 3000 MW(t)) and three process applications (steam cycle, direct cycle, and process heat, with outlet coolant temperatures of 750, 850, and 950/sup 0/C, respectively). The primary criterion for the comparison was the levelized (15-year) cost of producing electricity or process heat. Emphasis was placed on the cost impact of differences between the prismatic-type HTGR core, which requires periodic refuelings during reactor shutdowns, and the pebble bed PBR core, which is refueled continuously during reactor operations. Detailed studies of key technical issues using reference HTGR and PBR designs revealed that two cost components contributing to the levelized power costs are higher for the PBR: capital costs and operation and maintenance costs. A third cost component, associated with nonavailability penalties, tended to be higher for the PBR except for the process heat application, for which there is a large uncertainty in the HTGR nonavailability penalty at the 950/sup 0/C outlet coolant temperature. A fourth cost component, fuel cycle costs, is lower for the PBR, but not sufficiently lower to offset the capital cost component. Thus the HTGR appears to be slightly superior to the PBR in economic performance. Because of the advanced development of the HTGR concept, large HTGRs could also be commercialized in the US with lower R and D costs and shorter lead times than could large PBRs. It is recommended that the US gas-cooled thermal reactor program continue giving primary support to the HTGR, while also maintaining its cooperative PBR program with FRG.

Comparative evaluation of pebble-bed and prismatic fueled high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasten, P.R.; Bartine, D.E.

1981-01-01

A comparative evaluation has been performed of the HTGR and the Federal Republic of Germany's Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) for potential commercial applications in the US. The evaluation considered two reactor sizes [1000 and 3000 MW(t)] and three process applications (steam cycle, direct cycle, and process heat, with outlet coolant temperatures of 750, 850, and 950 0 C, respectively). The primary criterion for the comparison was the levelized (15-year) cost of producing electricity or process heat. Emphasis was placed on the cost impact of differences between the prismatic-type HTGR core, which requires periodic refuelings during reactor shutdowns, and the pebble bed PBR core, which is refueled continuously during reactor operations. Detailed studies of key technical issues using reference HTGR and PBR designs revealed that two cost components contributing to the levelized power costs are higher for the PBR: capital costs and operation and maintenance costs. A third cost component, associated with nonavailability penalties, tended to be higher for the PBR except for the process heat application, for which there is a large uncertainty in the HTGR nonavailability penalty at the 950 0 C outlet coolant temperature. A fourth cost component, fuel cycle costs, is lower for the PBR, but not sufficiently lower to offset the capital cost component. Thus the HTGR appears to be slightly superior to the PBR in economic performance. Because of the advanced development of the HTGR concept, large HTGRs could also be commercialized in the US with lower R and D costs and shorter lead times than could large PBRs. It is recommended that the US gas-cooled thermal reactor program continue giving primary support to the HTGR, while also maintaining its cooperative PBR program with FRG

Modeling of reaction kinetics in bubbling fluidized bed biomass gasification reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thapa, R.K.; Halvorsen, B.M. [Telemark University College, Kjolnes ring 56, P.O. Box 203, 3901 Porsgrunn (Norway); Pfeifer, C. [University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria)

2013-07-01

Bubbling fluidized beds are widely used as biomass gasification reactors as at the biomass gasification plant in Gussing, Austria. The reactor in the plant is a dual circulating bubbling fluidized bed gasification reactor. The plant produces 2MW electricity and 4.5MW heat from the gasification of biomass. Wood chips as biomass and olivine particles as hot bed materials are fluidized with high temperature steam in the reactor. As a result, biomass undergoes endothermic chemical reaction to produce a mixture of combustible gases in addition to some carbon-dioxide (CO2). The combustible gases are mainly hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4). The gas is used to produce electricity and heat via utilization in a gas engine. Alternatively, the gas is further processed for gaseous or liquid fuels, but still on the process of development level. Composition and quality of the gas determine the efficiency of the reactor. A computational model has been developed for the study of reaction kinetics in the gasification rector. The simulation is performed using commercial software Barracuda virtual reactor, VR15. Eulerian-Lagrangian approach in coupling of gas-solid flow has been implemented. Fluid phase is treated with an Eulerian formulation. Discrete phase is treated with a Lagrangian formulation. Particle-particle and particle-wall interactions and inter-phase heat and mass transfer have been taken into account. Series of simulations have been performed to study model prediction of the gas composition. The composition is compared with data from the gasifier at the CHP plant in Güssing, Austria. The model prediction of the composition of gases has good agreements with the result of the operating plant.

Numerical investigation of the flow at the pebble bed of the high temperature gas cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Franklin C.; Navarro, Moyses A.; Santos, Andre A.C.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the thermal and fluid dynamics among the fuel spheres and the cooling fluid, appearing in the core of pebble bed reactor (PBR-Peeble Bed Reactor) using the CFD-Computational Fluid Dynamics CFX 13.0. The paper presents the two analysis results. In the first phase it was considered two heat transfer models for the fuel spheres. In a model it was established volumetric load generation, with thermal conduction for both the fuel and coating. The other model prescribes a heat flux at the sphere surfaces. In this analysis, it was proceed two simulation in the two sphere arrangements, one considering the spheres in contact, and the other with 2 mm spacing between them. At the second analysis it was evaluated the sphere arrangement influence on the thermal and fluid dynamic behavior of the bed. The four simulations present differences in the flow and in the surface and maximum temperature profiles of the coating.(author)

Thermal-hydraulic modeling of porous bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araj, K.J.; Nourbakhsh, H.P.

1987-01-01

Optimum design of nuclear reactor cores requires an iterative approach between the thermal-hydraulic, neutronic, and operational analysis. This paper will concentrate on the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a hydrogen-cooled small particle bed reactor (PBR). The PBR core modeled here consists of a hexagonal array of fuel elements embedded in a moderator matrix. The fuel elements are annular packed beds of fuel particles held between two porous cylindrical frits. These particles, 500 to 600 μm in diameter, have a uranium carbide core, which is coated by two layers of graphite and an outer coating of zirconium carbide. Coolant flows, radially inward, from the cold frit through the packed bed and hot frit and axially out the channel, formed by the hot frit to a common plenum. A fast running one-dimensional lumped-parameter steady-state code (FTHP) was developed to evaluate the effects of design changes in fuel assembly and power distribution. Another objective for the code was to investigate various methods of coolant control to minimize hot channel effects and maximize outlet temperatures

Failure analysis of pebble bed reactors during earthquake by discrete element method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keppler, Istvan

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We evaluated the load acting on the central reflector beam of a pebble bed reactor. ► The load acting on the reflector beam highly depends on fuel element distribution. ► The contact force values do not show high dependence on fuel element distribution. ► Earthquake increases the load of the reflector, not the contact forces. -- Abstract: Pebble bed reactors (PBR) are graphite-moderated, gas-cooled nuclear reactors. PBR reactors use a large number of spherical fuel elements called pebbles. From mechanical point of view, the arrangement of “small” spherical fuel elements in a container poses the same problem, as the so-called silo problem in powder technology and agricultural engineering. To get more exact information about the contact forces arising between the fuel elements in static and dynamic case, we simulated the static case and the effects of an earthquake on a model reactor by using discrete element method. We determined the maximal contact forces acting between the individual fuel elements. We found that the value of the maximal bending moment in the central reflector beam has a high deviation from the average value even in static case, and it can significantly increase in case of an earthquake. Our results can help the engineers working on the design of such types of reactors to get information about the contact forces, to determine the dust production and the crush probability of fuel elements within the reactor, and to model different accident scenarios

Failure analysis of pebble bed reactors during earthquake by discrete element method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keppler, Istvan, E-mail: keppler.istvan@gek.szie.hu [Department of Mechanics and Engineering Design, Szent István University, Páter K.u.1., Gödöllő H-2103 (Hungary)

2013-05-15

Highlights: ► We evaluated the load acting on the central reflector beam of a pebble bed reactor. ► The load acting on the reflector beam highly depends on fuel element distribution. ► The contact force values do not show high dependence on fuel element distribution. ► Earthquake increases the load of the reflector, not the contact forces. -- Abstract: Pebble bed reactors (PBR) are graphite-moderated, gas-cooled nuclear reactors. PBR reactors use a large number of spherical fuel elements called pebbles. From mechanical point of view, the arrangement of “small” spherical fuel elements in a container poses the same problem, as the so-called silo problem in powder technology and agricultural engineering. To get more exact information about the contact forces arising between the fuel elements in static and dynamic case, we simulated the static case and the effects of an earthquake on a model reactor by using discrete element method. We determined the maximal contact forces acting between the individual fuel elements. We found that the value of the maximal bending moment in the central reflector beam has a high deviation from the average value even in static case, and it can significantly increase in case of an earthquake. Our results can help the engineers working on the design of such types of reactors to get information about the contact forces, to determine the dust production and the crush probability of fuel elements within the reactor, and to model different accident scenarios.

DEGRADATION OF AROMATIC COMPOUNDS USING MOVING BED BIOFILM REACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Ayati, H. Ganjidoust, M. Mir Fattah

2007-04-01

Full Text Available For biological treatment of water, there are many different biofilm systems in use. Examples of them are trickling filters, rotating biological contactors, fixed media submerged biofilters, granular media biofilters and fluidized bed reactors. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Hence, the Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor process was developed in Norway in the late 1980s and early 1990s to adopt the best features of the activated sludge process as well as those of the biofilter processes, without including the worst. Two cylindrical moving bed biofilm reactors were used in this study working in upflow stream conditions. Experiments have been done in aerobic batch flow regime. Laboratory experiments were conducted at room temperature (23–28C and synthetic wastewater comprising a composition of phenol and hydroquinone in each reactor as the main organic constituents, plus balanced nutrients and alkalinity were used to feed the reactor. The ratio of influent to effluent COD was determined at different retention times. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of each selected compound is affected by the detention time. At low phenol and hydroquinone concentration (from 700 to 1000 mg/L maximum removal efficiency (over 80 % was obtained. By further increasing in COD loading rate up to 3000 mg/L, a decrease in COD removal rate was occurred. In the reactor containing pyrogallol in COD of 1500 mg/L, the removal rate decreased to 10 percent because of its toxicity for microorganisms.

Development of an enzyme fluidized bed reactor equipped with static mixers: application to lactose hydrolysis in whey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fauquex, P F; Flaschel, E; Renken, A

1984-01-01

Reactor operation with immobilized enzymes in fixed bed arrangement is often impaired due to the presence of finely divided solid matter, adsorbing substances or gas. The fluidized bed reactor would be applied in such cases owing to a limited pressure drop, a controlled voidage, and the avoidance of perforated plates for catalyst retention. Since enzymic reactions are often slow processes, catalysts of high external surface area should be provided together with sufficient time. However, classical fluidized beds suffer from hydrodynamic instability under these conditions. Therefore, a new reactor design was developed which used motionless mixers as internals. Fluidized bed reactors equipped with internals exhibit an outstanding hydrodynamic stability accompanied by an increase of the operating range in terms of flow rate by a factor of 4 compared to the classical fluidized bed. Results are presented, with emphasis on the backmixing and expansion characteristics. Various motionless mixers were investigated in columns of 39 and 150 mm in diameter. The fluidized bed equipped with internals was used for lactose hydrolysis in partially deproteinized whey. The lactase from Aspergillus niger immobilized on silica gel particles of 125-160 molm had a half-life of approximately 1 mo.

A novel approach for harnessing biofilm communities in moving bed biofilm reactors for industrial wastewater treatment

OpenAIRE

Joe A. Lemire; Marc A. Demeter; Iain George; Howard Ceri; Raymond J. Turner

2015-01-01

Moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) are an effective biotechnology for treating industrial wastewater. Biomass retention on moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) carriers (biofilm support materials), allows for the ease-of-operation and high treatment capacity of MBBR systems. Optimization of MBBR systems has largely focused on aspects of carrier design, while little attention has been paid to enhancing strategies for harnessing microbial biomass. Previously, our research group demonstrated that ...

Conceptual design of a fluidized bed nuclear reactor : Statics, dynamics and safety-related aspects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agung, A.

2007-01-01

In this thesis a conceptual design of an innovative high temperature reactor based on the fluidization principle (FLUBER) is proposed. The reactor should satisfy the following requirements: (a) modular and low power, (b)) large shutdown margin, (c) able to produce power when the bed of particles

Pellet bed reactor for nuclear propelled vehicles: Part 1: Reactor technology

Science.gov (United States)

El-Genk, Mohamed S.

1991-01-01

The pellet bed reactor (PBR) for nuclear propelled vehicles is briefly discussed. Much of the information is given in viewgraph form. Viewgraphs include information on the layout for a Mars mission using a PBR nuclear thermal rocket, the rocket reactor layout, the fuel pellet design, materials compatibility, fuel microspheres, microsphere coating, melting points in quasibinary systems, stress analysis of microspheres, safety features, and advantages of the PBR concept.

Pellet bed reactor for nuclear propelled vehicles: Part 1: Reactor technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-genk, M.S.

1991-01-01

The pellet bed reactor (PBR) for nuclear propelled vehicles is briefly discussed. Much of the information is given in viewgraph form. Viewgraphs include information on the layout for a Mars mission using a PBR nuclear thermal rocket, the rocket reactor layout, the fuel pellet design, materials compatibility, fuel microspheres, microsphere coating, melting points in quasibinary systems, stress analysis of microspheres, safety features, and advantages of the PBR concept

Preliminary Study of 20 MWth Experiment Power Reactor based on Pebble Bed Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Irwanto, Dwi; Permana, Sidik; Pramuditya, Syeilendra

2017-07-01

In this study, preliminary design calculations for experimental small power reactor (20 MWt) based on Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) are performed. PBR technology chosen due to its advantages in neutronic and safety aspects. Several important parameters, such as fissile enrichment, number of fuel passes, burnup and effective multiplication factor are taken into account in the calculation to find neutronic characteristics of the present reactor design.

Sludge granulation in an UASB-moving bed biofilm hybrid reactor for efficient organic matter removal and nitrogen removal in biofilm reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatterjee, Pritha; Ghangrekar, M M; Rao, Surampalli

2018-02-01

A hybrid upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB)-moving bed biofilm (MBB) and rope bed biofilm (RBB) reactor was designed for treatment of sewage. Possibility of enhancing granulation in an UASB reactor using moving media to improve sludge retention was explored while treating low-strength wastewater. The presence of moving media in the top portion of the UASB reactor allowed a high solid retention time even at very short hydraulic retention times and helped in maintaining selection pressure in the sludge bed to promote formation of different sized sludge granules with an average settling velocity of 67 m/h. These granules were also found to contain plenty of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) such as 58 mg of polysaccharides (PS) per gram of volatile suspended solids (VSS) and protein (PN) content of 37 mg/g VSS. Enriched sludge of nitrogen-removing bacteria forming a porous biofilm on the media in RBB was also observed in a concentration of around 894 g/m 2 . The nitrogen removing sludge also had a high EPS content of around 22 mg PS/g VSS and 28 mg PN/g VSS. This hybrid UASB-MBB-RBB reactor with enhanced anaerobic granular sludge treating both carbonaceous and nitrogenous matter may be a sustainable solution for decentralized sewage treatment.

Water-ingress analysis for the 200 MWe pebble-bed modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yanhua; Shi Lei; Wang Yan

2010-01-01

Water ingress into the primary circuit is generally recognized as one of the severe accidents with potential hazard to the modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor adopting steam-turbine cycle, which will cause a positive reactivity introduction, as well as the chemical corrosion of graphite fuel elements and reflector structure material. Besides, increase of the primary pressure may result in the opening of the safety valves, consequently leading the release of radioactive isotopes and flammable water gas. The analysis of such a kind of important and particular accident is significant to verify the inherent safety characteristics of the modular HTR plants. Based on the preliminary design of the 200 MWe high temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed modular (HTR-PM), the design basis accident of a double-ended guillotine break of one heating tube and the beyond design basis accident of a large break of the main steam collection plate have been analyzed by using TINTE code, which is a special transient analysis program for high temperature gas-cooled reactors. Some safety relevant concerns, such as the fuel temperature, the primary loop pressure, the graphite corrosion, the water gas releasing amount, as well as the natural convection influence on the condition of failing to close the blower flaps, have been studied in detail. The calculation results indicate that even under some severe hypothetical postulates, the HTR-PM is able to keep the inherent safeties of the modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor and has a relatively good natural plant response, which will not result in environmental radiation hazard.

Advantages of forced non-steady operated trickle-bed reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boelhouwer, J.G.; Piepers, H.W.; Drinkenburg, A.A.H.

2002-01-01

Trickle-bed reactors are usually operated in the steady state trickle flow regime. Uneven liquid distribution and the formation of hot spots are the most serious problems experienced during trickle flow operation. In this paper, we advocate the use of non-steady state operation of trickle-bed

Media arrangement impacts cell growth in anaerobic fixed-bed reactors treating sugarcane vinasse: Structured vs. randomic biomass immobilization.

Science.gov (United States)

de Aquino, Samuel; Fuess, Lucas Tadeu; Pires, Eduardo Cleto

2017-07-01

This study reports on the application of an innovative structured-bed reactor (FVR) as an alternative to conventional packed-bed reactors (PBRs) to treat high-strength solid-rich wastewaters. Using the FVR prevents solids from accumulating within the fixed-bed, while maintaining the advantages of the biomass immobilization. The long-term operation (330days) of a FVR and a PBR applied to sugarcane vinasse under increasing organic loads (2.4-18.0kgCODm -3 day -1 ) was assessed, focusing on the impacts of the different media arrangements over the production and retention of biomass. Much higher organic matter degradation rates, as well as long-term operational stability and high conversion efficiencies (>80%) confirmed that the FVR performed better than the PBR. Despite the equivalent operating conditions, the biomass growth yield was different in both reactors, i.e., 0.095gVSSg -1 COD (FVR) and 0.066gVSSg -1 COD (PBR), indicating a clear control of the media arrangement over the biomass production in fixed-bed reactors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of Particle Bed Reactor Fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Russell R.; Evans, Robert S.; Husser, Dewayne L.; Kerr, John M.

1994-07-01

To realize the potential performance advantages inherent in a particle bed reactor (PBR) for nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) applications, high performance particle fuel is required. This fuel must operate safely and without failure at high temperature in high pressure, flowing hydrogen propellant. The mixed mean outlet temperature of the propellant is an important characteristic of PBR performance. This temperature is also a critical parameter for fuel particle design because it dictates the required maximum fuel operating temperature. In this paper, the evolution in PBR fuel form to achieve higher operating temperatures is discussed and the potential thermal performance of the different fuel types is evaluated. It is shown that the optimum fuel type for operation under the demanding conditions in a PBR is a coated, solid carbide particle.

High-rate wastewater treatment combining a moving bed biofilm reactor and enhanced particle separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Helness, H; Melin, E; Ulgenes, Y; Järvinen, P; Rasmussen, V; Odegaard, H

2005-01-01

Many cities around the world are looking for compact wastewater treatment alternatives since space for treatment plants is becoming scarce. In this paper development of a new compact, high-rate treatment concept with results from experiments in lab-scale and pilot-scale are presented. The idea behind the treatment concept is that coagulation/floc separation may be used to separate suspended and colloidal matter (resulting in > 70% organic matter removal in normal wastewater) while a high-rate biofilm process (based on Moving Bed biofilm reactors) may be used for removing low molecular weight, easily biodegradable, soluble organic matter. By using flotation for floc/biomass separation, the total residence time for a plant according to this concept will normally be treatment) and sufficient P-removal.

Effect of friction on pebble flow pattern in pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yu; Gui, Nan; Yang, Xingtuan; Tu, Jiyuan; Jiang, Shengyao

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A 3D DEM study on particle–wall/particle friction in pebble bed reactor is carried out. • Characteristic values are defined to evaluate features of pebble flow pattern quantitatively. • Particle–wall friction is dominant to determine flow pattern in a specific pebble bed. • Friction effect of hopper part on flow field is more critical than that of cylinder part. • Three cases of 1:1 full scale practical pebble beds are simulated for demonstration. - Abstract: Friction affects pebble flow pattern in pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) significantly. Through a series of three dimensional DEM (discrete element method) simulations it is shown that reducing friction can be beneficial and create a uniform and consistent flow field required by nuclear engineering. Particle–wall friction poses a decisive impact on flow pattern, and particle–particle friction usually plays a secondary role; relation between particle–wall friction and flow pattern transition is also concluded. Moreover, new criteria are created to describe flow patterns quantitatively according to crucial issues in HTGR like stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence. Last but not least, it is proved that friction control of hopper part is more important than that of cylinder part in practical pebble beds, so reducing friction between pebbles and hopper surface is the engineering priority.

Passive cooling of a fixed bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petry, V.J.; Bortoli, A.L. de; Sefidwash, F.

2005-01-01

Small nuclear reactors without the need for on-site refuelling have greater simplicity, better compliance with passive safety systems, and are more adequate for countries with small electric grids and limited investment capabilities. Here the passive cooling characteristic of the fixed bed nuclear reactor (FBNR), that is being developed under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project, is studied. A mathematical model is developed to calculate the temperature distribution in the fuel chamber of the reactor. The results demonstrate the passive cooling of this nuclear reactor concept. (authors)

Discharge Characteristics of Series Surface/Packed-Bed Discharge Reactor Diven by Bipolar Pulsed Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Jian; Jiang Nan; Li Jie; Shang Kefeng; Lu Na; Wu Yan; Mizuno Akira

2016-01-01

The discharge characteristics of the series surface/packed-bed discharge (SSPBD) reactor driven by bipolar pulse power were systemically investigated in this study. In order to evaluate the advantages of the SSPBD reactor, it was compared with traditional surface discharge (SD) reactor and packed-bed discharge (PBD) reactor in terms of the discharge voltage, discharge current, and ozone formation. The SSPBD reactor exhibited a faster rising time and lower tail voltage than the SD and PBD reactors. The distribution of the active species generated in different discharge regions of the SSPBD reactor was analyzed by optical emission spectra and ozone analysis. It was found that the packed-bed discharge region (3.5 mg/L), rather than the surface discharge region (1.3 mg/L) in the SSPBD reactor played a more important role in ozone generation. The optical emission spectroscopy analysis indicated that more intense peaks of the active species (e.g. N2 and OI) in the optical emission spectra were observed in the packed-bed region. (paper)

Optimized Core Design and Fuel Management of a Pebble-Bed Type Nuclear Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, Brian

2007-01-01

The Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) has been selected by the international Generation IV research initiative as one of the six most promising nuclear reactor concepts that are expected to enter service in the second half of the 21st century. The VHTR is characterized by a high plant efficiency and a high fuel discharge burnup level. More specifically, the (pebble-bed type) High Temperature Reactor (HTR) is known for its inherently safe characteristics, coming from a negative temperature reactivity feedback, a low power density and a large thermal inertia of the core. The core of a pebble-bed reactor consists of graphite spheres (pebbles) that form a randomly packed porous bed, which is cooled by high pressure helium. The pebbles contain thousands of fuel particles, which are coated with several pyrocarbon and silicon carbon layers that are designed to contain the fission products that are formed during operation of the reactor. The inherent safety concept has been demonstrated in small pebble-bed reactors in practice, but an increase in the reactor size and power is required for cost-effective power production. An increase of the power density in order to increase the helium coolant outlet temperature is attractive with regard to the efficiency and possible process heat applications. However, this increase leads in general to higher fuel temperatures, which could lead to a consequent increase of the fuel coating failure probability. This thesis deals with the pebble-bed type VHTR that aims at an increased coolant outlet temperature of 1000 degrees C and beyond. For the simulation of the neutronic and thermal-hydraulic behavior of the reactor the DALTON-THERMIX coupled code system has been developed and has been validated against experiments performed in the AVR and HTR-10 reactors. An analysis of the 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) design shows that the inherent safety concept that has been demonstrated in practice in the smaller AVR and HTR-10

Biodenitrification of gaseous diffusion plant aqueous wastes: stirred bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, M.E.

1980-01-01

Approximately 30 kilograms of nitrates per day are discarded in the raffinates (acid wastes) of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant's X-705 Uranium Recovery and Decontamination Facility. A biodenitrification process employing continuous-flow, stirred-bed reactors has been successfully used to remove nitrates from similar acid wastes at the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant. Laboratory studies have been made at Portsmouth to characterize the X-705 raffinates and to test the stirred-bed biodenitrification process on such raffinates. Raffinates which had been previously characterized were pumped through continuous-flow, stirred-bed, laboratory-scale reactors. Tests were conducted over a period of 146 days and involved variations in composition, mixing requirements, and the fate of several metal ions in the raffinates. Tests results show that 20 weight percent nitrates were reduced to a target nitrate effluent concentration of 100 μg/ml with a 99.64 percent efficiency. However, the average denitrification rate achieved was only 33% of that demonstrated with the Y-12 stirred-bed system. These low rates were probably due to the toxic effects of heavy metal ions on the denitrifying bacteria. Also, most of the uranium in the raffinate feed remained in the biomass and calcite, which collected in the reactor. This could cause criticality problems. For these reasons, it was decided not to make use of the stirred-bed bioreactor at Portsmouth. Instead, the biodenitrification installation now planned will use fluidized bed columns whose performance will be the subject of a subsequent report

Carbon dioxide hydrate formation in a fixed-bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan, S.; Lang, X. [South China Univ. of Technology, Guangzhou (China). Key Laboratory of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Energy Conservation; Wang, Y.; Liang, D. [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou (China). Guangzhou Inst. of Energy Conversion and Guangzhou Center of Natural Gas Hydrate; Sun, X.; Jurcik, B. [Air Liquide Laboratories, Tsukuba (Japan)

2008-07-01

Gas hydrates are thermodynamically stable at high pressures and near the freezing temperature of pure water. Methane hydrates occur naturally in sediments in the deep oceans and permafrost regions and constitute an extensive hydrocarbon reservoir. Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) hydrates are of interest as a medium for marine sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Sequestering CO{sub 2} as hydrate has potential advantages over most methods proposed for marine CO{sub 2} sequestration. Because this technique requires a shallower depth of injection when compared with other ocean sequestration methods, the costs of CO{sub 2} hydrate sequestration may be lower. Many studies have successfully used different continuous reactor designs to produce CO{sub 2} hydrates in both laboratory and field settings. This paper discussed a study that involved the design and construction of a fixed-bed reactor for simulation of hydrate formation system. Water, river sands and carbon dioxide were used to simulate the seep kind of hydrate formation. Carbon dioxide gas was distributed as small bubbles to enter from the bottom of the fixed-bed reactor. The paper discussed the experimental data and presented a diagram of the gas hydrate reactor system. The morphology as well as the reaction characters of CO{sub 2} hydrate was presented in detail. The results were discussed in terms of experimental phenomena and hydrate formation rate. A mathematical model was proposed for describing the process. 17 refs., 7 figs.

Complex nonlinear behaviour of a fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Recke, Bodil; Jørgensen, Sten Bay

1999-01-01

The fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle investigated in this paper can exhibit periodic solutions. These solutions bifurcate from the steady state in a Hopf bifurcation. The Hopf bifurcation encountered at the lowest value of the inlet concentration turns the steady state unstable and marks......,that the dynamic behaviour of a fixed bed reactor with reactant recycle is much more complex than previously reported....

Methanol steam-reforming in a catalytic fixed bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duesterwald, H G; Hoehlein, B; Kraut, H; Meusinger, J; Peters, R [Research Centre Juelich (KFA) (Germany). Inst. of Energy Process Engineering; Stimming, U [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Inst. fuer Festkoerperphysik und Techn. Phys.

1997-12-01

Designing an appropriate methanol steam reformer requires detailed knowledge about the processes within such a reactor. Thus, the axial temperature and concentration gradients and catalyst ageing were investigated. It was found that for a fresh catalyst load, the catalyst located in the reactor entrance was most active during the experiment. The activity of this part of the catalyst bed decreased after some time of operation due to ageing. With further operation, the most active zone moved through the catalyst bed. From the results concerning hydrogen production and catalyst degradation, the necessary amount of catalyst for a mobile PEMFC-system can be estimated. (orig.)

On natural circulation in High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors and pebble bed reactors for different flow regimes and various coolant gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melesed'Hospital, G.

1983-01-01

The use of CO 2 or N 2 (heavy gas) instead of helium during natural circulation leads to improved performance in both High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGR) and in Pebble Bed Reactors (PBR). For instance, the coolant temperature rise corresponding to a coolant pressure level and a rate of afterheat removal could be only 18% with CO 2 as compared to He, for laminar flow in HTGR; this value would be 40% in PBR. There is less difference between HTGR and PBR for turbulent flows; CO 2 is found to be always better than N 2 . These types of results derived from relationships between coolant properties, coolant flow, temperature rise, pressure, afterheat levels and core geometry, are obtained for HTGR and PBR for various flow regimes, both within the core and in the primary loop

Fluid flow and heat transfer investigation of pebble bed reactors using mesh-adaptive LES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavlidis, Dimitrios; Lathouwers, Danny

2013-01-01

The very high temperature reactor is one of the designs currently being considered for nuclear power generation. One its variants is the pebble bed reactor in which the coolant passes through complex geometries (pores) at high Reynolds numbers. A computational fluid dynamics model with anisotropic mesh adaptivity is used to investigate coolant flow and heat transfer in such reactors. A novel method for implicitly incorporating solid boundaries based on multi-fluid flow modelling is adopted. The resulting model is able to resolve and simulate flow and heat transfer in randomly packed beds, regardless of the actual geometry, starting off with arbitrarily coarse meshes. The model is initially evaluated using an orderly stacked square channel of channel-height-to-particle diameter ratio of unity for a range of Reynolds numbers. The model is then applied to the face-centred cubical geometry. coolant flow and heat transfer patterns are investigated

Development of a trickle bed reactor of electro-Fenton process for wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Yangming; Liu, Hong; Shen, Zhemin; Wang, Wenhua

2013-10-15

To avoid electrolyte leakage and gas bubbles in the electro-Fenton (E-Fenton) reactors using a gas diffusion cathode, we developed a trickle bed cathode by coating a layer composed of carbon black and polytetrafluoroethylene (C-PTFE) onto graphite chips instead of carbon cloth. The trickle bed cathode was optimized by single-factor and orthogonal experiments, in which carbon black, PTFE, and a surfactant were considered as the determinant of the performance of graphite chips. In the reactor assembled by the trickle bed cathode, H2O2 was generated with a current of 0.3A and a current efficiency of 60%. This performance was attributed to the fine distribution of electrolyte and air, as well as the effective oxygen transfer from the gas phase to the electrolyte-cathode interface. In terms of H2O2 generation and current efficiency, the developed trickle bed reactor had a performance comparable to that of the conventional E-Fenton reactor using a gas diffusion cathode. Further, 123 mg L(-1) of reactive brilliant red X-3B in aqueous solution was decomposed in the optimized trickle bed reactor as E-Fenton reactor. The decolorization ratio reached 97% within 20 min, and the mineralization reached 87% within 3h. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling a Packed Bed Reactor Utilizing the Sabatier Process

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Malay G.; Meier, Anne J.; Hintze, Paul E.

2017-01-01

A numerical model is being developed using Python which characterizes the conversion and temperature profiles of a packed bed reactor (PBR) that utilizes the Sabatier process; the reaction produces methane and water from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. While the specific kinetics of the Sabatier reaction on the RuAl2O3 catalyst pellets are unknown, an empirical reaction rate equation1 is used for the overall reaction. As this reaction is highly exothermic, proper thermal control is of the utmost importance to ensure maximum conversion and to avoid reactor runaway. It is therefore necessary to determine what wall temperature profile will ensure safe and efficient operation of the reactor. This wall temperature will be maintained by active thermal controls on the outer surface of the reactor. Two cylindrical PBRs are currently being tested experimentally and will be used for validation of the Python model. They are similar in design except one of them is larger and incorporates a preheat loop by feeding the reactant gas through a pipe along the center of the catalyst bed. The further complexity of adding a preheat pipe to the model to mimic the larger reactor is yet to be implemented and validated; preliminary validation is done using the smaller PBR with no reactant preheating. When mapping experimental values of the wall temperature from the smaller PBR into the Python model, a good approximation of the total conversion and temperature profile has been achieved. A separate CFD model incorporates more complex three-dimensional effects by including the solid catalyst pellets within the domain. The goal is to improve the Python model to the point where the results of other reactor geometry can be reasonably predicted relatively quickly when compared to the much more computationally expensive CFD approach. Once a reactor size is narrowed down using the Python approach, CFD will be used to generate a more thorough prediction of the reactors performance.

Modelling of a falling sludge bed reactor using AQUASIM | Ristow ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Modelling of a falling sludge bed reactor using AQUASIM. ... AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search · USING AJOL · RESOURCES ... a system of mixed reactors connected by water flow and mass flux streams.

Pebble bed reactor fuel cycle optimization using particle swarm algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tavron, Barak, E-mail: btavron@bgu.ac.il [Planning, Development and Technology Division, Israel Electric Corporation Ltd., P.O. Box 10, Haifa 31000 (Israel); Shwageraus, Eugene, E-mail: es607@cam.ac.uk [Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (United Kingdom)

2016-10-15

Highlights: • Particle swarm method has been developed for fuel cycle optimization of PBR reactor. • Results show uranium utilization low sensitivity to fuel and core design parameters. • Multi-zone fuel loading pattern leads to a small improvement in uranium utilization. • Thorium mixes with highly enriched uranium yields the best uranium utilization. - Abstract: Pebble bed reactors (PBR) features, such as robust thermo-mechanical fuel design and on-line continuous fueling, facilitate wide range of fuel cycle alternatives. A range off fuel pebble types, containing different amounts of fertile or fissile fuel material, may be loaded into the reactor core. Several fuel loading zones may be used since radial mixing of the pebbles was shown to be limited. This radial separation suggests the possibility to implement the “seed-blanket” concept for the utilization of fertile fuels such as thorium, and for enhancing reactor fuel utilization. In this study, the particle-swarm meta-heuristic evolutionary optimization method (PSO) has been used to find optimal fuel cycle design which yields the highest natural uranium utilization. The PSO method is known for solving efficiently complex problems with non-linear objective function, continuous or discrete parameters and complex constrains. The VSOP system of codes has been used for PBR fuel utilization calculations and MATLAB script has been used to implement the PSO algorithm. Optimization of PBR natural uranium utilization (NUU) has been carried out for 3000 MWth High Temperature Reactor design (HTR) operating on the Once Trough Then Out (OTTO) fuel management scheme, and for 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) operating on the multi-pass (MEDUL) fuel management scheme. Results showed only a modest improvement in the NUU (<5%) over reference designs. Investigation of thorium fuel cases showed that the use of HEU in combination with thorium results in the most favorable reactor performance in terms of

Pebble bed reactor fuel cycle optimization using particle swarm algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavron, Barak; Shwageraus, Eugene

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Particle swarm method has been developed for fuel cycle optimization of PBR reactor. • Results show uranium utilization low sensitivity to fuel and core design parameters. • Multi-zone fuel loading pattern leads to a small improvement in uranium utilization. • Thorium mixes with highly enriched uranium yields the best uranium utilization. - Abstract: Pebble bed reactors (PBR) features, such as robust thermo-mechanical fuel design and on-line continuous fueling, facilitate wide range of fuel cycle alternatives. A range off fuel pebble types, containing different amounts of fertile or fissile fuel material, may be loaded into the reactor core. Several fuel loading zones may be used since radial mixing of the pebbles was shown to be limited. This radial separation suggests the possibility to implement the “seed-blanket” concept for the utilization of fertile fuels such as thorium, and for enhancing reactor fuel utilization. In this study, the particle-swarm meta-heuristic evolutionary optimization method (PSO) has been used to find optimal fuel cycle design which yields the highest natural uranium utilization. The PSO method is known for solving efficiently complex problems with non-linear objective function, continuous or discrete parameters and complex constrains. The VSOP system of codes has been used for PBR fuel utilization calculations and MATLAB script has been used to implement the PSO algorithm. Optimization of PBR natural uranium utilization (NUU) has been carried out for 3000 MWth High Temperature Reactor design (HTR) operating on the Once Trough Then Out (OTTO) fuel management scheme, and for 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) operating on the multi-pass (MEDUL) fuel management scheme. Results showed only a modest improvement in the NUU (<5%) over reference designs. Investigation of thorium fuel cases showed that the use of HEU in combination with thorium results in the most favorable reactor performance in terms of

Fluidized bed reactor for working up carbon coated particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marschollek, M.; Simon, W.; Walter, C.

1981-01-01

A fluidized bed reactor is described for working up carbon coated particles, particularly nuclear fuel particles or fertile material particles consisting essentially of a cylindrical portion connected to a conical portion. Gas supply pipes, gas distribution space and gas distribution heads are provided within the conical reactor lower portion, the gas distribution members being arranged in at least two superimposed planes and distributed symmetrically over the cross-section of the reactor

Nonlinear dynamics and control of a recycle fixed bed reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Recke, Bodil; Jørgensen, Sten Bay

1997-01-01

The purpose of this paper is twofold. Primarily to describe the dynamic behaviour that can be observed in a fixed bed reactor with recycle of unconverted reactant. Secondly to describe the possibilities of model reduction in order to facilitate control design. Reactant recycle has been shown...... to introduce periodic solution to the fixed bed reactor, a phenomenon which is not seen for the system without the recycle, at least not within the Peclet number range investigated in the present work. The possibility of model reduction by the methods of modal decomposition, and by characteristics...

Neutron physical investigations on the shutdown effect of small boronated absorbing spheres for pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sgouridis, S.; Schurrer, F.; Muller, H.; Ninaus, W.; Oswald, K.; Neef, R.D.; Schaal, H.

1987-01-01

An emergency shutdown system for high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed reactors is proposed in addition to the common absorber rod shutdown system. This system is based on the strongly absorbing effect of small boronated graphite spheres (called KLAK), which trickle in case of emergency by gravity from the top reflector into the reactor core. The inner reflector of the Siemens-Argonaut reactor was substituted by an assembly of spherical Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor fuel elements, and the shutdown effect was examined by installing well-defined KLAK nests inside this assembly. The purpose was to develop and prove a calculational procedure for determining criticality values for assemblies of large fuel spheres and small absorbing spheres

Integrated design approach of the pebble BeD modular reactor using models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venter, Pieter J.; Mitchell, Mark N.

2007-01-01

The pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) is the first pebble bed reactor that will be utilised in a high temperature direct Brayton cycle configuration. This implies that there are a number of unique features in the PBMR that extend from the German experience base. One of the challenges in the design of the PBMR is developing an understanding of the expected behaviour of the reactor through analyses and simulations and managing the integrated design process between the designers, the physicists and the analysts. This integrated design process is managed through model-based development work. Three-dimensional CAD models are constructed of the components and parts in the reactor. From the CAD models, CFD models, neutronic models, shielding models, FEM models and other thermodynamic models are derived. These models range from very simple models to extremely detailed and complex models. The models are used in legacy software as well as commercial off-the-shelf software. The different models are also used in code-to-code comparisons to verify the results. This paper will briefly discuss the different models and the interaction between the models, and how the models are used in the iterative design process that is used in the development of the reactor at PBMR

Study on transient of fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streck, E.E.

1988-01-01

The point kinetic equations for a Fluidized-Bed Nuclear Reactor are solved by the method of Hansen. Due to the time varying nature of the reactor volume, the equations have a non-conventional formulation (moving boundary problem), but the method of solution preserves its asymptotic convergence and efficiency characteristics under this formulation. A one dimensional and linearized thermal hydraulics feedback model was coupled to the point kinetic equations in order to obtain a more realistic representation of the reactor power. The resulting equations are solved by the Euler explicit method. (author)

Start-up and performance characteristics of a trickle bed reactor degrading toluene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ondrej Misiaczek

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate toluene degradation in a trickle bed reactor when the loading was carried out by changing the air flow rate. The biofiltration system was inoculated with a mixed microbial population, adapted to degradation of hydrophobic compounds. Polypropylene high flow rings were used as a packing material. The system was operated for a period of 50 days at empty bed residence times ranging from 106s to 13s and with a constant inlet concentration of toluene of 100 mg.m-3. The reactor showed high removal efficiency at higher contact times and increasing elimination capacity with higher air-flow rates. The highest EC value reached was 9.8 gC.m-3.h-1 at EBRT = 13s. During the experiment, the consumption of NaOH solution was also measured. No significant variation of this value was found and an average value of 3.84 mmol of NaOH per gram of consumed carbon was recorded.

Catalytic wet oxidation of phenol in a trickle bed reactor over a Pt/TiO2 catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Maugans, Clayton B; Akgerman, Aydin

2003-01-01

Catalytic wet oxidation of phenol was studied in a batch and a trickle bed reactor using 4.45% Pt/TiO2 catalyst in the temperature range 150-205 degrees C. Kinetic data were obtained from batch reactor studies and used to model the reaction kinetics for phenol disappearance and for total organic carbon disappearance. Trickle bed experiments were then performed to generate data from a heterogeneous flow reactor. Catalyst deactivation was observed in the trickle bed reactor, although the exact cause was not determined. Deactivation was observed to linearly increase with the cumulative amount of phenol that had passed over the catalyst bed. Trickle bed reactor modeling was performed using a three-phase heterogeneous model. Model parameters were determined from literature correlations, batch derived kinetic data, and trickle bed derived catalyst deactivation data. The model equations were solved using orthogonal collocations on finite elements. Trickle bed performance was successfully predicted using the batch derived kinetic model and the three-phase reactor model. Thus, using the kinetics determined from limited data in the batch mode, it is possible to predict continuous flow multiphase reactor performance.

Rotary Bed Reactor for Chemical-Looping Combustion with Carbon Capture. Part 1: Reactor Design and Model Development

KAUST Repository

Zhao, Zhenlong

2013-01-17

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a novel and promising technology for power generation with inherent CO2 capture. Currently, almost all of the research has been focused on developing CLC-based interconnected fluidized-bed reactors. In this two-part series, a new rotary reactor concept for gas-fueled CLC is proposed and analyzed. In part 1, the detailed configuration of the rotary reactor is described. In the reactor, a solid wheel rotates between the fuel and air streams at the reactor inlet and exit. Two purging sectors are used to avoid the mixing between the fuel stream and the air stream. The rotary wheel consists of a large number of channels with copper oxide coated on the inner surface of the channels. The support material is boron nitride, which has high specific heat and thermal conductivity. Gas flows through the reactor at elevated pressure, and it is heated to a high temperature by fuel combustion. Typical design parameters for a thermal capacity of 1 MW have been proposed, and a simplified model is developed to predict the performances of the reactor. The potential drawbacks of the rotary reactor are also discussed. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Rotating-bed reactor as a power source for EM gun applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powell, J.; Botts, T.; Stickley, C.M.; Meth, S.

1980-01-01

Electromagnetic gun applications of the Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) are examined. The RBR is a compact (approx. 1 m/sup 3/), (up to several thousand MW(th)), high-power reactor concept, capable of producing a high-temperature (up to approx. 300/sup 0/K) gas stream with a MHD generator coupled to it, the RBR can generate electric power (up to approx. 1000 MW(e)) in the pulsed or cw modes. Three EM gun applications are investigated: a rail gun thruster for orbit transfer, a rapid-fire EM gun for point defense, and a direct ground-to-space launch. The RBR appears suitable for all applications.

Rotating-bed reactor as a power source for EM gun applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.; Botts, T.; Stickley, C.M.; Meth, S.

1980-01-01

Electromagnetic gun applications of the Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR) are examined. The RBR is a compact (approx. 1 m 3 ), (up to several thousand MW(th)), high-power reactor concept, capable of producing a high-temperature (up to approx. 300 0 K) gas stream with a MHD generator coupled to it, the RBR can generate electric power (up to approx. 1000 MW(e)) in the pulsed or cw modes. Three EM gun applications are investigated: a rail gun thruster for orbit transfer, a rapid-fire EM gun for point defense, and a direct ground-to-space launch. The RBR appears suitable for all applications

Conversion of metallurgical coke and coal using a Coal Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) moving bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Siwei; Bayham, Samuel; Zeng, Liang; McGiveron, Omar; Chung, Elena; Majumder, Ankita; Fan, Liang-Shih

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Accumulated more than 300 operation hours were accomplished for the moving bed reducer reactor. • Different reactor operation variables were investigated with optimal conditions identified. • High conversions of sub-bituminous coal and bituminous coal were achieved without flow problems. • Co-current and counter-current contact modes were tested and their applicability was discussed. - Abstract: The CLC process has the potential to be a transformative commercial technology for a carbon-constrained economy. The Ohio State University Coal Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) process directly converts coal, eliminating the need for a coal gasifier oran air separation unit (ASU). Compared to other solid-fuel CLC processes, the CDCL process is unique in that it consists of a countercurrent moving bed reducer reactor. In the proposed process, coal is injected into the middle of the moving bed, whereby the coal quickly heats up and devolatilizes, splitting the reactor roughly into two sections with no axial mixing. The top section consists of gaseous fuel produced from the coal volatiles, and the bottom section consists of the coal char mixed with the oxygen carrier. A bench-scale moving bed reactor was used to study the coal conversion with CO 2 as the enhancing gas. Initial tests using metallurgical cokefines as feedstock were conducted to test the effects of operational variables in the bottom section of the moving bed reducer, e.g., reactor temperature, oxygen carrier to char ratio, enhancer gas CO 2 flow rate, and oxygen carrier flow rates. Experiments directly using coal as the feedstock were subsequently carried out based on these test results. Powder River Basin (PRB) coal and Illinois #6 coal were tested as representative sub-bituminous and bituminous coals, respectively. Nearly complete coal conversion was achieved using composite iron oxide particles as the oxygen carriers without any flow problems. The operational results demonstrated that a

Discharge Characteristics of Series Surface/Packed-Bed Discharge Reactor Diven by Bipolar Pulsed Power

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Jian; Jiang, Nan; Li, Jie; Shang, Kefeng; Lu, Na; Wu, Yan; Mizuno, Akira

2016-03-01

The discharge characteristics of the series surface/packed-bed discharge (SSPBD) reactor driven by bipolar pulse power were systemically investigated in this study. In order to evaluate the advantages of the SSPBD reactor, it was compared with traditional surface discharge (SD) reactor and packed-bed discharge (PBD) reactor in terms of the discharge voltage, discharge current, and ozone formation. The SSPBD reactor exhibited a faster rising time and lower tail voltage than the SD and PBD reactors. The distribution of the active species generated in different discharge regions of the SSPBD reactor was analyzed by optical emission spectra and ozone analysis. It was found that the packed-bed discharge region (3.5 mg/L), rather than the surface discharge region (1.3 mg/L) in the SSPBD reactor played a more important role in ozone generation. The optical emission spectroscopy analysis indicated that more intense peaks of the active species (e.g. N2 and OI) in the optical emission spectra were observed in the packed-bed region. supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51177007), the Joint Funds of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U1462105), and Dalian University of Technology Fundamental Research Fund of China (No. DUT15RC(3)030)

Biological Phosphorus Removal in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helness, Herman

2007-09-15

The scope of this study was to investigate use of the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) process for biological phosphorus removal. The goal has been to describe the operating conditions required for biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal in a MBBR operated as a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), and determine dimensioning criteria for such a process

Performance Evaluation of Moving Bed Bio Film Reactor in Saline Wastewater Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Ahmadi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose:Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor is an aerobic attached growth with better biofilm thickness control, lack of plugging and lower head loss. Consequently, this system is greatly used by different wastewater treatment plants. High TDS wastewater produced petrochemical, leather tanning, sea food processing, cannery, pickling and dairy industries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of MBBR in saline wastewater treatment. Materials and methods: In this study, 50 percent of a cylindrical reactor with 9.5 liter occupied media with 650 m2.m-3. In the first step, hydraulic regime was evaluated and startup reactor was done by sanitary sludge. Bio film was generated with glucose as the sole carbon source in synthetic wastewater. MBBR performance evaluation was performed in 6:30 and 8:45 with saline wastewater after bio film produced on media. Results: After 83 days of passing MBBR operation with saline wastewater containing 3000-12000 mg.L-1 TDS, organic loading rate of 2.2-3.5 kg/m3.d COD removal efficiency reached 80-92%. Conclusion: Moving bed biofilm reactor is effective in organic load elimination from saline wastewater.

Oxidation of ethene in a wall-cooled packed-bed reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schouten, E.P.S.; Borman, P.C.; Westerterp, K.R.

1994-01-01

The selective oxidation of ethene over a silver on α-alumina catalyst was studied in a pilot plant with a wall-cooled tubular packed bed reactor. Gas and solid temperatures in the catalyst bed were measured at different axial and radial positions as well as concentrations at different axial

The influence of bamboo-packed configuration to mixing characteristics in a fixed-bed reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Detalina, M.; Pradanawati, S. A.; Widyarani; Mamat; Nilawati, D.; Sintawardani, N.

2018-03-01

Fixed-bed reactors are commonly used as bioreactors for various applications, including chemicals production and organic wastewater treatment. Bioreactors are fixed with packing materials for attaching microorganisms. Packing materials should have high surface area and enable sufficient fluid flow in the reactor. Natural materials e.g. rocks and fibres are often used as packing materials. Commercially, packing materials are also produced from polymer with the advantage of customizable shapes. The objective of this research was to study the mixing pattern in a packed-bed reactor using bamboo as packing material. Bamboo was selected for its pipe-like and porous form, as well as its abundant availability in Indonesia. The cut bamboo sticks were installed in a reactor in different configurations namely vertical, horizontal, and random. Textile dye was used as a tracer. Our results show that the vertical configuration gave the least liquid resistant flow. Yet, the random configuration was the best configuration during mixing process.

Development of research reactor simulator and its application to dynamic test-bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kee-Choon; Baang, Dane; Park, Jae-Chang; Lee, Seung-Wook; Bae, Sung Won

2014-01-01

We developed a real-time simulator for 'High-flux Advanced Neutron Application ReactOr (HANARO), and the Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR). The main purpose of this simulator is operator training, but we modified this simulator into a dynamic test-bed (DTB) to test the functions and dynamic control performance of reactor regulating system (RRS) in HANARO or JRTR before installation. The simulator hardware consists of a host computer, 6 operator stations, a network switch, and a large display panel. The software includes a mathematical model that implements plant dynamics in real-time, an instructor station module that manages user instructions, and a human machine interface module. The developed research reactor simulators are installed in the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute nuclear training center for reactor operator training. To use the simulator as a dynamic test-bed, the reactor regulating system modeling software of the simulator was replaced by actual RRS cabinet, and was interfaced using a hard-wired and network-based interface. RRS cabinet generates control signals for reactor power control based on the various feedback signals from DTB, and the DTB runs plant dynamics based on the RRS control signals. Thus the Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation between RRS and the emulated plant (DTB) has been implemented and tested in this configuration. The test result shows that the developed DTB and actual RRS cabinet works together simultaneously resulting in quite good dynamic control performances. (author)

Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography for the Packed Bed Reactor ISS Flight Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Marashdeh, Qussai; Motil, Brian; Wang, Aining; Liang-Shih, Fan

2013-01-01

Fixed packed bed reactors are compact, require minimum power and maintenance to operate, and are highly reliable. These features make this technology a highly desirable unit operation for long duration life support systems in space. NASA is developing an ISS experiment to address this technology with particular focus on water reclamation and air revitalization. Earlier research and development efforts funded by NASA have resulted in two hydrodynamic models which require validation with appropriate instrumentation in an extended microgravity environment. To validate these models, the instantaneous distribution of the gas and liquid phases must be measured.Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT) is a non-invasive imaging technology recently developed for multi-phase flow applications. It is based on distributing flexible capacitance plates on the peripheral of a flow column and collecting real-time measurements of inter-electrode capacitances. Capacitance measurements here are directly related to dielectric constant distribution, a physical property that is also related to material distribution in the imaging domain. Reconstruction algorithms are employed to map volume images of dielectric distribution in the imaging domain, which is in turn related to phase distribution. ECVT is suitable for imaging interacting materials of different dielectric constants, typical in multi-phase flow systems. ECVT is being used extensively for measuring flow variables in various gas-liquid and gas-solid flow systems. Recent application of ECVT include flows in risers and exit regions of circulating fluidized beds, gas-liquid and gas-solid bubble columns, trickle beds, and slurry bubble columns. ECVT is also used to validate flow models and CFD simulations. The technology is uniquely qualified for imaging phase concentrations in packed bed reactors for the ISS flight experiments as it exhibits favorable features of compact size, low profile sensors, high imaging speed, and

Glucose isomerization in simulated moving bed reactor by Glucose isomerase

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Alberto Borges da Silva

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Studies were carried out on the production of high-fructose syrup by Simulated Moving Bed (SMB technology. A mathematical model and numerical methodology were used to predict the behavior and performance of the simulated moving bed reactors and to verify some important aspects for application of this technology in the isomerization process. The developed algorithm used the strategy that considered equivalences between simulated moving bed reactors and true moving bed reactors. The kinetic parameters of the enzymatic reaction were obtained experimentally using discontinuous reactors by the Lineweaver-Burk technique. Mass transfer effects in the reaction conversion using the immobilized enzyme glucose isomerase were investigated. In the SMB reactive system, the operational variable flow rate of feed stream was evaluated to determine its influence on system performance. Results showed that there were some flow rate values at which greater purities could be obtained.Neste trabalho a tecnologia de Leito Móvel Simulado (LMS reativo é aplicada no processo de isomerização da glicose visando à produção de xarope concentrado de frutose. É apresentada a modelagem matemática e uma metodologia numérica para predizer o comportamento e o desempenho de unidades reativas de leito móvel simulado para verificar alguns aspectos importantes para o emprego desta tecnologia no processo de isomerização. O algoritmo desenvolvido utiliza a abordagem que considera as equivalências entre as unidades reativas de leito móvel simulado e leito móvel verdadeiro. Parâmetros cinéticos da reação enzimática são obtidos experimentalmente usando reatores em batelada pela técnica Lineweaver-Burk. Efeitos da transferência de massa na conversão de reação usando a enzima imobilizada glicose isomerase são verificados. No sistema reativo de LMS, a variável operacional vazão da corrente de alimentação é avaliada para conhecer o efeito de sua influência no

Thermalhydraulics of flowing particle-bed-type fusion reactor blankets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nietert, R.E.; Abdelk-Khalik, S.I.

1982-01-01

An experimental investigation has been conducted to determine the heat transfer characteristics of gravity-flowing particle beds using a special heat transfer loop. Glass microspheres were allowed to flow by gravity at controlled rates through an electrically heated stainless steel tubular test section. Values of the local and average convective heat transfer coefficient as a function of the average bed velocity, particle size and heat flux were determined. Such information is necessary for the design of gravity-flowing particle-bed type fusion reactor-blankets and associated tritium recovery systems. (orig.)

US/FRG joint report on the pebble bed high temperature reactor resource conservation potential and associated fuel cycle costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teuchert, E.; Ruetten, H.J.; Worley, B.A.; Vondy, D.R.

1979-11-01

Independent analyses at ORNL and KFA have led to the general conclusion that the flexibility in design and operation of a high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed reactor (PBR) can result in favorable ore utilization and fuel costs in comparison with other reactor types, in particular, with light-water reactors (LWRs). Fuel reprocessign and recycle show considerable promise for reducing ore consumption, and even the PBR throwaway cycle is competitive with fuel recycle in an LWR. The best performance results from the use of highly enriched fuel. Proliferation-resistant measures can be taken using medium-enriched fuel at a modest ore penalty, while use of low-enriched fuel would incur further ore penalty. Breeding is possible but net generation of fuel at a significant rate would be expensive, becoming more feasible as ore costs increase substantially. The 233 U inventory for a breeder could be produced by prebreeders using 235 U fuel

Thermal-hydraulic considerations for particle bed reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Benenati, R.; Araj, K. J.; Horn, F.

In the design of particle bed reactor (PBR) cores, consideration must be given to the gas coolant channels and their configuration. Neutronics analysis provides the relative volume fractions of the component materials, but these must be arranged in such a manner as to allow proper cooling of all components by the gas flow at relatively low pressure drops. The thermal hydraulic aspects of this problem are addressed. A description of the computer model used in the analysis of the steady state condition is also included. Blowdown tests on hot particle bed fuel elements were carried out and are described.

Optimization of a packed bed reactor for liquid waste treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, C.A.; Brower, M.J.; Coogan, J.J.; Tennant, R.A.

1993-01-01

The authors describe an optimization study of a packed bed reactor (PBR), developed for the treatment of hazardous liquid wastes. The focus is on the destruction of trichloroethylene (TCE). The PBR technology offers many distinct advantages over other processes: simple design, high destruction rates (99.99%), low costs, ambient pressure operation, easy maintenance and scaleability. The cost effectiveness, optimal operating parameters and scaleability were determined. As a second stage of treatment, a silent discharge plasma (SDP) reactor was installed to further treat offgases from the PBR. A primary advantage of this system is closed loop operation, where exhaust gases are continuously recycled and not released into the atmosphere

Pebble bed modular reactor - The first Generation IV reactor to be constructed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ion, S.; Nicholls, D.; Matzie, R.; Matzner, D.

2004-01-01

Substantial interest has been generated in advanced reactors over the past few years. This interest is motivated by the view that new nuclear power reactors will be needed to provide low carbon generation of electricity and possibly hydrogen to support the future growth in demand for both of these commodities. Some governments feel that substantially different designs will be needed to satisfy the desires for public perception, improved safety, proliferation resistance, reduced waste and competitive economics. This has motivated the creation of the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems programme in which ten countries have agreed on a framework for international cooperation in research for advanced reactors. Six designs have been selected for continued evaluation, with the objective of deployment by 2030. One of these designs is the very high temperature reactor (VHTR), which is a thermal neutron spectrum system with a helium-cooled core utilising carbon-based fuel. The pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR), being developed in South Africa through a worldwide international collaborative effort led by Eskom, the national utility, will represent a key milestone on the way to achievement of the VHTR design objectives, but in the much nearer term. This paper outlines the design objectives, safety approach and design details of the PBMR, which is already at a very advanced stage of development. (author)

Steam reforming of heptane in a fluidized bed membrane reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Rakib, Mohammad A.; Grace, John R.; Lim, C. Jim; Elnashaie, Said S. E. H.

n-Heptane served as a model compound to study steam reforming of naphtha as an alternative feedstock to natural gas for production of pure hydrogen in a fluidized bed membrane reactor. Selective removal of hydrogen using Pd 77Ag 23 membrane panels shifted the equilibrium-limited reactions to greater conversion of the hydrocarbons and lower yields of methane, an intermediate product. Experiments were conducted with no membranes, with one membrane panel, and with six panels along the height of the reactor to understand the performance improvement due to hydrogen removal in a reactor where catalyst particles were fluidized. Results indicate that a fluidized bed membrane reactor (FBMR) can provide a compact reformer for pure hydrogen production from a liquid hydrocarbon feedstock at moderate temperatures (475-550 °C). Under the experimental conditions investigated, the maximum achieved yield of pure hydrogen was 14.7 moles of pure hydrogen per mole of heptane fed.

Experimental and Computational Study of Multiphase Flow Hydrodynamics in 2D Trickle Bed Reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Nadeem, H.; Ben Salem, I.; Kurnia, J. C.; Rabbani, S.; Shamim, T.; Sassi, M.

2014-12-01

Trickle bed reactors are largely used in the refining processes. Co-current heavy oil and hydrogen gas flow downward on catalytic particle bed. Fine particles in the heavy oil and/or soot formed by the exothermic catalytic reactions deposit on the bed and clog the flow channels. This work is funded by the refining company of Abu Dhabi and aims at mitigating pressure buildup due to fine deposition in the TBR. In this work, we focus on meso-scale experimental and computational investigations of the interplay between flow regimes and the various parameters that affect them. A 2D experimental apparatus has been built to investigate the flow regimes with an average pore diameter close to the values encountered in trickle beds. A parametric study is done for the development of flow regimes and the transition between them when the geometry and arrangement of the particles within the porous medium are varied. Liquid and gas flow velocities have also been varied to capture the different flow regimes. Real time images of the multiphase flow are captured using a high speed camera, which were then used to characterize the transition between the different flow regimes. A diffused light source was used behind the 2D Trickle Bed Reactor to enhance visualizations. Experimental data shows very good agreement with the published literature. The computational study focuses on the hydrodynamics of multiphase flow and to identify the flow regime developed inside TBRs using the ANSYS Fluent Software package. Multiphase flow inside TBRs is investigated using the "discrete particle" approach together with Volume of Fluid (VoF) multiphase flow modeling. The effect of the bed particle diameter, spacing, and arrangement are presented that may be used to provide guidelines for designing trickle bed reactors.

Mixing and scale affect moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamstra, Andries; Blom, Ewout; Terjesen, Bendik Fyhn

2017-01-01

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors (MBBR) are used increasingly in closed systems for farming of fish. Scaling, i.e. design of units of increasing size, is an important issue in general bio-reactor design since mixing behaviour will differ between small and large scale. Research is mostly performed on

State of the art of the fluidized bed nuclear reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sefidvash, F.; Vilhena, M.T.M.B. de; Streck, E.; Borges, V.; Johansson, M.

1987-01-01

A small and simple nuclear reactors with inherent safety using the fluidized bed concept is under research and study. In this paper a brief study neutronics and thermal hydraulics of this reactor concept is presented. (Author) [pt

Sustainability of thorium-uranium in pebble-bed fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, G.; Zou, Y.; Xu, H.

2016-01-01

Sustainability of thorium fuel in a Pebble-Bed Fluoride salt-cooled High temperature Reactor (PBFHR) is investigated to find the feasible region of high discharge burnup and negative Flibe (2LiF-BeF_2) salt Temperature Reactivity Coefficient (TRC). Dispersion fuel or pellet fuel with SiC cladding and SiC matrix is used to replace the tri-structural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particle system for increasing fuel loading and decreasing excessive moderation. To analyze the neutronic characteristics, an equilibrium calculation method of thorium fuel self-sustainability is developed. We have compared two refueling schemes (mixing flow pattern and directional flow pattern) and two kinds of reflector materials (SiC and graphite). This method found that the feasible region of breeding and negative Flibe TRC is between 20 vol% and 62 vol% fuel loading in the fuel. A discharge burnup could be achieved up to about 200 MWd/kgHM. The case with directional flow pattern and SiC reflector showed superior burnup characteristics but the worst radial power peak factor, while the case with mixing flow pattern and SiC reflector, which was the best tradeoff between discharge burnup and radial power peak factor, could provide burnup of 140 MWd/kgHM and about 1.4 radial power peak factor with 50 vol% dispersion fuel. In addition, Flibe salt displays good neutron properties as a coolant of quasi-fast reactors due to the strong "9Be(n,2n) reaction and low neutron absorption of "6Li (even at 1000 ppm) in fast spectrum. Preliminary thermal hydraulic calculation shows a good safety margin. The greatest challenge of this reactor may be the decades irradiation time of the pebble fuel. (A.C)

Safe design and operation of fluidized-bed reactors: Choice between reactor models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerink, E.J.; Westerterp, K.R.

1990-01-01

For three different catalytic fluidized bed reactor models, two models presented by Werther and a model presented by van Deemter, the region of safe and unique operation for a chosen reaction system was investigated. Three reaction systems were used: the oxidation of benzene to maleic anhydride, the

Effects of random pebble distribution on the multiplication factor in HTR pebble bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Auwerda, G.J., E-mail: g.j.auwerda@tudelft.n [Department of Physics of Nuclear Reactors at the Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, Delft (Netherlands); Kloosterman, J.L.; Lathouwers, D.; Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der [Department of Physics of Nuclear Reactors at the Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, Delft (Netherlands)

2010-08-15

In pebble bed reactors the pebbles have a random distribution within the core. The usual approach in modeling the bed is homogenizing the entire bed. To quantify the errors arising in such a model, this article investigates the effect on k{sub eff} of three phenomena in random pebble distributions: non-uniform packing density, neutron streaming in between the pebbles, and variations in Dancoff factor. For a 100 cm high cylinder with reflective top and bottom boundary conditions 25 pebble beds were generated. Of each bed three core models were made: a homogeneous model, a zones model including density fluctuations, and an exact model with all pebbles modeled individually. The same was done for a model of the PROTEUS facility. k{sub eff} calculations were performed with three codes: Monte Carlo, diffusion, and finite element transport. By comparing k{sub eff} of the homogenized and zones model the effect of including density fluctuations in the pebble bed was found to increase k{sub eff} by 71 pcm for the infinite cylinder and 649 pcm for PROTEUS. The large value for PROTEUS is due to the low packing fraction near the top of the pebble bed, causing a significant lower packing fraction for the bulk of the pebble bed in the homogenized model. The effect of neutron streaming was calculated by comparing the zones model with the exact model, and was found to decrease k{sub eff} by 606 pcm for the infinite cylinder, and by 1240 pcm for PROTEUS. This was compared with the effect of using a streaming correction factor on the diffusion coefficient in the zones model, which resulted in {Delta}{sub streaming} values of 340 and 1085 pcm. From this we conclude neutron streaming is an important effect in pebble bed reactors, and is not accurately described by the correction factor on the diffusion coefficient. Changing the Dancoff factor in the outer part of the pebble bed to compensate for the lower probability of neutrons to enter other fuel pebbles caused no significant changes

Thymol Hydrogenation in Bench Scale Trickle Bed Reactor

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dudas, J.; Hanika, Jiří; Lepuru, J.; Barkhuysen, M.

2005-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 3 (2005), s. 255-262 ISSN 0352-9568 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : thymol hydrogenation * trickle bed reactor * gas-liquid-solid reaction Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 0.632, year: 2005

Improved lignin pyrolysis for phenolics production in a bubbling bed reactor--Effect of bed materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongbing; Briens, Cedric; Berruti, Franco

2015-01-01

Lignin pyrolysis was studied in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor equipped with a fractional condensation train, using nitrogen as the fluidization gas. The effect of different bed materials (silica sand, lignin char, activated lignin char, birch bark char, and foamed glass beads) on bio-oil yield and quality was investigated for a pyrolysis temperature of 550 °C. Results how that a bed of activated lignin char is preferable to the commonly used silica sand: pyrolysis of Kraft lignin with a bed of activated lignin char not only provides a pure char product, but also a higher dry bio-oil yield (with a relative increase of 43%), lower pyrolytic water production, and better bio-oil quality. The bio-oil obtained from Kraft lignin pyrolysis with a bed of activated lignin char has a lower average molecular weight, less tar, more phenolics, and less acidity than when sand is used as bed material. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gas Reactor International Cooperative Program. Interim report. Safety and licensing evaluaion of German Pebble Bed Reactor concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-09-01

The Pebble Bed Gas Cooled Reactor, as developed in the Federal Republic of Germany, was reviewed from a United States Safety and Licensing perspective. The primary concepts considered were the steam cycle electric generating pebble bed (HTR-K) and the process heat pebble bed (PNP), although generic consideration of the direct cycle gas turbine pebble bed (HHT) was included. The study examines potential U.S. licensing issues and offers some suggestions as to required development areas

Numerical simulation for debris bed behavior in sodium cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tagami, Hirotaka; Tobita, Yoshiharu

2014-01-01

For safety analysis of SFR, it is necessary to evaluate behavior along with coolability of debris bed in lower plenum which is formed in severe accident. In order to analyze debris behavior, model for dense sediment particles behavior was proposed and installed in SFR safety analysis code SIMMER. SIMMER code could adequately reproduce experimental results simulating the self-leveling phenomena with appropriate model parameters for bed stiffness. In reactor condition, the self-leveling experiment for prototypical debris bed has not been performed. Additionally, the prototypical debris bed consists of non-spherical particles and it is difficult to quantify model parameters. This situation brings sensitivity analysis to investigate effect of model parameters on the self-leveling phenomena of prototypical debris bed in present paper. As initial condition for sensitivity analysis, simple mound-like debris bed in sodium-filled lower plenum in reactor vessel is considered. The bed consists of the mixture of fuel debris of 3,300 kg and steel debris of 1,570 kg. Decay heat is given to this fuel debris. The model parameter is chosen as sensitivity parameter. Sensitivity analysis shows that the model parameters can effect on intensity of self-leveling phenomena and eventual flatness of bed. In all analyses, however, coolant and sodium vapor break the debris bed at mainly center part of bed and the debris is relocated to outside of bed. Through this process, the initial debris bed is almost planarized before re-melting of debris. This result shows that the model parameters affect the self-leveling phenomena, but its effect in the safety analysis of SFRs is limited. (author)

Particle bed reactor scaling relationships

Science.gov (United States)

Slovik, G.; Araj, K.; Horn, F. L.; Ludewig, H.; Benenati, R.

The Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) concept can be used in several applications both as part of a power generating system or as a direct propulsion unit. In order to carry out optimization studies of systems involving a PBR, it is necessary to know the variation of the critical mass with pertinent system parameters such as weight, size, power level and thrust level. A parametric study is presented for all the practical combinations of fuel and moderating material. The PBR is described, the practical combinations of materials and dimensions are discussed, and an example is presented.

Risk-informed design of a pebble bed gas reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritterbusch, Stanley; Dimitrijevic, Vesna; Simic Zdenko; Savkina Marina

2003-01-01

One of the major challenges to the successful deployment of new nuclear plants in the United States is the regulatory process, which is largely based on water-reactor design technology and operating experience. While ongoing and expected efforts to license new LWR designs are based primarily on current regulations, guidance, and past experience, the pre-application review of the gas-cooled Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) has shown that efforts are being made to provide additional 'risk-informed' improvements to the licensing process. These improvements are aimed at resolving new design and regulatory issues using a plant-wide integrated evaluation method - state-of-the-art Probabilistic Risk Assessment - which addresses all significant design features and operating modes. The integrated PRA evaluation is supported by the usual deterministic design analyses, engineering judgments, and margins added to address uncertainties (i.e., defense-in-depth). The work performed for this paper was completed as part of the United States Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. The purpose of this particular project was to develop the methods for a new 'highly risk-informed' design and regulatory process. In this work. PRA techniques were applied in order to provide an integrated and systematic analysis of the plant design, to quantify uncertainties and explicitly account for defense-in-depth features. This work concentrates on the application of the risk-informed principles to a new plant design such as the PBMR. The implementation example completed for this project included specification of the design configuration, use of the PRA to evaluate the design, and iterations to identify design changes that improve the overall level of safety and system reliability. This paper summarizes the new 'highly risk-informed' design process, the design of the PBMR, and the results obtained. These results, consistent with the known inherent safety features of a pebble-bed

Elemental mercury vapor capture by powdered activated carbon in a fluidized bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fabrizio Scala; Riccardo Chirone; Amedeo Lancia [Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione - CNR, Napoli (Italy)

2011-06-15

A bubbling fluidized bed of inert material was used to increase the activated carbon residence time in the reaction zone and to improve its performance for mercury vapor capture. Elemental mercury capture experiments were conducted at 100{sup o}C in a purposely designed 65 mm ID lab-scale pyrex reactor, that could be operated both in the fluidized bed and in the entrained bed configurations. Commercial powdered activated carbon was pneumatically injected in the reactor and mercury concentration at the outlet was monitored continuously. Experiments were carried out at different inert particle sizes, bed masses, fluidization velocities and carbon feed rates. Experimental results showed that the presence of a bubbling fluidized bed led to an increase of the mercury capture efficiency and, in turn, of the activated carbon utilization. This was explained by the enhanced activated carbon loading and gas-solid contact time that establishes in the reaction zone, because of the large surface area available for activated carbon adhesion/deposition in the fluidized bed. Transient mercury concentration profiles at the bed outlet during the runs were used to discriminate between the controlling phenomena in the process. Experimental data have been analyzed in the light of a phenomenological framework that takes into account the presence of both free and adhered carbon in the reactor as well as mercury saturation of the adsorbent. 14 refs., 7 figs.

Nuclear Safeguards Considerations For The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phillip Casey Durst; David Beddingfield; Brian Boyer; Robert Bean; Michael Collins; Michael Ehinger; David Hanks; David L. Moses; Lee Refalo

2009-10-01

High temperature reactors (HTRs) have been considered since the 1940s, and have been constructed and demonstrated in the United Kingdom (Dragon), United States (Peach Bottom and Fort Saint Vrain), Japan (HTTR), Germany (AVR and THTR-300), and have been the subject of conceptual studies in Russia (VGM). The attraction to these reactors is that they can use a variety of reactor fuels, including abundant thorium, which upon reprocessing of the spent fuel can produce fissile U-233. Hence, they could extend the stocks of available uranium, provided the fuel is reprocessed. Another attractive attribute is that HTRs typically operate at a much higher temperature than conventional light water reactors (LWRs), because of the use of pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide coated (TRISO) fuel particles embedded in ceramic graphite. Rather than simply discharge most of the unused heat from the working fluid in the power plant to the environment, engineers have been designing reactors for 40 years to recover this heat and make it available for district heating or chemical conversion plants. Demonstrating high-temperature nuclear energy conversion was the purpose behind Fort Saint Vrain in the United States, THTR-300 in Germany, HTTR in Japan, and HTR-10 and HTR-PM, being built in China. This resulted in nuclear reactors at least 30% or more thermodynamically efficient than conventional LWRs, especially if the waste heat can be effectively utilized in chemical processing plants. A modern variant of high temperature reactors is the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR). Originally developed in the United States and Germany, it is now being redesigned and marketed by the Republic of South Africa and China. The team examined historical high temperature and high temperature gas reactors (HTR and HTGR) and reviewed safeguards considerations for this reactor. The following is a preliminary report on this topic prepared under the ASA-100 Advanced Safeguards Project in support of the NNSA Next

Optimized core design and fuel management of a pebble-bed type nuclear reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, B.

2009-01-01

The core design of a pebble-bed type Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is optimized, aiming for an increase of the coolant outlet temperature to 1000 C, while retaining its inherent safety features. The VHTR has been selected by the international Generation IV research initiative as one of the

Development and testing of nuclear graphite for the German pebble-bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haag, G.; Delle, W.; Nickel, H.; Theymann, W.; Wilhelmi, G.

1987-01-01

Several types of high temperature reactors have been developed in the Federal Republic of Germany. They are all based on spherical fuel elements being surrounded by graphite as reflector material. As an example, HTR-500 developed by the Hochtemperatur Reaktorbau GmbH is shown. The core consists of the top reflector, the side reflector with inner and outer parts, the bottom reflector and the core support columns. The most serious problem with respect to fast neutron radiation damage had to be solved for the materials of those parts near the pebble bed. Regarding the temperature profile in the core, the top reflector is at 300 deg C, and as cooling gas flows from the top downward, the temperature of the inner side reflector rises to about 700 deg C at the bottom. Fortunately, the highest fast neutron load accumulated during the life time of a reactor corresponds to the lowest temperature. This makes graphite components easier to survive neutron exposure without being mechanically damaged, although the maximum fast neutron fluence is as high as 4 x 10 22 /cm 2 at about 400 deg C. HTR graphite components are divided into four classes according to loading. The raw materials for nuclear graphite, the development of pitch coke nuclear graphite, the irradiation behavior of ATR-2E and ASR-IRS and others are reported. (Kako, I.)

Experimental and theoretical studies on hydrogenation of olefins in multiphase fixed bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battsengel, B.; Datsevitch, L.; Jess, A. [Bayreuth Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2003-07-01

Multi phase reactors like trickle bed systems are frequently used for gas-liquid reactions. In general, they have complex mass and heat transfer characteristics; scale-up is therefore difficult. The present work focuses on the role of mass transfer on the effective reaction rate, taking catalytic octene hydrogenation as a model reaction. The reaction rate in a trickle bed reactor is by a factor of about 20 smaller than (theoretically) in the absence of any mass transfer limitations. Based on the experimental results, the so-called pre-saturation concept is presented, where only the liquid saturated with hydrogen is fed into the reactor. The effective reaction rate in this two phase system (liquid and solid cat.) is equal or even higher than in a trickle bed reactor. Scale-up problems do not occur, and the pre-saturation concept has also other advantages (lower energy consumption), as discussed in detail in this paper. (orig.)

Hydrodynamic Studies on a Trickle Bed Reactor for Foaming Liquids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renu Gupta

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Hydrodynamic studies of trickle bed reactors (TBRs are essential for the design and prediction of their performance. The hydrodynamic characteristics involving pressure drop and dynamic liquid saturation are greatly affected by the physical properties of the liquids. In the present study experiments have been carried out in a concurrent downflow air - liquid trickle bed reactor to investigate the dynamic liquid saturation and pressure drop for the water (non-foaming and 3% polyethylene glycol and 4% polyethylene glycol foaming liquids in the gas continuous regime (GCF and foaming pulsing regime (FP. In the GCF regime the dynamic liquid saturation was found to increase with increase in liquid flow rate for non-foaming and foaming liquids. While for 3% and 4% polyethylene glycol solutions the severe foaming was observed in the high interaction regime and the regime is referred to as foaming pulsing (FP regime. The decrease in dynamic liquid saturation followed by a sharp rise in the pressure drop was observed during transition from gas GCF to FP regime. However in the FP regime, a dip in the dynamic liquid saturation was observed. The pressure drop for foaming liquids is observed to be manifolds higher compared to non-foaming liquid in the GCF regime. ©2010 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 16th January 2010, Revised: 10th February 2010, Accepted: 21st Feberuary 2010[How to Cite: R. Gupta, A. Bansal. (2010. Hydrodynamic Studies on a Trickle Bed Reactor for Foaming Liquids. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 5 (1: 31-37. doi:10.9767/bcrec.5.1.7127.31-37][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.5.1.7127.31-37 || or local:  http://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/bcrec/article/view/7127][Cited by: Scopus 1 | ] 

Hydrodynamic Studies on a Trickle Bed Reactor for Foaming Liquids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay Bansal

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Hydrodynamic studies of trickle bed reactors (TBRs are essential for the design and prediction of their performance. The hydrodynamic characteristics involving pressure drop and dynamic liquid saturation are greatly affected by the physical properties of the liquids. In the present study experiments have been carried out in a concurrent downflow air - liquid trickle bed reactor to investigate the dynamic liquid saturation and pressure drop for the water (non-foaming and 3% polyethylene glycol and 4% polyethylene glycol foaming liquids in the gas continuous regime (GCF and foaming pulsing regime (FP. In the GCF regime the dynamic liquid saturation was found to increase with increase in liquid flow rate for non-foaming and foaming liquids. While for 3% and 4% polyethylene glycol solutions the severe foaming was observed in the high interaction regime and the regime is referred to as foaming pulsing (FP regime. The decrease in dynamic liquid saturation followed by a sharp rise in the pressure drop was observed during transition from gas GCF to FP regime. However in the FP regime, a dip in the dynamic liquid saturation was observed. The pressure drop for foaming liquids is observed to be manifolds higher compared to non-foaming liquid in the GCF regime. ©2010 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reserved(Received: 16th January 2010, Revised: 10th February 2010, Accepted: 21st Feberuary 2010[How to Cite: R. Gupta, A. Bansal. (2010. Hydrodynamic Studies on a Trickle Bed Reactor for Foaming Liquids. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 5 (1: 31-37. doi:10.9767/bcrec.5.1.775.31-37][How to Link / DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.5.1.775.31-37 ][Cited by: Scopus 1 |

Pore Scale Thermal Hydraulics Investigations of Molten Salt Cooled Pebble Bed High Temperature Reactor with BCC and FCC Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shixiong Song

2014-01-01

CFD results and empirical correlations’ predictions of pressure drop and local Nusselt numbers. Local pebble surface temperature distributions in several default conditions are investigated. Thermal removal capacities of molten salt are confirmed in the case of nominal condition; the pebble surface temperature under the condition of local power distortion shows the tolerance of pebble in extreme neutron dose exposure. The numerical experiments of local pebble insufficient cooling indicate that in the molten salt cooled pebble bed reactor, the pebble surface temperature is not very sensitive to loss of partial coolant. The methods and results of this paper would be useful for optimum designs and safety analysis of molten salt cooled pebble bed reactors.

Review of PSI studies on reactor physics and thermal fluid dynamics of pebble bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasser, Horst-Michael

2014-01-01

Switzerland is member of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). The related work takes entirely place at PSI in the working groups of Gas-Cooled Fast Reactors and Very High Temperature Reactors. In the past, PSI has performed experimental and theoretical studies on criticality issues of pebble beds at the PROTEUS reactor, as well as a preliminary risk assessment of a prototypal HTR as an input for a comparison of energy supply options. PROTEUS was a critical assembly with an annular driver zone. The central region was filled by arrangements of fuel spheres. The reactivity effect of a water ingress was investigated by simulating the water by polyethylene rods of different diameter inserted into the gaps of a regular package. For sub-criticality measurements in pebble beds, a built-in pulsed neutron source was used. The experimental results were used to validate diffusion and higher order neutron transport models. Concerning thermal hydraulics of gas flows, the vast experience of PSI is focused on hydrogen transport, accumulation, and dispersion in containments of light water reactors. The phenomena are comparable in many aspects to the fluid dynamic issues relevant to HTR. Experiments on hydrogen flows are performed for numerous scenarios in the large-scale containment test facility PANDA. Hydrogen is substituted by helium as a model fluid. An important generic aspect is turbulent mixing in the presence of strong stratification, which is relevant for HTR as well. In a parallel project, generic small-scale mixing experiments with a high density ratio of 1:7 are carried out in a horizontal rectangular channel, where helium and nitrogen flows are brought into contact downstream of the rear edge of a splitter plate. Due to the high density ratio, turbulent mixing is affected by strong non-Boussinesq effects. The measurements taken by Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Induced Fluorescence techniques are compared to RANS and LES simulations. Similar large

Improving hydrolysis of food waste in a leach bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Browne, James D.; Allen, Eoin; Murphy, Jerry D., E-mail: jerry.murphy@ucc.ie

2013-11-15

Highlights: • This paper assesses leaching of food waste in a two phase digestion system. • Leaching is assessed with and without an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). • Without the UASB, low pH reduces hydrolysis, while increased flows increase leaching. • Inclusion of the UASB increases pH to optimal levels and greatly improves leaching. • The optimal conditions are suggested as low flow with connection to the UASB. - Abstract: This paper examines the rate of degradation of food waste in a leach bed reactor (LBR) under four different operating conditions. The effects of leachate recirculation at a low and high flow rate are examined with and without connection to an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). Two dilution rates of the effective volume of the leach bed reactors were investigated: 1 and 6 dilutions per LBR per day. The increase in dilution rate from 1 to 6 improved the destruction of volatile solids without connection to the UASB. However connection to the UASB greatly improved the destruction of volatile solids (by almost 60%) at the low recirculation rate of 1 dilution per day. The increase in volatile solids destruction with connection to the UASB was attributed to an increase in leachate pH and buffering capacity provided by recirculated effluent from the UASB to the leach beds. The destruction of volatile solids for both the low and high dilution rates was similar with connection to the UASB, giving 82% and 88% volatile solids destruction respectively. This suggests that the most efficient leaching condition is 1 dilution per day with connection to the UASB.

Improving hydrolysis of food waste in a leach bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Browne, James D.; Allen, Eoin; Murphy, Jerry D.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • This paper assesses leaching of food waste in a two phase digestion system. • Leaching is assessed with and without an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). • Without the UASB, low pH reduces hydrolysis, while increased flows increase leaching. • Inclusion of the UASB increases pH to optimal levels and greatly improves leaching. • The optimal conditions are suggested as low flow with connection to the UASB. - Abstract: This paper examines the rate of degradation of food waste in a leach bed reactor (LBR) under four different operating conditions. The effects of leachate recirculation at a low and high flow rate are examined with and without connection to an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB). Two dilution rates of the effective volume of the leach bed reactors were investigated: 1 and 6 dilutions per LBR per day. The increase in dilution rate from 1 to 6 improved the destruction of volatile solids without connection to the UASB. However connection to the UASB greatly improved the destruction of volatile solids (by almost 60%) at the low recirculation rate of 1 dilution per day. The increase in volatile solids destruction with connection to the UASB was attributed to an increase in leachate pH and buffering capacity provided by recirculated effluent from the UASB to the leach beds. The destruction of volatile solids for both the low and high dilution rates was similar with connection to the UASB, giving 82% and 88% volatile solids destruction respectively. This suggests that the most efficient leaching condition is 1 dilution per day with connection to the UASB

Thermo-catalytic pyrolysis of waste polyethylene bottles in a packed bed reactor with different bed materials and catalysts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obeid, Farah; Zeaiter, Joseph; Al-Muhtaseb, Ala’a H.; Bouhadir, Kamal

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Thermo-catalytic pyrolysis of waste polyethylene bottles was investigated. • The highest yield of liquid (82%) was obtained over a cement powder bed. • Acidic catalysts narrowed the carbon chain length of the paraffins to C 10 –C 28 . • Combination of cement bed with HBeta catalyst gave the highest yield of liquid. • Significant yield of aromatics was obtained mainly naphthalene and D-limonene. - Abstract: Plastic waste is an increasing economic and environmental problem as such there is a great need to process this waste and reduce its environmental impact. In this work, the pyrolysis of high density polyethylene (HDPE) waste products was investigated using both thermal and catalytic cracking techniques. The experimental work was carried out using packed bed reactor operating under an inert atmosphere at 450 °C. Different reactor bed materials, including sand, cement and white clay were used to enhance the thermal cracking of HDPE. In addition, the catalytic effect of sodium hydroxide, HUSY and HBeta zeolite catalysts on the degradation of HDPE waste was also investigated. The reactor beds were found to significantly alter the yield as well as the product composition. Products such as paraffins (⩽C 44 ), olefins (⩽C 22 ), aromatics (⩽C 14 ) and alcohols (C 16 and C 17 ) were obtained at varying rates. The highest yield of liquid (82%) was obtained over a cement powder bed with a paraffin yield of 58%. The yield of paraffins and olefins followed separate paths, for paraffins it was found to increase in the order or Cement > White clay > Silica Sand, whereas for the olefins it was in the reverse order Silica Sand > White clay > Cement. The results obtained in this work exhibited a higher P/O ratio than expected, where the amount of generated paraffins was greater than 60% in most cases. Less olefin was generated as a consequence. This indicates that the product generated is more suited to be used as a fuel rather than as a chemical

Characteristics of convective heat transport in a packed pebble-bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdulmohsin, Rahman S., E-mail: rsar62@mst.edu [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 11th Street/231 Schrenk Hall, Rolla, MO 65409-1230 (United States); Al-Dahhan, Muthanna H., E-mail: aldahhanm@mst.edu [Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 400 West 11th Street/231 Schrenk Hall, Rolla, MO 65409-1230 (United States); Department of Nuclear Engineering, 301 W. 14th St./222 Fulton Hall (United States)

2015-04-01

Highlights: • A fast-response heat transfer probe has been developed and used in this work. • Heat transport has been quantified in terms of local heat transfer coefficients. • The method of the electrically heated single sphere in packing has been applied. • The heat transfer coefficient increases from the center to the wall of packed bed. • This work advancing the knowledge of heat transport in the studied packed bed. - Abstract: Obtaining more precise results and a better understanding of the heat transport mechanism in the dynamic core of packed pebble-bed reactors is needed because this mechanism poses extreme challenges to the reliable design and efficient operation of these reactors. This mechanism can be quantified in terms of a solid-to-gas convective heat transfer coefficient. Therefore, in this work, the local convective heat transfer coefficients and their radial profiles were measured experimentally in a separate effect pilot-plant scale and cold-flow experimental setup of 0.3 m in diameter, using a sophisticated noninvasive heat transfer probe of spherical type. The effect of gas velocity on the heat transfer coefficient was investigated over a wide range of Reynolds numbers of practical importance. The experimental investigations of this work include various radial locations along the height of the bed. It was found that an increase in coolant gas flow velocity causes an increase in the heat transfer coefficient and that effect of the gas flow rate varies from laminar to turbulent flow regimes at all radial positions of the studied packed pebble-bed reactor. The results show that the local heat transfer coefficient increases from the bed center to the wall due to the change in the bed structure, and hence, in the flow pattern of the coolant gas. The findings clearly indicate that one value of an overall heat transfer coefficient cannot represent the local heat transfer coefficients within the bed; therefore, correlations are needed to

Design of particle bed reactors for the space nuclear thermal propulsion program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludewig, H.; Powell, J.R.; Todosow, M.; Maise, G.; Barletta, R.; Schweitzer, D.G.

1996-01-01

This paper describes the design for the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) that was considered for the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (SNTP) Program. The methods of analysis and their validation are outlined first. Monte Carlo methods were used for the physics analysis, several new algorithms were developed for the fluid dynamics, heat transfer and transient analysis; and commercial codes were used for the stress analysis. We carried out a critical experiment, prototypic of the PBR to validate the reactor physics; blowdown experiments with beds of prototypic dimensions were undertaken to validate the power-extraction capabilities from particle beds. In addition, materials and mechanical design concepts for the fuel elements were experimentally validated. (author)

Experimental investigation on feasibility of two-region-designed pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xingtuan; Hu Wenping; Jiang Shengyao

2009-01-01

Phenomenological experiments were performed on a 2-dimensional scaled model of the two-region designed pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor core consisting of the distinct fuel pebble region and graphite pebble region. Issues with respect to the feasibility of the two-region design, including the establishment of the two-region arrangement, the mixing zone between the two regions, and the stagnant zone existence, were investigated. Three equilibrium conditions were proposed to evaluate the stable two-region arrangement formation. The general characteristics of the flow of the pebble bed were analyzed on basis of the observed phenomenon. It was found that a stable two-region arrangement was formed under the experimental conditions: the pebbles' motion was to some extent random but also confined by the neighbors of pebbles so that the mixing zone is constrained to a reasonable size. Guide plates utilized to improve mixing are proved to be effective without noticeable effect on the two-region arrangement features. Stagnant zones were observed under the experimental conditions and they were expected to be avoided by improving the design of the experimental setup. (author)

Experimental and modelling study of drinking water hydrogenotrophic denitrification in packed-bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasiliadou, I.A.; Karanasios, K.A.; Pavlou, S.; Vayenas, D.V.

2009-01-01

The aim of this work was to study hydrogenotrophic denitrification in packed-bed reactors under draw-fill and continuous operation. Three bench-scale packed-bed reactors with gravel in different sizes (mean diameter 1.75, 2.41 and 4.03 mm) as support media were used, in order to study the effect of particle size on reactors performance. The maximum denitrification rate achieved under draw-fill operation was 4.4 g NO 3 - -N/ld for the filter with gravel of 2.41 mm. This gravel size was chosen to perform experiments under continuous operation. Feed NO 3 - -N concentrations and hydraulic loadings (HL) ranged between 20-200 mg/l and 5.7-22.8 m 3 /m 2 d, respectively. A comparison between the two operating modes showed that, for low HL the draw-fill operation achieved higher denitrification rates, while for high HL and intermediate feed concentrations (40-60 mg NO 3 - -N/l) the continuous operation achieved higher denitrification rates (4.67-5.65 g/ld). Finally, experiments with three filters in series (with gravels of 4.03, 2.41 and 1.75 mm mean diameter) were also performed under continuous operation. The maximum denitrification rate achieved was 6.2 g NO 3 - -N/ld for feed concentration of 340 mg/l and HL of 11.5 m 3 /m 2 d. A model, which describes denitrification in packed-bed reactors, was also developed. The model predicts the concentration profiles of NO 3 - -N along filter height, in draw-fill as well as in continuous operation, satisfactorily.

Dimensioning of aerated submerged fixed bed biofilm reactors ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The description of a biofilm mathematical model application for dimensioning an aerated fixed bed biofilm reactor (ASFBBR) for petrochemical wastewater polishing is presented. A simple one-dimensional model of biofilm, developed by P Harremöes, was chosen for this purpose. The model was calibrated and verified ...

Kinetic evaluation of an anaerobic fluidised-bed reactor treating slaughterhouse wastewater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borja, R. [Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Seville (Spain). Inst. de la Grasa; Banks, C.J.; Zhengjian Wang [Manchester Univ. (United Kingdom). Inst. of Science and Technology

1995-09-01

An anaerobic fluidised-bed reactor for purification of slaughterhouse wastewater was modelled as a continuous-flow, completely-mixed homogeneous microbial system, with the feed COD as the limiting-substrate concentration. The average microbial residence time in the reactor was defined in terms of conventional sludge-retention-time. The experimental data obtained indicated that the Michaelis-Menten expression was applicable to a description of substrate utilisation (i.e. COD removal) in the anaerobic fluidised-bed system. The maximum substrate utilisation rate, k, and the Michaelis constant, K{sub s}, were determined to be 1.2/day and 0.039 g/l. The observed biomass yield in the reactor decreased with increasing sludge-retention-time. The specific methane production rate observed was a linear function of the specific substrate-utilisation rate. (Author)

Enlargement of the pulsing flow regime by periodic operation of a trickle-bed reactor.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boelhouwer, J.G.; Piepers, H.W.; Drinkenburg, A.A.H.

1999-01-01

Potential advantages of pulsing flow in trickle-bed reactors include capacity increase and elimination of hot spots through the enhanced mass and heat transfer rates. A disadvantage of naturally occurring pulsing flow is the necessity of relatively high gas and liquid flow rates, especially at

Esterification of oleic acid in a three-phase, fixed-bed reactor packed with a cation exchange resin catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Sung Mo; Kimura, Hiroko; Kusakabe, Katsuki

2011-01-01

Esterification of oleic acid was performed in a three-phase fixed-bed reactor with a cation exchange resin catalyst (Amberlyst-15) at high temperature, which was varied from 80 to 120 °C. The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields in the fixed-bed reactor were increased with increases in the reaction temperature, methanol flow rate and bed height. Moreover, the FAME yields were higher than those obtained using a batch reactor due to an equilibrium shift toward the product that resulted from continuous evaporation of the produced water. In addition, there was no catalyst deactivation during the esterification of oleic acid. However, addition of sunflower oil to the oleic acid reduced the FAME yield obtained from simultaneous esterification and transesterification. The FAME yield was 97.5% at a reaction temperature of 100 °C in the fixed-bed with a height of 5 cm when the methanol and oleic acid feed rates were 8.6 and 9.0 mL/h, respectively. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering aspects of fluidized bed reactor operation applied to lactase treatment of whole whey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metzdorf, C; Fauquex, P F; Flaschel, E; Renken, A

1985-01-01

An interesting possibility for the use of lactoserum in human nutrition is the hydrolysis of lactose to glucose and galactose, sugars which exhibit a better digestibility, a higher solubility, and which have a greater sweetening power than lactose. The hydrolysis is catalyzed by an enzyme, the ..beta..-galactosidase which, due to its high price, must be used continuously, preferentially in immobilized form. The enzyme used for these studies has been immobilized on silica gel precoated with chitosan. When whole whey or partially deproteinized whey is treated, a fluidized bed reactor seems to be the most appropriate to circumvent problems with protein adsorption and reactor plugging. However the fluidization of fine particles with a small density difference between the solid and the liquid may give rise to stability problems. In order to prevent unstable operation of the fluidized bed, the reactor has been equipped with special internals. They impose a radial distribution of the liquid and the solid phase and increase the linear velocity required to achieve a given expansion by a factor of five. Besides the resulting high solids content, the back-mixing of the liquid decreases significantly when static mixer-packings are used.

Coupling membrane pervaporation with a fixed-bed reactor for enhanced esterification of oleic acid with ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Ying; Lv, Enmin; Ma, Lingling; Lu, Jie; Chen, Kexun; Ding, Jincheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The reactor coupling membrane pervaporation with a fixed-bed reactor was studied. • The factors effecting the esterification of oleic acid were investigated. • NaA zeolite membrane was used for dehydration in the coupled reactor. - Abstract: Process intensification through membrane pervaporation (PV) integrated with a fixed-bed reactor could be successfully applied to the esterification of oleic acid and ethanol, which is a crucial step in the biodiesel synthesis using waste oil and grease as resource. The properties of the NaA zeolite membrane such as structure, formulation and separation were investigated by scanning electronic microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and PV dehydration. Results showed that the NaA zeolite membrane had good separating property for removing water from the organics mixture. The operating conditions were optimized as the ethanol to oleic acid molar ratio of 15:1, feedstock flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, reaction temperature of 80.0 °C and catalyst bed height of 132 mm. The final conversion of oleic acid increased from 84.23% to 87.18% by PV using the NaA zeolite membrane at 24.0 h of operation. The membrane showed good PV performance after used for eight successive runs in the PV-assisted esterification. The resin exhibited a much high catalytic activity and operation stability after used for 100 h in the consecutive single pass fixed-bed esterification.

Biological perchlorate reduction in packed bed reactors using elemental sulfur.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, Ashish K; Conneely, Teresa; Nüsslein, Klaus R; Ergas, Sarina J

2009-06-15

Sulfur-utilizing perchlorate (ClO4-)-reducing bacteria were enriched from a denitrifying wastewater seed with elemental sulfur (S0) as an electron donor. The enrichment was composed of a diverse microbial community, with the majority identified as members of the phylum Proteobacteria. Cultures were inoculated into bench-scale packed bed reactors (PBR) with S0 and crushed oyster shell packing media. High ClO4-concentrations (5-8 mg/L) were reduced to PBR performance decreased when effluent recirculation was applied or when smaller S0 particle sizes were used, indicating that mass transfer of ClO4- to the attached biofilm was not the limiting mechanism in this process, and that biofilm acclimation and growth were key factors in overall reactor performance. The presence of nitrate (6.5 mg N/L) inhibited ClO4- reduction. The microbial community composition was found to change with ClO4- availability from a majority of Beta-Proteobacteria near the influent end of the reactor to primarily sulfur-oxidizing bacteria near the effluent end of the reactor.

Gas-solid hydroxyethylation of potato starch in a stirred vibrating fluidized bed reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuipers, N.J M; Stamhuis, Eize; Beenackers, A.A C M

A novel reactor for modifying cohesive C-powders such as in the gas-solid hydroxyethylation of semidry potato starch is characterized, the so-called stirred vibrating fluidized bed reactor. Good fluidization characteristics are obtained in this reactor for certain combinations of stirring and

Bubbling bed catalytic hydropyrolysis process utilizing larger catalyst particles and smaller biomass particles featuring an anti-slugging reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Marker, Terry L; Felix, Larry G; Linck, Martin B; Roberts, Michael J

2014-09-23

This invention relates to a process for thermochemically transforming biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks into high quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In particular, a catalytic hydropyrolysis reactor, containing a deep bed of fluidized catalyst particles is utilized to accept particles of biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks that are significantly smaller than the particles of catalyst in the fluidized bed. The reactor features an insert or other structure disposed within the reactor vessel that inhibits slugging of the bed and thereby minimizes attrition of the catalyst. Within the bed, the biomass feedstock is converted into a vapor-phase product, containing hydrocarbon molecules and other process vapors, and an entrained solid char product, which is separated from the vapor stream after the vapor stream has been exhausted from the top of the reactor. When the product vapor stream is cooled to ambient temperatures, a significant proportion of the hydrocarbons in the product vapor stream can be recovered as a liquid stream of hydrophobic hydrocarbons, with properties consistent with those of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. Separate streams of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel may also be obtained, either via selective condensation of each type of fuel, or via later distillation of the combined hydrocarbon liquid.

Bubbling bed catalytic hydropyrolysis process utilizinig larger catalyst particles and small biomass particles featuring an anti-slugging reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Marker, Terry L.; Felix, Larry G.; Linck, Martin B.; Roberts, Michael J.

2016-12-06

This invention relates to a process for thermochemically transforming biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks into high quality liquid hydrocarbon fuels. In particular, a catalytic hydropyrolysis reactor, containing a deep bed of fluidized catalyst particles is utilized to accept particles of biomass or other oxygenated feedstocks that are significantly smaller than the particles of catalyst in the fluidized bed. The reactor features an insert or other structure disposed within the reactor vessel that inhibits slugging of the bed and thereby minimizes attrition of the catalyst. Within the bed, the biomass feedstock is converted into a vapor-phase product, containing hydrocarbon molecules and other process vapors, and an entrained solid char product, which is separated from the vapor stream after the vapor stream has been exhausted from the top of the reactor. When the product vapor stream is cooled to ambient temperatures, a significant proportion of the hydrocarbons in the product vapor stream can be recovered as a liquid stream of hydrophobic hydrocarbons, with properties consistent with those of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel. Separate streams of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel may also be obtained, either via selective condensation of each type of fuel, or via later distillation of the combined hydrocarbon liquid.

Sustainability of thorium-uranium in pebble-bed fluoride salt-cooled High Temperature Reactor - 15171

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, G.; Zou, Y.; Xu, Hongjie

2015-01-01

Sustainability of thorium fuel in a pebble-bed fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor (PB-FHR) is investigated to find the feasible region of high discharge burnup and negative FLiBe (2LiF-BeF 2 ) salt temperature reactivity coefficient (TRC). Dispersion fuel or pellet fuel with SiC cladding and SiC matrix is used to replace the tri-structural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particle system for increasing heavy metal loading and decreasing excessive moderation. In order to analyze the neutronic characteristics, an equilibrium calculation method of thorium fuel self-sustainability is developed. We have compared 2 refueling schemes (mixing flow pattern and directional flow pattern) and 2 kinds of reflector materials (SiC and graphite). This method has found that the feasible regions of breeding and negative FLiBe TRC is between 20 vol% and 62 vol% heavy metal loading in the fuel. A discharge burnup could be achieved up to about 200 MWd/kgHM. The case with directional flow pattern and SiC reflector showed superior burnup characteristics but the worst radial power peak factor, while the case with mixing flow pattern and SiC reflector, which was the best tradeoff between discharge burnup and radial power peak factor, could provide burnup of 140 MWd/kgHM and about 1.4 radial power peak factor with 50 vol% dispersion fuel. In addition, FLiBe salt displays good neutron properties as a coolant of quasi-fast reactors due to the strong 9 Be(n,2n) reaction and low neutron absorption of 6 Li (even at 1000 ppm) in fast spectrum. Preliminary thermal hydraulic calculation shows good safety margins. The greatest challenge of this reactor may be the very long irradiation time of the pebble fuel. (authors)

Numerical Simulation of a Coolant Flow and Heat Transfer in a Pebble Bed Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In, Wang-Kee; Kim, Min-Hwan; Lee, Won-Jae

2008-01-01

Pebble Bed Reactor(PBR) is one of the very high temperature gas cooled reactors(VHTR) which have been reviewed in the Generation IV International Forum as potential sources for future energy needs, particularly for a hydrogen production. The pebble bed modular reactor(PBMR) exhibits inherent safety features due to the low power density and the large amount of graphite present in the core. PBR uses coated fuel particles(TRISO) embedded in spherical graphite fuel pebbles. The fuel pebbles flow down through the PBR core during a reactor operation and the coolant flows around randomly distributed spheres. For the reliable operation and the safety of the PBR, it is important to understand the coolant flow structure and the fuel pebble temperature in the PBR core. There have been few experimental and numerical studies to investigate the fluid and heat transfer phenomena in the PBR core. The objective of this paper is to predict the fluid and heat transfer in the PBR core. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, STAR-CCM+(V2.08) is used to perform the CFD analysis using the design data for the PBMR400

Methodology of the On-Iine FoIIow Simulation of Pebble-bed High-temperature Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Bing; Li Fu; Wei Chunlin; Zheng Yanhua; Chen Fubing; Zhang Jian; Guo Jiong

2014-01-01

The on-line fuel management is an essential feature of the pebble-bed high-temperature reactors (PB-HTRs), which is strongly coupled with the normal operation of the reactor. For the purpose of on-line analysis of the continuous shuffling scheme of numerous fuel pebbles, the follow simulation upon the real operation is necessary for the PB-HTRs. In this work, the on-line follow simulation methodology of the PB-HTRs’ operation is described, featured by the parallel treatments of both neutronics analysis and fuel cycling simulation. During the simulation, the operation history of the reactor is divided into a series of burn-up cycles according to the behavior of operation data, in which the steady-state neutron transport equations are solved and the diffusion theory is utilized to determine the physical features of the reactor core. The burn-up equations of heavy metals, fission products and neutron poisons including B-10, decoupled from the pebble flow term, are solved to analyze the burn-up process within a single burn-up cycle. The effect of pebble flow is simulated separately through a discrete fuel shuffling pattern confined by curved pebble flow channels, and the effect of multiple pass of the fuel is represented by logical batches within each spatial region of the core. The on-line thermal-hydraulics feedback is implemented for each bur-up cycle by using the real thermal-hydraulics data of the core operation. The treatment of control rods and absorber balls is carried out by utilizing a coupled neutron transport-diffusion calculation along with discontinuity factors. The physical models mentioned above are established mainly by using a revised version of the V.S.O.P program system. The real operation data of HTR-10 is utilized to verify the methodology presented in this work, which gives good agreement between simulation results and operation data. (author)

Effect of a flow-corrective insert on the flow pattern in a pebble bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yu; Gui, Nan; Yang, Xingtuan [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Tu, Jiyuan [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); School of Aerospace, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne 3083, VIC (Australia); Jiang, Shengyao, E-mail: shengyaojiang@sina.com [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Effect of an insert on improving flow uniformity and eliminating stagnant zone is studied. • Three values concerned with the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence are used. • Outlet diameter is a critical parameter that determines balancing mechanism of the insert. • Height/location is varied to let the insert work in unbalanced region and avoid adverse effect. - Abstract: A flow-corrective insert is adopted in the pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) to improve flow performance of the pebble flow for the first time. 3D discrete element method (DEM) modeling is employed to study this slow and dense granular flow. It is verified that locating a properly designed insert in the bed can help transform unsatisfactory flow field to the preferred flow pattern for pebble bed reactors. Three characteristic values on the stagnant zone, radial uniformity and flow sequence of pebble flow are defined to evaluate uniformity of the overall flow field quantitatively. The results demonstrate that the pebble bed equipped with an insert performs better than normal beds from all these three aspects. Moreover, based on numerical experiments, several universal tips for insert design on height, location and outlet diameter are suggested.

Fluidized bed nuclear reactor as a IV generation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sefidvash, Farhang

2002-01-01

The object of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of the Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor (FBNR) concept under the light of the requirements set for the IV generation nuclear reactors. It is seen that FBNR generally meets the goals of providing sustainable energy generation that meets clean air objectives and promotes long-term availability of systems and effective fuel utilization for worldwide energy production; minimize and manage their nuclear waste and notably reduce the long term stewardship burden in the future, thereby improving protection for the public health and the environment; increase the assurance that it is a very unattractive and least desirable route for diversion or theft of weapons-usable materials; excel in safety and reliability; have a very low likelihood and degree of reactor core damage; eliminate the need for offsite emergency response; have a clear life-cycle cost advantage over other energy sources; have a level of financial risk comparable to other energy projects. The other advantages of the proposed design are being modular, low environmental impact, exclusion of severe accidents, short construction period, flexible adaptation to demand, excellent load following characteristics, and competitive economics. (author)

The Performance of Structured Packings in Trickle-Bed Reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frank, M.J.W.; Kuipers, J.A.M.; Versteeg, G.F.; Swaaij, W.P.M. van

1999-01-01

An experimental study was carried out to investigate whether the use of structured packings might improve the mass transfer characteristics and the catalyst effectiveness of a trickle-bed reactor. Therefore, the performances of a structured packing, consisting of KATAPAK elements, and a dumped

Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming in fluidized bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnsen, Kim

2006-10-15

Hydrogen is considered to be an important potential energy carrier; however, its advantages are unlikely to be realized unless efficient means can be found to produce it without generation of CO{sub 2}. Sorption-enhanced steam methane reforming (SE-SMR) represent a novel, energy-efficient hydrogen production route with in situ CO{sub 2} capture, shifting the reforming and water gas shift reactions beyond their conventional thermodynamic limits. The use of fluidized bed reactors for SE-SMR has been investigated. Arctic dolomite, a calcium-based natural sorbent, was chosen as the primary CO{sub 2}-acceptor in this study due to high absorption capacity, relatively high reaction rate and low cost. An experimental investigation was conducted in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor of diameter 0.1 m, which was operated cyclically and batch wise, alternating between reforming/carbonation conditions and higher-temperature calcination conditions. Hydrogen concentrations of >98 mole% on a dry basis were reached at 600 C and 1 atm, for superficial gas velocities in the range of {approx}0.03-0.1 m/s. Multiple reforming-regeneration cycles showed that the hydrogen concentration remained at {approx}98 mole% after four cycles. The total production time was reduced with an increasing number of cycles due to loss of CO{sub 2}-uptake capacity of the dolomite, but the reaction rates of steam reforming and carbonation seemed to be unaffected for the conditions investigated. A modified shrinking core model was applied for deriving carbonation kinetics of Arctic dolomite, using experimental data from a novel thermo gravimetric reactor. An apparent activation energy of 32.6 kj/mole was found from parameter fitting, which is in good agreement with previous reported results. The derived rate expression was able to predict experimental conversion up to {approx}30% very well, whereas the prediction of higher conversion levels was poorer. However, the residence time of sorbent in a continuous

Fluidized bed reactor for processing particles coated with carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marschollek, M.; Simon, W.; Walter, C.

1978-01-01

The carbon coating of production returns of these particles first has to be removed before the heavy metal core released can be reprocessed. For reasons of criticality, removal of burnt-up particles downwards must be possible in the fluidized bed reactor even if the reactor diameter is greater than 800 mm, and the material temperatures must not exceed 650 0 C. It consists of an upper cylindrical and a lower conical part, where, according to the invention, the gas distributor heads in the conical part are situated in several planes above one another for the fluidisation and combustion gas and where they are evently distributed over the reactor crossection, so that an even flow profile is achieved over the reactor cross section. (HP) [de

Experimental, kinetic and numerical modeling of hydrogen production by catalytic reforming of crude ethanol over a commercial catalyst in packed bed tubular reactor and packed bed membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aboudheir, Ahmed; Akande, Abayomi; Idem, Raphael

2006-01-01

The demand for hydrogen energy has increased tremendously in recent years essentially because of the increase in the word energy consumption as well as recent developments in fuel cell technologies. The energy information administration has projected that world energy consumption will increase by 59% over the next two decades, from 1999 to 2020, in which the largest share is still dominated by fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal). Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions resulting from the combustion of these fossil fuels currently are estimated to account for three-fourth of human-caused CO 2 emissions worldwide. Greenhouse gas emission, including CO 2 , should be limited, as recommended at the Kyoto Conference, Japan, in December 1997. In this regard, hydrogen (H 2 ) has a significant future potential as an alternative fuel that can solve the problems of CO 2 emissions as well as the emissions of other air contaminants. One of the techniques to produce hydrogen is by reforming of hydrocarbons or biomass. Crude ethanol (a form of biomass, which essentially is fermentation broth) is easy to produce, is free of sulphur, has low toxicity, and is also safe to handle, transport and store. In addition, crude ethanol consists of oxygenated hydrocarbons, such as ethanol, lactic acid, glycerol, and maltose. These oxygenated hydrocarbons can be reformed completely to H 2 and CO 2 , the latter of which could be separated from H 2 by membrane technology. This provides for CO 2 capture for eventual storage or destruction. In the case of using crude ethanol, this will result in negative CO 2 , emissions. In this paper, we conducted experimental work on production of hydrogen by the catalytic reforming of crude ethanol over a commercial promoted Ni-based catalyst in a packed bed tubular reactor as well as a packed bed membrane reactor. As well, a rigorous numerical model was developed to simulate this process in both the catalytic packed bed tubular reactor and packed bed membrane

Safety aspects of Particle Bed Reactor plutonium burner system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.R.; Ludewig, H.; Todosow, M.

1993-01-01

An assessment is made of the safety aspects peculiar to using the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) as the burner in a plutonium disposal system. It is found that a combination of the graphitic fuel, high power density possible with the PBR and engineered design features results in an attractive concept. The high power density potentially makes it possible to complete the plutonium burning without requiring reprocessing and remanufacturing fuel. This possibility removes two hazardous steps from a plutonium burning complex. Finally, two backup cooling systems depending on thermo-electric converters and heat pipes act as ultimate heat removal sinks in the event of accident scenarios which result in loss of fuel cooling

Comparison of the Effects of Fluidized-Bed and Fixed-Bed Reactors in Microwave-Assisted Catalytic Decomposition of TCE by Hydrogen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Ren

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Trichloroethylene (TCE decomposition by hydrogen with microwave heating under different reaction systems was investigated. The activities of a series of catalysts for microwave-assisted TCE hydrodechlorination were tested through the fixed-bed and the fluidized-bed reactor systems. This study found that the different reaction system is suitable for different catalyst type. And there is an interactive relationship between the catalyst type and the reaction bed type.

Nitrification of industrial and domestic saline wastewaters in moving bed biofilm reactor and sequencing batch reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassin, Joao P.; Dezotti, Marcia; Sant'Anna, Geraldo L.

2011-01-01

Nitrification of saline wastewaters was investigated in bench-scale moving-bed biofilm reactors (MBBR). Wastewater from a chemical industry and domestic sewage, both treated by the activated sludge process, were fed to moving-bed reactors. The industrial wastewater contained 8000 mg Cl - /L and the salinity of the treated sewage was gradually increased until that level. Residual substances present in the treated industrial wastewater had a strong inhibitory effect on the nitrification process. Assays to determine inhibitory effects were performed with the industrial wastewater, which was submitted to ozonation and carbon adsorption pretreatments. The latter treatment was effective for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal and improved nitrification efficiency. Nitrification percentage of the treated domestic sewage was higher than 90% for all tested chloride concentrations up to 8000 mg/L. Results obtained in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) were consistent with those attained in the MBBR systems, allowing tertiary nitrification and providing adequate conditions for adaptation of nitrifying microorganisms even under stressing and inhibitory conditions.

Characterization of fluidization regime in circulating fluidized bed reactor with high solid particle concentration using computational fluid dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chalermsinsuwan, Benjapon; Thummakul, Theeranan; Piumsomboon, Pornpote [Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); Gidaspow, Dimitri [Armour College of Engineering, Chicago (United States)

2014-02-15

The hydrodynamics inside a high solid particle concentration circulating fluidized bed reactor was investigated using computational fluid dynamics simulation. Compared to a low solid particle reactor, all the conventional fluidization regimes were observed. In addition, two unconventional fluidization regimes, circulating-turbulent and dense suspension bypassing regimes, were found with only primary gas injection. The circulating-turbulent fluidization regime showed uniformly dense solid particle distribution in all the system directions, while the dense suspension bypassing fluidization regime exhibited the flow of solid particles at only one side system wall. Then, comprehensive fluidization regime clarification and mapping were evaluated using in-depth system parameters. In the circulating-turbulent fluidization regime, the total granular temperature was low compared to the adjacent fluidization regimes. In the dense suspension bypassing fluidization regime, the highest total granular temperature was obtained. The circulating-turbulent and dense suspension bypassing fluidization regimes are suitable for sorption and transportation applications, respectively.

Treatment of chemical-pharmaceutical wastewater in packed bed anaerobic reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nacheva, P.M.; Pena-Loera, B.; Moralez-Guzman, F. [Mexican Institute for Water Technology, Jiutepec (Mexico)

2006-07-01

Biological degradation in packed bed anaerobic mesophilic reactors with five different support materials was studied for the treatment of chemical-pharmaceutical wastewater with high COD (23-31 g/L), which contains toxic organic compounds. Experimental up-flow bio-filters were operated at different organic loads for a two-year period. Removals of 80-98% were obtained in the reactors with sand, anthracite and black tezontle, but at relatively low organic loads, less than 3.6 kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1}. The reactor with granular activated carbon (GAC) had a better performance; efficiencies higher than 95% were obtained at loads up to 17kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1} and higher than 80% with loads up to 26 kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1}. Second in performance was the reactor with red tezontle which allows COD removals higher than 80% with loads up to 6 kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1}. The use of GAC as support material allows greater biodegradation rates than the rest of the materials and it makes the process more resistant to organic load increases, inhibition effects and toxicity. Methanogenic activity was inhibited at loads higher than 21.9 kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1} in the GAC-reactor and at loads higher than 3.6 kg m{sup -3} d{sup -1} in the rest of the reactors. At loads lower than the previously mentioned, high methane production yield was obtained, 0.32-0.35 m{sup 33}CH4/kg CODremoved.

Fluidized bed coupled rotary reactor for nanoparticles coating via atomic layer deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duan, Chen-Long; Liu, Xiao; Chen, Rong, E-mail: rongchen@mail.hust.edu.cn, E-mail: bshan@mail.hust.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China); Shan, Bin, E-mail: rongchen@mail.hust.edu.cn, E-mail: bshan@mail.hust.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China)

2015-07-15

A fluidized bed coupled rotary reactor has been designed for coating on nanoparticles (NPs) via atomic layer deposition. It consists of five major parts: reaction chamber, dosing and fluidizing section, pumping section, rotary manipulator components, as well as a double-layer cartridge for the storage of particles. In the deposition procedure, continuous fluidization of particles enlarges and homogenizes the void fraction in the particle bed, while rotation enhances the gas-solid interactions to stabilize fluidization. The particle cartridge presented here enables both the fluidization and rotation acting on the particle bed, demonstrated by the analysis of pressure drop. Moreover, enlarged interstitials and intense gas–solid contact under sufficient fluidizing velocity and proper rotation speed facilitate the precursor delivery throughout the particle bed and consequently provide a fast coating process. The cartridge can ensure precursors flowing through the particle bed exclusively to achieve high utilization without static exposure operation. By optimizing superficial gas velocities and rotation speeds, minimum pulse time for complete coating has been shortened in experiment, and in situ mass spectrometry showed the precursor usage can reach 90%. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy results suggested a saturated growth of nanoscale Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films on spherical SiO{sub 2} NPs. Finally, the uniformity and composition of the shells were characterized by high angle annular dark field-transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Development of Research Reactor Simulator and Its Application to Dynamic Test-bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Seung Wook; Bang, Dane; Bae, Sung Won

2014-01-01

We developed HANARO and the Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR) real-time simulator for operating staff training. The main purpose of this simulator is operator training, but we modified this simulator as a dynamic test-bed to test the reactor regulating system in HANARO or JRTR before installation. The simulator configuration is divided into hardware and software. The simulator hardware consists of a host computer, 6 operator stations, a network switch, and a large display panel. The simulator software is divided into three major parts: a mathematical modeling module, which executes the plant dynamic modeling program in real-time, an instructor station module that manages user instructions, and a human machine interface (HMI) module. The developed research reactors are installed in the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute nuclear training center for reactor operator training. To use the simulator as a dynamic test-bed, the reactor regulating system modeling software of the simulator was replaced by a hardware controller and the simulator and target controller were interfaced with a hard-wired and network-based interface

Development of Research Reactor Simulator and Its Application to Dynamic Test-bed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Seung Wook; Bang, Dane; Bae, Sung Won [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-15

We developed HANARO and the Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR) real-time simulator for operating staff training. The main purpose of this simulator is operator training, but we modified this simulator as a dynamic test-bed to test the reactor regulating system in HANARO or JRTR before installation. The simulator configuration is divided into hardware and software. The simulator hardware consists of a host computer, 6 operator stations, a network switch, and a large display panel. The simulator software is divided into three major parts: a mathematical modeling module, which executes the plant dynamic modeling program in real-time, an instructor station module that manages user instructions, and a human machine interface (HMI) module. The developed research reactors are installed in the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute nuclear training center for reactor operator training. To use the simulator as a dynamic test-bed, the reactor regulating system modeling software of the simulator was replaced by a hardware controller and the simulator and target controller were interfaced with a hard-wired and network-based interface.

Early stages in biofilm development in methanogenic fluidized-bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lauwers, A.M.; Heinen, W.; Gorris, L.G.M.; Drift, C. van der (Katholieke Univ. Nijmegen (Netherlands). Dept. of Microbiology and Evolution Biology)

1990-06-01

Biofilm development in methanogenic fluidized-bed reactors with sand as the carrier was studied on a laboratory scale. The microorganisms present in consecutive layers of the biofilm of mature sludge granules were prelimilarily characterized on the basis of their morphology, element composition and adhesion capacity and were compared to bacteria which take part in the initial colonization of sand. The early phase of biofilm development was monitored with reactors receiving waste-waters containing different mixtures of volatile fatty acids and inoculated with fluidized-bed reactor effluent for different lengths of time. The results obtained indicate that facultative anaerobic bacteria abundantly present in the outermost biofilm layers of mature sludge granules are probably the main primary colonizers of the sand. Methanothrix spp. or other methanogens were rarely observed among the primary colonizers. The course of biofilm formation was comparable under the various start-up conditions employed including variations in waste-water composition, inoculation and anaerobicity. However, omission of waste-water and thus of substrate resulted in rapid wash-out of the attached biomass. (orig.).

PERKEMBANGAN BIOFILM NITRIFIKASI DI FIXED BED REACTOR PADA SALINITAS TINGGI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudarno

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Development of nitrification biomass that is growing attached on carried material was examined by measuring its ammonium or nitrit oxidation rates. Porous ceramic rings (36 pieces were put into the fixed bed reactor (FBR . The fixed bed reactor that was operated continuously for more than 500 day was continued to be operated at a HRT of 1 day, a DO of above 5 mg L-1 and pH of 8. Ammonia concentration in the feeding was 50 mg NH4+-N L-1. At days 1, 5, 12, 20, 33 and 50, six porous ceramic rings were taken out and then ammonia and nitrite removal rate by biofilm in the ceramic rings was separately measured. The measurement of rates was done in small cylindrical glass reactors with initial concentration of ammonia and nitrite was 10 mg N L-1. Until 50 days of incubation AORs were always higher than NORs. Additionally, ammonia oxidizers attach or grow faster in the porous ceramic material than nitrite oxidizers.

Cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Budzaki, S.; Miljic, G.; Sundaram, S.; Tisma, M.; Hessel, V.

2017-01-01

A cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors using refined sunflower oil is performed in this work. A few enzymatic micro-flow reactors have so far reached a performance close to gram-scale, which might be sufficient for the pharmaceutical industry. This

Fabrication of the fuel elements cladding for utilization in the fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaeffer, L.; Sefidvash, F.

1986-01-01

A method for the fabrication of cladding of the spherical fuel elements for the utilization in the fluidized bed nuclear reactor is presented. Some prelimminary experiments were performed to adopt a method which adapt itself to mass production with the desired high quality. Still methods for cladding fabrication are under study. (Author) [pt

Accounting for porous structure in effective thermal conductivity calculations in a pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antwerpen, W. van; Rousseau, P.G.; Toit, C.G. du

2009-01-01

A proper understanding of the mechanisms of heat transfer, flow and pressure drop through a packed bed of spheres is of utmost importance in the design of a high temperature pebble bed reactor. A thorough knowledge of the porous structure within the packed bed is important to any rigorous analysis of the transport phenomena, as all the heat and flow mechanisms are influenced by the porous structure. In this paper a new approach is proposed to simulate the effective thermal conductivity employing a combination of new and existing correlations for randomly packed beds. More attention is given to packing structure based on coordination number and contact angles, resulting in a more rigorous differentiation between the bulk and near-wall regions. The model accounts for solid conduction, gas conduction, contact area, surface roughness as well as radiation. (author)

Experimental investigation of pyrolysis of rice straw using bench-scale auger, batch and fluidized bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, Hyungseok; Capareda, Sergio C.; Ashwath, Nanjappa; Kongkasawan, Jinjuta

2015-01-01

Energy conversion efficiencies of three pyrolysis reactors (bench-scale auger, batch, and fluidized bed) were investigated using rice straw as the feedstock at a temperature of 500 °C. The highest bio-oil yield of 43% was obtained from the fluidized bed reactor, while the maximum bio-char yield of 48% was obtained from the batch reactor. Similar bio-oil yields were obtained from the auger and batch type reactors. The GCMS and FTIR were used to evaluate the liquid products from all reactors. The best quality bio-oil and bio-char from the batch reactor was determined to have a heating value of 31 MJ/kg and 19 MJ/kg, respectively. The highest alkali mineral was found in the bio-char produced from the auger reactor. The energy conversion efficiencies of the three reactors indicated that the majority of the energy (50–64%) was in the bio-char products from the auger and batch reactors, while the bio-oil from the fluidized bed reactor contained the highest energy (47%). A Sankey diagram has been produced to show the flows of product energy from each pyrolysis process. The result will help determine which conversion process would be optimal for producing specific products of bio-char, bio-oil, and gas depending on the needs. - Highlights: • Pyrolysis products from auger, batch, and fluidized bed reactor were examined. • O/C ratios of bio-oils stayed in specific ranges depending on the process reactors. • The largest quantity of bio-oil from fluidized, while the best quality from batch. • The highest alkali concentration of 37 g/kg included in the auger based bio-char. • Sankey diagram was used to understand the energy distribution from reactors.

Mathematical simulation of hazardous ion retention from radioactive waste in fixed bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohsah, M.A.; Gohneim, M.M.; Othman, S.H.; El-Anadouli, B.E.

2007-01-01

Reactor design for fluid-solid, noncatalytic reaction depends on the prediction of the performance of the reactor kinetically. The most mathematical models used to handle fixed bed reactor in which the solid bed constitute one of the reactants, while a second reactant is in the fluid phase are complex and difficult to handle. A new mathematical model which easier to handle has been developed to describe the system under investigation. The model was examined theoretically and experimentally. A column backed with chelating cloth filter to separate radionuclide form radioactive waste solution is used as a practical application for the model. Comparison of the model predictions with the experimental results gives satisfactory agreement at most of the process stages

Optimal conditions in direct dimethyl ether synthesis from syngas utilizing a dual-type fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yousefi, Ahmad; Eslamloueyan, Reza; Kazerooni, Nooshin Moradi

2017-01-01

Concerns over environmental pollution and ever-increasing energy demand have urged the global community to tap clean-burning fuels among which dimethyl ether is a promising candidate for contribution in the transportation sector. Direct dimethyl ether synthesis from syngas, in which methanol production and dehydration take place simultaneously, is arguably the preferred route for large scale production. In this study, direct dimethyl ether synthesis is proposed in an industrial dual-type fluidized bed reactor. This configuration involves two fluidized bed reactors operating in different conditions. In the first catalytic reactor (water-cooled reactor), the synthesis gas is partly converted to methanol after being preheated by the reaction heat in the second reactor (gas-cooled reactor). A two-phase generalized comprehensive reactor model, comprised of the flow in three different regimes is applied and a smooth transition between flow regimes is provided based on the probabilistic averaging approach. The optimal operating conditions are sought by employing differential evolution algorithm as a robust optimization strategy. The dimethyl ether mole fraction is considered as the objective function during the optimization. The results show considerable dimethyl ether enhancement by 16% and 14% compared to the conventional direct dimethyl ether synthesis reactor and dual-type fixed bed dimethyl ether reactor arrangements, respectively. - Highlights: • Dual-type catalytic fluidized bed reactors for dimethyl ether synthesis is studied. • A two-phase comprehensive model comprised of flow in three regimes is used. • Probabilistic averaging approach is applied for smooth transitions between regimes. • Differential evolution method is employed to determine optimal operating conditions. • Production capacity is remarkably enhanced compared to conventional reactor.

Chemical looping reactor system design double loop circulating fluidized bed (DLCFB)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bischi, Aldo

2012-05-15

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is continuously gaining more importance among the carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. It is an unmixed combustion process which takes place in two steps. An effective way to realize CLC is to use two interconnected fluidized beds and a metallic powder circulating among them, acting as oxygen carrier. The metallic powder oxidizes at high temperature in one of the two reactors, the air reactor (AR). It reacts in a highly exothermic reaction with the oxygen of the injected fluidising air. Afterwards the particles are sent to the other reactor where the fuel is injected, the fuel reactor (FR). There, they transport heat and oxygen necessary for the reaction with the injected fuel to take place. At high temperatures, the particle's oxygen reacts with the fuel producing Co2 and steam, and the particles are ready to start the loop again. The overall reaction, the sum of the enthalpy changes of the oxygen carrier oxidation and reduction reactions, is the same as for the conventional combustion. Two are the key features, which make CLC promising both for costs and capture efficiency. First, the high inherent irreversibility of the conventional combustion is avoided because the energy is utilized stepwise. Second, the Co2 is intrinsically separated within the process; so there is in principle no need either of extra carbon capture devices or of expensive air separation units to produce oxygen for oxy-combustion. A lot of effort is taking place worldwide on the development of new chemical looping oxygen carrier particles, reactor systems and processes. The current work is focused on the reactor system: a new design is presented, for the construction of an atmospheric 150kWth prototype working with gaseous fuel and possibly with inexpensive oxygen carriers derived from industrial by-products or natural minerals. It consists of two circulating fluidized beds capable to operate in fast fluidization regime; this will increase the

CFD Model of HDS Catalyst Tests in Trickle-Bed Reactor

OpenAIRE

Tukač, V.

2014-01-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate hydrodynamic influence on experimental HDS catalyst activity measurement carried out in pilot scale trickle-bed reactor. Hydrodynamic data were evaluated by RTD method in laboratory glass model of pilot reactor. Mathematical models of the process were formulated both like 1D pseudohomogeneou and 3D heterogeneous ones. The aim of this work was to forecast interaction between intrinsic reaction kinetic, hydrodynamics and mass transfer.

Final Report on Utilization of TRU TRISO Fuel as Applied to HTR Systems Part I: Pebble Bed Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brian Boer; Abderrafi M. Ougouag

2011-03-01

The Deep-Burn (DB) concept [ ] focuses on the destruction of transuranic nuclides from used light water reactor (LWR) fuel. These transuranic nuclides are incorporated into tri-isotopic (TRISO) coated fuel particles and used in gas-cooled reactors with the aim of a fractional fuel burnup of 60 to 70% in fissions per initial metal atom (FIMA). This high performance is expected through the use of multiple recirculation passes of the fuel in pebble form without any physical or chemical changes between passes. In particular, the concept does not call for reprocessing of the fuel between passes. In principle, the DB pebble bed concept employs the same reactor designs as the presently envisioned low-enriched uranium core designs, such as the 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR-400) [ ]. Although it has been shown in the previous Fiscal Year (FY) (2009) that a PuO2 fueled pebble bed reactor concept is viable, achieving a high fuel burnup while remaining within safety-imposed prescribed operational limits for fuel temperature, power peaking, and temperature reactivity feedback coefficients for the entire temperature range, is challenging. The presence of the isotopes 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Pu that have resonances in the thermal energy range significantly modifies the neutron thermal energy spectrum as compared to a standard, UO2-fueled core. Therefore, the DB pebble bed core exhibits a relatively hard neutron energy spectrum. However, regions within the pebble bed that are near the graphite reflectors experience a locally softer spectrum. This can lead to power and temperature peaking in these regions. Furthermore, a shift of the thermal energy spectrum with increasing temperature can lead to increased absorption in the resonances of the fissile Pu isotopes. This can lead to a positive temperature reactivity coefficient for the graphite moderator under certain operating conditions. Regarding the coated particle performance, the FY 2009 investigations showed that no

Final Report on Utilization of TRU TRISO Fuel as Applied to HTR Systems Part I: Pebble Bed Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, Brian; Ougouag, Abderrafi M.

2011-01-01

The Deep-Burn (DB) concept focuses on the destruction of transuranic nuclides from used light water reactor (LWR) fuel. These transuranic nuclides are incorporated into tri-isotopic (TRISO) coated fuel particles and used in gas-cooled reactors with the aim of a fractional fuel burnup of 60 to 70% in fissions per initial metal atom (FIMA). This high performance is expected through the use of multiple recirculation passes of the fuel in pebble form without any physical or chemical changes between passes. In particular, the concept does not call for reprocessing of the fuel between passes. In principle, the DB pebble bed concept employs the same reactor designs as the presently envisioned low-enriched uranium core designs, such as the 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR-400). Although it has been shown in the previous Fiscal Year (FY) (2009) that a PuO2 fueled pebble bed reactor concept is viable, achieving a high fuel burnup while remaining within safety-imposed prescribed operational limits for fuel temperature, power peaking, and temperature reactivity feedback coefficients for the entire temperature range, is challenging. The presence of the isotopes 239Pu, 240Pu, and 241Pu that have resonances in the thermal energy range significantly modifies the neutron thermal energy spectrum as compared to a standard, UO2-fueled core. Therefore, the DB pebble bed core exhibits a relatively hard neutron energy spectrum. However, regions within the pebble bed that are near the graphite reflectors experience a locally softer spectrum. This can lead to power and temperature peaking in these regions. Furthermore, a shift of the thermal energy spectrum with increasing temperature can lead to increased absorption in the resonances of the fissile Pu isotopes. This can lead to a positive temperature reactivity coefficient for the graphite moderator under certain operating conditions. Regarding the coated particle performance, the FY 2009 investigations showed that no significant

Operation of a steam hydro-gasifier in a fluidized bed reactor

OpenAIRE

Park, Chan Seung; Norbeck, Joseph N.

2008-01-01

Carbonaceous material, which can comprise municipal waste, biomass, wood, coal, or a natural or synthetic polymer, is converted to a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas by heating the carbonaceous material in a fluidized bed reactor using hydrogen, as fluidizing medium, and using steam, under reducing conditions at a temperature and pressure sufficient to generate a stream of methane and carbon monoxide rich gas but at a temperature low enough and/or at a pressure high enough to en...

Studies on air ingress for pebble bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, R.L.; Oh, C.H.; Merrill, B.J.; Petti, D.A.

2002-01-01

A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) has been considered a critical event for helium-cooled pebbled bed reactors. Following helium depressurization, it is anticipated that unless countermeasures are taken air will enter the core through the break and then by molecular diffusion and ultimately by natural convection leading to oxidation of the in-core graphite structure and graphite pebbles. Thus, without any mitigating features a LOCA will lead to an air ingress event. The INEEL is studying such an event with two well-respected light water reactor transient response codes: RELAP5/ATHENA and MELCOR. To study the degree of graphite oxidation occurring due to an air ingress event, a MELCOR model of a reference pebble bed design was constructed. A modified version of MELCOR developed at INEEL, which includes graphite oxidation capabilities, and molecular diffusion of air into helium was used for these calculations. Results show that the lower reflector graphite consumes all of the oxygen before reaching the core. The results also show a long time delay between the time that the depressurization phase of the accident is over and the time that natural circulation air through the core occurs. (author)

Factors affecting biological reduction of CO{sub 2} into CH{sub 4} using a hydrogenotrophic methanogen in a fixed bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae Hyung; Pak, Daewon [Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chang, Won Seok [Korea District Heating Corp, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Biological conversion of CO{sub 2} was examined in a fixed bed reactor inoculated with anaerobic mixed culture to investigate influencing factors, the type of packing material and the composition of the feeding gas mixture. During the operation of the fixed bed reactor by feeding the gas mixture (80% H{sub 2} and 20% CO{sub 2} based on volume basis), the volumetric CO{sub 2} conversion rate was higher in the fixed bed reactor packed with sponge due to its large surface area and high mass transfer from gas to liquid phase compared with PS ball. Carbon dioxide loaded into the fixed bed reactor was not completely converted because some of H{sub 2} was used for biomass growth. When a mole ratio of H{sub 2} to CO{sub 2} in the feeding gas mixture increased from 4 to 5, CO{sub 2} was completely converted into CH{sub 4}. The packing material with large surface area is effective in treating gaseous substrate such as CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}. H{sub 2}, electron donor, should be providing more than required according to stoichiometry because some of it is used for biomass growth.

Conceptual design of a passively safe thorium breeder Pebble Bed Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wols, F.J.; Kloosterman, J.L.; Lathouwers, D.; Hagen, T.H.J.J. van der

2015-01-01

Highlights: • This work proposes three possible designs for a thorium Pebble Bed Reactor. • A high-conversion PBR (CR > 0.96), passively safe and within practical constraints. • A thorium breeder PBR (220 cm core) in practical regime, but not passively safe. • A passively safe breeder, requiring higher fuel reprocessing and recycling rates. - Abstract: More sustainable nuclear power generation might be achieved by combining the passive safety and high temperature applications of the Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) design with the resource availability and favourable waste characteristics of the thorium fuel cycle. It has already been known that breeding can be achieved with the thorium fuel cycle inside a Pebble Bed Reactor if reprocessing is performed. This is also demonstrated in this work for a cylindrical core with a central driver zone, with 3 g heavy metal pebbles for enhanced fission, surrounded by a breeder zone containing 30 g thorium pebbles, for enhanced conversion. The main question of the present work is whether it is also possible to combine passive safety and breeding, within a practical operating regime, inside a thorium Pebble Bed Reactor. Therefore, the influence of several fuel design, core design and operational parameters upon the conversion ratio and passive safety is evaluated. A Depressurized Loss of Forced Cooling (DLOFC) is considered the worst safety scenario that can occur within a PBR. So, the response to a DLOFC with and without scram is evaluated for several breeder PBR designs using a coupled DALTON/THERMIX code scheme. With scram it is purely a heat transfer problem (THERMIX) demonstrating the decay heat removal capability of the design. In case control rods cannot be inserted, the temperature feedback of the core should also be able to counterbalance the reactivity insertion by the decaying xenon without fuel temperatures exceeding 1600 °C. Results show that high conversion ratios (CR > 0.96) and passive safety can be combined in

Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flows Through Packed Bed Reactors in Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Motil, Brian J.; Balakotaiah, Vemuri

2001-01-01

The simultaneous flow of gas and liquid through a fixed bed of particles occurs in many unit operations of interest to the designers of space-based as well as terrestrial equipment. Examples include separation columns, gas-liquid reactors, humidification, drying, extraction, and leaching. These operations are critical to a wide variety of industries such as petroleum, pharmaceutical, mining, biological, and chemical. NASA recognizes that similar operations will need to be performed in space and on planetary bodies such as Mars if we are to achieve our goals of human exploration and the development of space. The goal of this research is to understand how to apply our current understanding of two-phase fluid flow through fixed-bed reactors to zero- or partial-gravity environments. Previous experiments by NASA have shown that reactors designed to work on Earth do not necessarily function in a similar manner in space. Two experiments, the Water Processor Assembly and the Volatile Removal Assembly have encountered difficulties in predicting and controlling the distribution of the phases (a crucial element in the operation of this type of reactor) as well as the overall pressure drop.

Influence of the type of organisms on the biomass hold-up in a fluidized-bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Timmermans, P.; Haute, A. van

1984-01-01

In the last few years, the use of fluidized-bed reactors for biological wastewater treatment has got increasing attention. In 1981, Shieh et al. proposed a model to predict the biomass concentration in a fluidized-bed reactor. From this model one can see that the biofilm density plays a very important role in determining the total biomass hold-up. In this article the influence of the type of carbon source on the biomass concentration, and as a consequence the type of organisms selected, is studied. The growth of a filamentous, budforming bacteria in a reactor treating nitrate rich surface water supplied with methanol as carbon source, results in a biomass concentration only half of the concentration which can normally be obtained in a fluidized-bed reactor treating synthetic wastewater; in this latter case rod-shaped bacteria are enriched which permit a dense packing.

A particle bed reactor based NTP in the 112,500 N thrust class

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludewig, H.; Powell, J.R.; Lazareth, O.W. Jr.; Todosow, M.

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the application of a Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) to a 112,500 N thrust Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Engine. The method of analysis is described, followed by a presentation of the results. It is concluded that the PBR would result in a very competitive NTP engine. In addition, due to the high power densities possible with a PBR, high thrust/weight ratios are possible. This conclusion can be used to satisfy a variety of mission goals

A particle bed reactor based NTP in the 112,500 N thrust class

Science.gov (United States)

Ludewig, Hans; Powell, James R.; Lazareth, Otto W.; Todosow, Michael

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the application of a Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) to a 112,500 N thrust Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Engine. The method of analysis is described, followed by a presentation of the results. It is concluded that the PBR would result in a very competitive NTP engine. In addition, due to the high power densities possible with a PBR, high thrust/weight ratios are possible. This conclusion can be used to satisfy a variety of mission goals.

Chaotic behavior in a hydrodynamic model of a fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schouten, J.C.; van den Bleek, C.M.

1991-01-01

Recent preliminary experimental studies using time-series analysis have demonstrated that the multi-phase flow in fluidized bed reactors can be characterized as chaotic. In the present paper, it is therefore argued that the chaotic time-dependence of fluidization is a characteristic feature which should be included in scaling rules for fluidized bed reactors. For example, the similarity groups applied in dimensionless fluidized bed scaling should be improved by extending them with functions of the relevant numbers from chaos theory, such as the correlation and embedding dimension or the maximum Lyapunov exponent. This requires that the dependence of these numbers on fluidization parameters must be theoretically and experimentally investigated. The concept of chaos in fluidization also requires that the classical, empirically developed, hydrodynamic models that are applied in fluidized bed scaling are amended to include time-dependence, non-linearity as well as a sufficient level of complexity before they can predict any chaotic behavior. An example is given of chaotic behavior generated in the classical counter-current flow model according to Van Deemter by writing the upwards solids velocity as a harmonic oscillating function of time. A low-dimensional strange attractor is found, embedded in two-dimensional phase space, of which the correlation dimension depends on the solids exchange coefficient

Trickle Bed Reactor Operation under Forced Liquid Feed Rate Modulation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hanika, Jiří; Jiřičný, Vladimír; Karnetová, P.; Kolena, J.; Lederer, J.; Skála, D.; Staněk, Vladimír; Tukač, V.

2007-01-01

Roč. 13, č. 4 (2007), s. 192-198 ISSN 1451-9372 R&D Projects: GA MPO(CZ) FT-TA/039 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : trickle -bed reactor * period * feed rate Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering

Dicyclopentadiene Hydrogenation in Trickle Bed Reactor under Forced Periodic Control

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Skála, D.; Hanika, Jiří

2008-01-01

Roč. 62, č. 2 (2008), s. 215-218 ISSN 1336-7242 R&D Projects: GA MPO(CZ) FT-TA/039 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : periodic control * trickle -bed reactor * dicyclopentadiene Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering

Modelling of an adiabatic trickle-bed reactor with phase change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramirez Castelan, Carlos Eduardo; Hidalgo-Vivas, Angelica; Brix, Jacob

2017-01-01

This paper describes a modelling approach of the behavior of trickle-bed reactors used for catalytic hydrotreating of oil fractions. A dynamic plug-flow heterogeneous one-dimensional adiabatic model was used to describe the main reactions present in the hydrotreating process: hydrodesulfurization...

Validation of SCALE for High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ilas, Germina [ORNL; Ilas, Dan [ORNL; Kelly, Ryan P [ORNL; Sunny, Eva E [ORNL

2012-08-01

This report documents verification and validation studies carried out to assess the performance of the SCALE code system methods and nuclear data for modeling and analysis of High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) configurations. Validation data were available from the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments (IRPhE Handbook), prepared by the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project, for two different HTGR designs: prismatic and pebble bed. SCALE models have been developed for HTTR, a prismatic fuel design reactor operated in Japan and HTR-10, a pebble bed reactor operated in China. The models were based on benchmark specifications included in the 2009, 2010, and 2011 releases of the IRPhE Handbook. SCALE models for the HTR-PROTEUS pebble bed configuration at the PROTEUS critical facility in Switzerland have also been developed, based on benchmark specifications included in a 2009 IRPhE draft benchmark. The development of the SCALE models has involved a series of investigations to identify particular issues associated with modeling the physics of HTGRs and to understand and quantify the effect of particular modeling assumptions on calculation-to-experiment comparisons.

COMPARISON OF UASB AND FLUIDIZED-BED REACTORS FOR SULFATE REDUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Bertolino

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Reactor hydrodynamics is important for sulfidogenesis because sulfate reduction bacteria (SRB do not granulate easily. In this work, the sulfate reduction performance of two continuous anaerobic bioreactors was investigated: (i an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB reactor and (ii a fluidized bed reactor (FBR. Organic loading, sulfate reduction, and COD removal were the main parameters monitored during lactate and glycerol degradation. The UASB reactor with biomass recirculation showed a specific sulfate reduction rate of 0.089±0.014 g.gSSV-1.d-1 (89% reduction, whereas values twice as high were achieved in the FBR treating either lactate (0.200±0.017 g.gSSV-1.d-1 or glycerol (0.178±0.010 g.gSSV-1.d-1. Sulfate reduction with pure glycerol produced a smaller residual COD (1700 mg.L-1 than that produced with lactate (2500 mg.L-1 at the same COD.sulfate-1 mass ratio. It was estimated that 50% of glycerol degradation was due to sulfate reduction and 50% to fermentation, which was supported by the presence of butyrate in the FBR effluent. The UASB reactor was unable to produce effluents with sulfate concentrations below 250 mg.L-1 due to poor mixing conditions, whereas the FBR consistently ensured residual sulfate concentrations below such a value.

Selection of catalysts and reactors for hydroprocessing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furimsky, E. [Imaf Group, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

1998-07-13

The performance of hydroprocessing units can be influenced by the selection of the catalysts and the type of reactor to suit a particular feed. The catalysts and reactors selected for light feeds differ markedly from those selected for heavy feeds. Fixed-bed reactors have been traditionally used for light feeds. High asphaltene and high metal content feeds are successfully processed using moving-bed and/or ebullated bed reactors. Multi-reactor systems consisting of moving-bed and/or ebullated bed reactors in series with fixed-bed reactors can be used to process difficult feeds. For heavy feeds, the physical properties (e.g. porosity), shape and size of the catalyst particles become crucial parameters. Pretreatment of catalysts by presulfiding improves the performance of the units.

Characteristic behaviour of Pebble Bed High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors during water ingress events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khoza, Samukelisiwe N.; Serfontein, Dawid E.; Reitsma, Frederik

2014-01-01

The presence of water on the tube-side of the steam generators in high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) with indirect cycle layouts presents a possibility for a penetration of neutron moderating steam into the core, which may cause a power excursion. This article presents results on the effect of water ingress into the core of the two South African Pebble Bed Modular Reactor design concepts, i.e. the PBMR-200 MW th and the PBMR-400 MW th developed by PBMR SOC Ltd. The VSOP 99/05 suite of codes was used for the simulation of this event. Partial steam vapour pressures were added in stages into the primary circuit in order to investigate the effect of water ingress on reactivity, power profiles and thermal neutron flux profiles. The effects of water ingress into the core are explained by increased neutron moderation, due to the addition of 1 H, which leads to a decrease in resonance capture by 238 U and therefore an increase in the multiplication factor. The more effective moderation of neutrons by definition reduces the fast neutron flux and increases the thermal flux in the core, i.e. leads to a softer spectrum. The more effective moderation also increases the average increase in lethargy between collisions of a neutron with successive fuel kernels, which reduces the probability for neutron capture in the radiative capture resonances of 238 U. The resulting higher resonance escape probability also increases the thermal flux in the core. The softening of the neutron spectrum leads to an increased effective microscopic fission cross section in the fissile isotopes and thus to increased neutron absorption for fission, which reduces the remaining number of neutrons that can diffuse into the reflectors. Therefore water ingress into the core leads to a reduced thermal neutron flux in the reflectors. The power density spatial distribution behaved similarly to the thermal neutron flux in the core. Analysis of possible mechanisms was conducted. The results show that

Numerical Simulation of Particle Flow Motion in a Two-Dimensional Modular Pebble-Bed Reactor with Discrete Element Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guodong Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Modular pebble-bed nuclear reactor (MPBNR technology is promising due to its attractive features such as high fuel performance and inherent safety. Particle motion of fuel and graphite pebbles is highly associated with the performance of pebbled-bed modular nuclear reactor. To understand the mechanism of pebble’s motion in the reactor, we numerically studied the influence of number ratio of fuel and graphite pebbles, funnel angle of the reactor, height of guide ring on the distribution of pebble position, and velocity by means of discrete element method (DEM in a two-dimensional MPBNR. Velocity distributions at different areas of the reactor as well as mixing characteristics of fuel and graphite pebbles were investigated. Both fuel and graphite pebbles moved downward, and a uniform motion was formed in the column zone, while pebbles motion in the cone zone was accelerated due to the decrease of the cross sectional flow area. The number ratio of fuel and graphite pebbles and the height of guide ring had a minor influence on the velocity distribution of pebbles, while the variation of funnel angle had an obvious impact on the velocity distribution. Simulated results agreed well with the work in the literature.

SHOVAV-JUEL. A one dimensional space-time kinetic code for pebble-bed high-temperature reactors with temperature and Xenon feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nabbi, R.; Meister, G.; Finken, R.; Haben, M.

1982-09-01

The present report describes the modelling basis and the structure of the neutron kinetics-code SHOVAV-Juel. Information for users is given regarding the application of the code and the generation of the input data. SHOVAV-Juel is a one-dimensional space-time-code based on a multigroup diffusion approach for four energy groups and six groups of delayed neutrons. It has been developed for the analysis of the transient behaviour of high temperature reactors with pebble-bed core. The reactor core is modelled by horizontal segments to which different materials compositions can be assigned. The temperature dependence of the reactivity is taken into account by using temperature dependent neutron cross sections. For the simulation of transients in an extended time range the time dependence of the reactivity absorption by Xenon-135 is taken into account. (orig./RW)

Small particle bed reactors: Sensitivity to Brayton cycle parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Coiner, John R.; Short, Barry J.

Relatively simple particle bed reactor (PBR) algorithms were developed for optimizing low power closed Brayton cycle (CBC) systems. These algorithms allow the system designer to understand the relationship among key system parameters as well as the sensitivity of the PBR size and mass (a major system component) to variations in these parameters. Thus, system optimization can be achieved.

Modular high-temperature reactor launched (and wallchart)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinwarz, W.

1987-01-01

In view of the need for a technically unsophisticated, safe and economic reactor system, the KWU group has integrated the experience gained from German light-water reactor engineering and from successful operation of the German AVR experimental high-temperature reactor into the development of the High-Temperature Reactor (HTR)-module. The main components are illustrated and explained and technical data for the HTR-module is given. Safety is also considered. This includes graphs of core heat-up temperature for pebble-bed HTR and a graph of the temperature load of the fuel elements. The operation, control and applications are considered. The latter includes use in combined heat and power generation and community heating. Feasibility studies have shown that the HTR-module is cheaper, comparatively, than coal-fired power stations. (U.K.)

Thermal hydraulic and neutronic interaction in the rotating bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, C.C.

1986-01-01

Power transient characteristics in a rotating fluidized bed reactor (RBR) are investigated theoretically. A propellant flow perturbation is assumed to occur in an initially equilibrium state of the core. Transfer functions representing quasi-one-dimensional mutual feedback between thermal hydraulics and neutronics are developed and analyzed in the frequency domain. Neutronic responses are determined by Fermi-age theory for slowing down of fast neutrons and diffusion theory for thermal neutron distribution. Neutron leakage through the exhaust nozzle is accounted for by applying diffuse view factors similar to those applied in radiative heat transfer. The bed expansion behavior is described by a kinematic wave equation derived from the continuity of the gas phase. The drift flux approach is used to determine the yield fractions in the equilibrium bed. Thermal responses of fuel are evaluated by dividing it into several volume-averaged zones to better account for the transient effects over single zone models. Sample calculations are undertaken for the various operation conditions and design parameters of the RBR based on 250 MW/sub t/, 1000 MW/sub t/, and 5000 MW/sub t/ power reactors. The results show that power transients are dependent on the parametric changes of optical thickness and view factors

Optimal oxygen feeding policy to maximize the production of Maleic anhydride in unsteady state fixed bed catalytic reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Ali

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The effect of different oxygen feeding scenarios in a fixed bed reactor for the production of Maleic anhydride (MA is studied. Two reactor configurations were examined. In the first configuration, a cross flow reactor (CFR with 4 discrete feeding points is considered. Another configuration is the conventional packed-bed reactor (PBR with a single feed. Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (NLMPC was used as optimal controller to operate the CFR in dynamic mode and to optimize the multiple feed dosages in order to enhance the MA yield. The simulation results indicated that different combinations of the four feed ratios can operate the reactor at the best value for the yield provided the first feeding point is kept as low as possible. For the packed bed reactor configuration, a single oxygen feed is considered and is optimized transiently by NLMPC. The simulation outcomes showed that the reactor performance in terms of the produced MA mole fraction can also be enhanced to the same magnitude obtained by CFR configuration. This improvement requires decreasing the oxygen ratio in the reactor single feed by 70%.

Chemical looping reforming in packed-bed reactors : modelling, experimental validation and large-scale reactor design

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spallina, V.; Marinello, B.; Gallucci, F.; Romano, M.C.; van Sint Annaland, M.

This paper addresses the experimental demonstration and model validation of chemical looping reforming in dynamically operated packed-bed reactors for the production of H2 or CH3OH with integrated CO2 capture. This process is a combination of auto-thermal and steam methane reforming and is carried

Characterization of biofilm in 200W fluidized bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Michelle H. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Saurey, Sabrina D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lee, Brady D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Parker, Kent E. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Eisenhauer, Emalee E. R. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Cordova, Elsa A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Golovich, Elizabeth C. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2014-09-29

Contaminated groundwater beneath the 200 West Area at the Hanford Site in Southeast Washington is currently being treated using a pump and treat system to remove organics, inorganics, radionuclides, and metals. A granular activated carbon-based fluidized bed reactor (FBR) has been added to remove nitrate, hexavalent chromium and carbon tetrachloride. Initial analytical results indicated the microorganisms effectively reduced many of the contaminants to less than cleanup levels. However shortly thereafter operational upsets of the FBR include carbon carry over, over production of microbial extracellular polymeric substance (biofilm) materials, and over production of hydrogen sulfide. As a result detailed investigations were undertaken to understand the functional diversity and activity of the microbial community present in the FBR over time. Molecular analyses including terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses were performed on the microbial community extracted from the biofilm within the bed and from the inoculum, to determine functional dynamics of the FBR bed over time and following operational changes. Findings from these analyses indicated: 1) the microbial community within the bed was completely different than community used for inoculation, and was likely from the groundwater; 2) analyses early in the testing showed an FBR community dominated by a few Curvibacter and Flavobacterium species; 3) the final sample taken indicated that the microbial community in the FBR bed had become more diverse; and 4) qPCR analyses indicated that bacteria involved in nitrogen cycling, including denitrifiers and anaerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria, were dominant in the bed. These results indicate that molecular tools can be powerful for determining functional diversity within FBR type reactors. Coupled with micronutrient, influent and effluent chemistry

Evaluation of Packed-Bed Reactor and Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor for the Production of Colchicine Derivatives

OpenAIRE

Dubey, Kashyap Kumar; Kumar, Dhirendra; Kumar, Punit; Haque, Shafiul; Jawed, Arshad

2013-01-01

Bioconversion of colchicine into its pharmacologically active derivative 3-demethylated colchicine (3-DMC) mediated by P450BM3 enzyme is an economic and promising strategy for the production of this inexpensive and potent anticancer drug. Continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and packed-bed reactor (PBR) of 3 L and 2 L total volumes were compared for the production of 3-demethylated colchicine (3-DMC) a colchicine derivative using Bacillus megaterium MTCC*420 under aerobic conditions. Statis...

The fluidized bed reactor in the anaerobic treatment of wine wastewater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Converti, A; Zilli, M; Del Borghi, M; Ferraiolo, G [Genoa Univ. (Italy). Inst. of Chemical Engineering Science and Technology

1990-02-13

The aim of the present work is the performance evaluation of a fluidized bed reactor in the anaerobic treatment of a wastewater deriving from the washing operations of the wine industry. The results are in agreement with the ones obtained using a mixture of municipal and food processing waste waters containing high organic contents. A comparison with other liquid wastes shows that no subtrate inhibition phenomenon occurs with the above substrates. A saturation kinetic model is also presented for describing the dependence of the COD removal rate on the organic loading rate. (orig.).

Material Control and Accounting Design Considerations for High-Temperature Gas Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjornard, Trond; Hockert, John

2011-01-01

The subject of this report is domestic safeguards and security by design (2SBD) for high-temperature gas reactors, focusing on material control and accountability (MC and A). The motivation for the report is to provide 2SBD support to the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project, which was launched by Congress in 2005. This introductory section will provide some background on the NGNP project and an overview of the 2SBD concept. The remaining chapters focus specifically on design aspects of the candidate high-temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) relevant to MC and A, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements, and proposed MC and A approaches for the two major HTGR reactor types: pebble bed and prismatic. Of the prismatic type, two candidates are under consideration: (1) GA's GT-MHR (Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor), and (2) the Modular High-Temperature Reactor (M-HTR), a derivative of Areva's Antares reactor. The future of the pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) for NGNP is uncertain, as the PBMR consortium partners (Westinghouse, PBMR (Pty) and The Shaw Group) were unable to agree on the path forward for NGNP during 2010. However, during the technology assessment of the conceptual design phase (Phase 1) of the NGNP project, AREVA provided design information and technology assessment of their pebble bed fueled plant design called the HTR-Module concept. AREVA does not intend to pursue this design for NGNP, preferring instead a modular reactor based on the prismatic Antares concept. Since MC and A relevant design information is available for both pebble concepts, the pebble-bed HTGRs considered in this report are: (1) Westinghouse PBMR; and (2) AREVA HTR-Module. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) sponsors the Fuel Cycle Research and Development program (FCR and D), which contains an element specifically focused on the domestic (or state) aspects of SBD. This Material Protection, Control and Accountancy Technology (MPACT) program supports the present

Pebble bed blanket design for deuterium burning tandem mirror reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grotz, S.P.; Dhir, V.K.

1983-01-01

The UCLA tandem mirror reactor, SATYR, was developed around the capability of tandem mirrors with thermal barriers to burn deuterium at reasonable efficiency levels. The pebble bed concept has been incorporated into our blanket design for the following reasons: 1) Large area-to-volume ratio for purposes of heat removal; 2) Large volume of structure for high thermal capacity thus increasing the safety margin during off-normal incidents; 3) Relatively inexpensive manufacturing costs because of large acceptable tolerances and lack of exotic materials (i.e., lithium). A simplified stress analysis of the blanket module was performed to optimize and simplify the design. The pre-specified stress intensity limitations used were based upon a 30-year predicted lifetime for each module. Along with stress analysis of the vessel a detailed thermal hydraulic analysis of the pebble bed has been completed. Parameters affecting the pebble bed design are fluidization velocity, pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient, thermally induced stress in the spheres and spatial variation of the power density. Although reasonable gross thermal efficiencies of the 2 designs has been achieved (28% for H 2 O and 39% for He) the high net recirculating power fraction for heating and neutral beams results in relatively low net plant efficiencies (21% and 27%). The results show that a blanket can be designed with good thermal efficiency and a relative-ly simple configuration. However, application of this concept to the high Q deuterium-tritium fuel cycle would have difficulties resulting from the need for continuous removal of the tritium. (orig./HP)

Coal-char combustion in a fluidised bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mehrotra, S.P.; Pande, M. [Indian Institute of Technolgy, Kanpur (India)

2001-12-01

Combustion of bituminous coal chars ranging from 0.8 mm to 1.8 mm has been studied in a fluidised bed reactor at temperatures ranging from 500 to 850{sup o}C. The fluidised bed consists of inert sand particles of average size of 0.5 mm and reactive coal char particles. A heat balance has been worked out to calculate the rate of combustion of char from measured incremental changes in the bed temperature during combustion. Investigations on partially burnt particles suggest that the ash layer which builds up around the burning core of char particles is non-flaking and the particles burn in a shrinking core manner. Analysis of rate data indicates that the rate of combustion is controlled by chemical reaction kinetics, though diffusion of oxygen through the bundary layer begins to influence the overall reaction kinetics at higher temperatures. The burnt out time varies linearly with particle size. Activation energy for the chemical reaction control regime is found to be around 68 kJ/mole.

The fixed bed nuclear reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahin, S.; Sefidvash, F.

2007-01-01

The core of a water moderated Fixed Bed Nuclear Reactor (FBNR), possessing, for instance, an electrical power of 40 MW, consists of 1.35 million fuel pellets (9.5 t) with a diameter of 1.5 cm each. The low enriched uranium fuel is made of TRISO type microspheres used in the HTGR, embedded in a graphite matrix and cladded by a shell of 1 mm SiC. Under any thinkable operational condition the fuel temperature will be below 400 C whereas its stability limit is at about 1600 C. The first characteristic of the FBNR is, therefore, its robust fuel under relatively 'cold' operating conditions and - due to the outer SiC - shell layer - the freedom from any hydrogen production. To operate the reactor the fuel pellets are pumped by a flow of water from below into the core regions where they form a stable fixed bed of about 4 cubic meter and become critical for energy production heating the outlet water to about 330 C (at 160 bar) which feeds a steam generator. The new safety feature is now the following: In case of any abnormity (e.g. external power failure, overheating etc.) the circulating pump stops and - due to gravity - the fuel pellets fall automatically out of the core region into a helical 'fuel chamber' underneath the core where their decay heat is transferred passively by natural circulation to a water tank housing the fuel chamber. The safety principle, applied here, is: The loss of an active component (circulating pump) induces a self-controlled, passively working shut-down manoeuvre accompanied by a foolproof decay heat removal without any emergency power system or any human interaction. The fuel chamber is sealed and is transported as the only reactor component to and from the reactor site. There is no possibility to irradiate fertile fuel, too. For a long-life core (larger than a 10 years cycle time) the fuel can either be poisoned by gadolinium-oxide or by a piston type core limiter adjusting the height and controlling thereby the number of the fuel pellets in

Analysis of startup strategies for a particle bed reactor nuclear rocket engine

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, D. E.

1993-06-01

This paper develops and analyzes engine system startup strategies for a particle bed reactor (PBR) nuclear rocket engine. The strategies are designed to maintain stable flow through the PBR fuel element while reaching the design conditions as quickly as possible. The analyses are conducted using a computer model of a representative particle bed reactor and engine system. Elements of the startup strategy considered include: the coordinated control of reactor power and coolant flow; turbine inlet temperature and flow control; and use of an external starter system. The simulation results indicate that the use of an external starter system enables the engine to reach design conditions very quickly while maintaining the flow well away from the unstable regime. If a bootstrap start is used instead, the transient does not progress as fast and approaches closer to the unstable flow regime, but allows for greater engine reusability. These results can provide important information for engine designers and mission planners.

Development of a safeguards system for the THTR pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelhardt, H.

1978-08-01

This report provides a survey of the technical possibilities of safeguarding the THTR-300 pebble bed reactor in accordance with the NPT. Description of the reactor system, the operational mode, and the operator's material control system are presented in Sections 2, 3 and 4. A suggested safeguards approach which is based on an item counting of pebble elements with containment and surveillance as a supplementary measure is described in the Sections 5 and 6

Investigation of flow dynamics of liquid phase in a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor using radiotracer technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pant, H.J.; Sharma, V.K.

2016-01-01

A radiotracer investigation was carried out to measure residence time distribution (RTD) of liquid phase in a trickle bed reactor (TBR). The main objectives of the investigation were to investigate radial and axial mixing of the liquid phase, and evaluate performance of the liquid distributor/redistributor at different operating conditions. Mean residence times (MRTs), holdups (H) and fraction of flow flowing along different quadrants were estimated. The analysis of the measured RTD curves indicated radial non-uniform distribution of liquid phase across the beds. The overall RTD of the liquid phase, measured at the exit of the reactor was simulated using a multi-parameter axial dispersion with exchange model (ADEM), and model parameters were obtained. The results of model simulations indicated that the TBR behaved as a plug flow reactor at most of the operating conditions used in the investigation. The results of the investigation helped to improve the existing design as well as to design a full-scale industrial TBR for petroleum refining applications. - Highlights: • Residence time distributions of liquid phase were measured in a trickle bed reactor. • Bromine-82 as ammonium bromide was used as a radiotracer. • Mean residence times, holdups and radial distribution of liquid phase were quantified. • Axial dispersion with exchange model was used to simulate the measured data. • The trickle bed reactor behaved as a plug flow reactor.

Method for removing cesium from aqueous liquid, method for purifying the reactor coolant in boiling water and pressurized water reactors and a mixed ion exchanged resin bed, useful in said purification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Otte, J.N.A.; Liebmann, D.

1989-01-01

The invention relates to a method for removing cesium from an aqueous liquid, and to a resin bed containing a mixture of an anion exchange resin and cation exchange resin useful in said purification. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a method for purifying the reactor coolant of a presurized water or boiling water reactor. Said method, which is particularly advantageously employed in purifying the reactor coolant in the primary circuit of a pressurized reactor, comprises contacting at least a portion of the reactor coolant with a strong base anion exchange resin and the strong acid cation exchange resin derived from a highly cross-linked, macroporous copolymer of a monovinylidene aromatic and a cross-linking monomer copolymerizable therewith. Although the reactor coolant can sequentially be contacted with one resin type and thereafter with the second resin type, the contact is preferably conducted using a resin bed comprising a mixture of the cation and anion exchange resins. 1 fig., refs

Hydrogen sulfide removal from air by Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans in a trickle bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, M; Gómez, J M; Cantero, D; Páca, J; Halecký, M; Kozliak, E I; Sobotka, M

2009-09-01

A strain of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans immobilized in polyurethane foam was utilized for H(2)S removal in a bench-scale trickle-bed reactor, testing the limits of acidity and SO(4) (2-) accumulation. The use of this acidophilic strain resulted in remarkable stability in the performance of the system. The reactor maintained a >98-99 % H(2)S removal efficiency for c of up to 66 ppmv and empty bed residence time 98 % H(2)S was achieved under steady-state conditions, over the pH range of 0.44-7.30. Despite the accumulation of acidity and SO(4) (2-) (up to 97 g/L), the system operated without inhibition.

Trickle bed reactor model to simulate the performance of commercial diesel hydrotreating unit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. Murali; R.K. Voolapalli; N. Ravichander; D.T. Gokak; N.V. Choudary [Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Udyog Kendra (India). Corporate R& amp; D Centre

2007-05-15

A two phase mathematical model was developed to simulate the performance of bench scale and commercial hydrotreating reactors. Major hydrotreating reactions, namely, hydrodesulphurization, hydrodearomatization and olefins saturation were modeled. Experiments were carried out in a fixed bed reactor to study the effect of different process variables and these results were used for estimating kinetic parameters. Significant amount of feed vaporization (20-50%) was estimated under normal operating conditions of DHDS suggesting the importance of considering feed vaporization in DHDS modeling. The model was validated with plant operating data, under close to ultra low sulphur levels by correctly accounting for feed vaporization in heat balance relations and appropriate use of hydrodynamic correlations. The model could predict the product quality, reactor bed temperature profiles and chemical hydrogen consumption in commercial plant adequately. 14 refs., 7 figs., 6 tabs.

Study on Characteristic of Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity for Plutonium Core of Pebbled Bed Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Zuhair; Suwoto; Setiadipura, T.; Bakhri, S.; Sunaryo, G. R.

2018-02-01

As a part of the solution searching for possibility to control the plutonium, a current effort is focused on mechanisms to maximize consumption of plutonium. Plutonium core solution is a unique case in the high temperature reactor which is intended to reduce the accumulation of plutonium. However, the safety performance of the plutonium core which tends to produce a positive temperature coefficient of reactivity should be examined. The pebble bed inherent safety features which are characterized by a negative temperature coefficient of reactivity must be maintained under any circumstances. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristic of temperature coefficient of reactivity for plutonium core of pebble bed reactor. A series of calculations with plutonium loading varied from 0.5 g to 1.5 g per fuel pebble were performed by the MCNPX code and ENDF/B-VII library. The calculation results show that the k eff curve of 0.5 g Pu/pebble declines sharply with the increase in fuel burnup while the greater Pu loading per pebble yields k eff curve declines slighter. The fuel with high Pu content per pebble may reach long burnup cycle. From the temperature coefficient point of view, it is concluded that the reactor containing 0.5 g-1.25 g Pu/pebble at high burnup has less favorable safety features if it is operated at high temperature. The use of fuel with Pu content of 1.5 g/pebble at high burnup should be considered carefully from core safety aspect because it could affect transient behavior into a fatal accident situation.

Packed- and fluidized-bed biofilm reactor performance for anaerobic wastewater treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Denac, M; Dunn, I J

1988-07-05

Anaerobic degradation performance of a laboratory-scale packed-bed reactor (PBR) was compared with two fluidized-bed biofilm reactors (FBRs) on molasses and whey feeds. The reactors were operated under constant pH (7) and temperature (35 degrees C) conditions and were well mixed with high recirculation rates. The measured variables were chemical oxygen demand (COD), individual organic acids, gas composition, and gas rates. As carrier, sand of 0.3-0.5 mm diameter was used in the FBR, and porous clay spheres of 6 mm diameter were used in the PBR. Startup of the PBR was achieved with 1-5 day residence times. Start-up of the FBR was only successful if liquid residence times were held low at 2-3 h. COD degradations of 86% with molasses (90% was biodegradable) were reached in both the FBR and PBR at 6 h residence time and loadings of 10 g COD/L day. At higher loadings the FBR gave the best performance; even at 40-45 g COD/L day, with 6 h residence times, 70% COD was degraded. The PBR could not be operated above 20 g COD/L day without clogging. A comparison of the reaction rates show that the PBR and FBR per formed similarly at low concentrations in the reactors up to 1 g COD/L, while above 3 g COD/L the rates were 17.4 g COD/L day for the PBR and 38.4 g COD/L day for the FBR. This difference is probably due to diffusion limitations and a less active biomass content of the PBR compared with the fluidized bed.The results of dynamic step change experiments, in which residence times and feed concentrations were changed hanged at constant loading, demonstrated the rapid response of the reactors. Thus, the response times for an increase in gas rate or an increase in organic acids due to an increase in feed concentration were less than 1 day and could be explained by substrate limitation. Other slower responses were observed in which the reactor culture adapted over periods of 5-10 days; these were apparently growth related. An increase in loading of over 100% always resulted

Particle Bed Reactor engine technology

Science.gov (United States)

Sandler, S.; Feddersen, R.

1992-03-01

This paper discusses the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) based propulsion system being developed under the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (SNTP) program. A PBR engine is a light weight, compact propulsion system which offers significant improvement over current technology systems. Current performance goals are a system thrust of 75,000 pounds at an Isp of 1000 sec. A target thrust to weight ratio (T/W) of 30 has been established for an unshielded engine. The functionality of the PBR, its pertinent technology issues and the systems required to make up a propulsion system are described herein. Accomplishments to date which include hardware development and tests for the PBR engine are also discussed. This paper is intended to provide information on and describe the current state-of-the-art of PBR technology.

Particle Bed Reactor engine technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandler, S.; Feddersen, R.

1992-01-01

This paper discusses the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) based propulsion system being developed under the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (SNTP) program. A PBR engine is a light weight, compact propulsion system which offers significant improvement over current technology systems. Current performance goals are a system thrust of 75,000 pounds at an Isp of 1000 sec. A target thrust to weight ratio (T/W) of 30 has been established for an unshielded engine. The functionality of the PBR, its pertinent technology issues and the systems required to make up a propulsion system are described herein. Accomplishments to date which include hardware development and tests for the PBR engine are also discussed. This paper is intended to provide information on and describe the current state-of-the-art of PBR technology. 4 refs

Simultaneous Coproduction of Hydrogen and Ethanol in Anaerobic Packed-Bed Reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristiane Marques dos Reis

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated the use of an anaerobic packed-bed reactor for hydrogen production at different hydraulic retention times (HRT (1–8 h. Two reactors filled with expanded clay and fed with glucose (3136–3875 mg L−1 were operated at different total upflow velocities: 0.30 cm s−1 (R030 and 0.60 cm s−1 (R060. The effluent pH of the reactors was maintained between 4 and 5 by adding NaHCO3 and HCl solutions. It was observed a maximum hydrogen production rate of 0.92 L H2 h−1 L−1 in R030 at HRT of 1 h. Furthermore, the highest hydrogen yield of 2.39 mol H2 mol−1 glucose was obtained in R060. No clear trend was observed by doubling the upflow velocities at this experiment. High ethanol production was also observed, indicating that the ethanol-pathway prevailed throughout the experiment.

Rotary Bed Reactor for Chemical-Looping Combustion with Carbon Capture. Part 1: Reactor Design and Model Development

KAUST Repository

Zhao, Zhenlong; Chen, Tianjiao; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2013-01-01

Chemical-looping combustion (CLC) is a novel and promising technology for power generation with inherent CO2 capture. Currently, almost all of the research has been focused on developing CLC-based interconnected fluidized-bed reactors. In this two

Galacto-oligosaccharide production with immobilized ß-galactosidase in a packed-bed reactor vs. free ß-galactosidase in a batch reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warmerdam, A.; Benjamins, E.; Leeuw de, T.F.; Broekhuis, T.A.; Boom, R.M.; Janssen, A.E.M.

2014-01-01

We report here that the usage of immobilized enzyme in a continuous packed bed reactor (PBR) can be a good alternative for GOS production instead of the traditional use of free enzyme in a batch reactor. The carbohydrate composition of the product of the PBR with immobilized enzyme was comparable to

Numerical investigation of the 3-dimensional steady-state temperature- and flow distribution in the core of a pebble bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verfondern, K.

1983-01-01

This work presents a computer model determining the steady-state temperature- and flow field in 3 dimensions in the core of a pebble bed high temperature reactor. The numerical sprinkler method, basind on the Thermix-model, allows to describe the thermo-hydraulics of a non-rotational-symmetric core-geometry. The AVR-reactor in Juelich, in operation since 1967, represents a suitable investigation-object for the computer model of Thermix-3D. It is in a 3D-mesh-structure to reproduce very precisely the so called ''graphite noses'', in which the shut-down rods are conducted as well as the filling cones in the inner and outer area. The results of the final calculation of the normal operation condition for the AVR-reactor unambiguously show, that within the core reproduced in 3 dimensions there are evident deviations in the flow profile and in the temperatures of the cooling gas in contrast to a 2D-handling. (orig.) [de

Pebble Fuel Handling and Reactivity Control for Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterson, Per [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering; Greenspan, Ehud [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering

2015-02-09

This report documents the work completed on the X-PREX facility under NEUP Project 11- 3172. This project seeks to demonstrate the viability of pebble fuel handling and reactivity control for fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs). The research results also improve the understanding of pebble motion in helium-cooled reactors, as well as the general, fundamental understanding of low-velocity granular flows. Successful use of pebble fuels in with salt coolants would bring major benefits for high-temperature reactor technology. Pebble fuels enable on-line refueling and operation with low excess reactivity, and thus simpler reactivity control and improved fuel utilization. If fixed fuel designs are used, the power density of salt- cooled reactors is limited to 10 MW/m³ to obtain adequate duration between refueling, but pebble fuels allow power densities in the range of 20 to 30 MW/m³. This can be compared to the typical modular helium reactor power density of 5 MW/m3. Pebble fuels also permit radial zoning in annular cores and use of thorium or graphite pebble blankets to reduce neutron fluences to outer radial reflectors and increase total power production. Combined with high power conversion efficiency, compact low-pressure primary and containment systems, and unique safety characteristics including very large thermal margins (>500°C) to fuel damage during transients and accidents, salt-cooled pebble fuel cores offer the potential to meet the major goals of the Advanced Reactor Concepts Development program to provide electricity at lower cost than light water reactors with improved safety and system performance.This report presents the facility description, experimental results, and supporting simulation methods of the new X-Ray Pebble Recirculation Experiment (X-PREX), which is now operational and being used to collect data on the behavior of slow dense granular flows relevant to pebble bed reactor core designs. The X

Pebble Fuel Handling and Reactivity Control for Salt-Cooled High Temperature Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, Per; Greenspan, Ehud

2015-01-01

This report documents the work completed on the X-PREX facility under NEUP Project 11- 3172. This project seeks to demonstrate the viability of pebble fuel handling and reactivity control for fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors (FHRs). The research results also improve the understanding of pebble motion in helium-cooled reactors, as well as the general, fundamental understanding of low-velocity granular flows. Successful use of pebble fuels in with salt coolants would bring major benefits for high-temperature reactor technology. Pebble fuels enable on-line refueling and operation with low excess reactivity, and thus simpler reactivity control and improved fuel utilization. If fixed fuel designs are used, the power density of salt- cooled reactors is limited to 10 MW/m 3 to obtain adequate duration between refueling, but pebble fuels allow power densities in the range of 20 to 30 MW/m 3 . This can be compared to the typical modular helium reactor power density of 5 MW/m3. Pebble fuels also permit radial zoning in annular cores and use of thorium or graphite pebble blankets to reduce neutron fluences to outer radial reflectors and increase total power production. Combined with high power conversion efficiency, compact low-pressure primary and containment systems, and unique safety characteristics including very large thermal margins (>500°C) to fuel damage during transients and accidents, salt-cooled pebble fuel cores offer the potential to meet the major goals of the Advanced Reactor Concepts Development program to provide electricity at lower cost than light water reactors with improved safety and system performance.This report presents the facility description, experimental results, and supporting simulation methods of the new X-Ray Pebble Recirculation Experiment (X-PREX), which is now operational and being used to collect data on the behavior of slow dense granular flows relevant to pebble bed reactor core designs. The X-PREX facility uses novel

Nature and characteristics of pulsing flow in trickle-bed reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boelhouwer, J.G.; Piepers, H.W.; Drinkenburg, A.A.H.

2002-01-01

Pulsing flow is well known for its advantages in terms of an increase in mass and heat transfer rates, complete catalyst wetting and a decrease in axial dispersion compared to trickle flow. The operation of a trickle-bed reactor in the pulsing flow regime is favorable in terms of a capacity increase

A CFD model for biomass fast pyrolysis in fluidized-bed reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Qingluan; Heindel, T. J.; Fox, R. O.

2010-11-01

A numerical study is conducted to evaluate the performance and optimal operating conditions of fluidized-bed reactors for fast pyrolysis of biomass to bio-oil. A comprehensive CFD model, coupling a pyrolysis kinetic model with a detailed hydrodynamics model, is developed. A lumped kinetic model is applied to describe the pyrolysis of biomass particles. Variable particle porosity is used to account for the evolution of particle physical properties. The kinetic scheme includes primary decomposition and secondary cracking of tar. Biomass is composed of reference components: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Products are categorized into groups: gaseous, tar vapor, and solid char. The particle kinetic processes and their interaction with the reactive gas phase are modeled with a multi-fluid model derived from the kinetic theory of granular flow. The gas, sand and biomass constitute three continuum phases coupled by the interphase source terms. The model is applied to investigate the effect of operating conditions on the tar yield in a fluidized-bed reactor. The influence of various parameters on tar yield, including operating temperature and others are investigated. Predicted optimal conditions for tar yield and scale-up of the reactor are discussed.

A safety re-evaluation of the AVR pebble bed reactor operation and its consequences for future HTR concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moormann, R.

2008-06-15

The AVR pebble bed reactor (46 MW{sub th}) was operated 1967-88 at coolant outlet temperatures up to 990 C. A principle difference of pebble bed HTRs as AVR to conventional reactors is the continuous movement of fuel element pebbles through the core which complicates thermohydraulic, nuclear and safety estimations. Also because of a lack of other experience AVR operation is still a relevant basis for future pebble bed HTRs and thus requires careful examination. This paper deals mainly with some insufficiently published unresolved safety problems of AVR operation and of pebble bed HTRs but skips the widely known advantageous features of pebble bed HTRs. The AVR primary circuit is heavily contaminated with metallic fission products (Sr-90, Cs-137) which create problems in current dismantling. The amount of this contamination is not exactly known, but the evaluation of fission product deposition experiments indicates that the end of life contamination reached several percent of a single core inventory, which is some orders of magnitude more than precalculated and far more than in large LWRs. A major fraction of this contamination is bound on graphitic dust and thus partly mobile in depressurization accidents, which has to be considered in safety analyses of future reactors. A re-evaluation of the AVR contamination is performed here in order to quantify consequences for future HTRs (400 MW{sub th}). It leads to the conclusion that the AVR contamination was mainly caused by inadmissible high core temperatures, increasing fission product release rates, and not - as presumed in the past - by inadequate fuel quality only. The high AVR core temperatures were detected not earlier than one year before final AVR shut-down, because a pebble bed core cannot yet be equipped with instruments. The maximum core temperatures are still unknown but were more than 200 K higher than calculated. Further, azimuthal temperature differences at the active core margin of up to 200 K were

A safety re-evaluation of the AVR pebble bed reactor operation and its consequences for future HTR concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moormann, R.

2008-06-01

The AVR pebble bed reactor (46 MW th ) was operated 1967-88 at coolant outlet temperatures up to 990 C. A principle difference of pebble bed HTRs as AVR to conventional reactors is the continuous movement of fuel element pebbles through the core which complicates thermohydraulic, nuclear and safety estimations. Also because of a lack of other experience AVR operation is still a relevant basis for future pebble bed HTRs and thus requires careful examination. This paper deals mainly with some insufficiently published unresolved safety problems of AVR operation and of pebble bed HTRs but skips the widely known advantageous features of pebble bed HTRs. The AVR primary circuit is heavily contaminated with metallic fission products (Sr-90, Cs-137) which create problems in current dismantling. The amount of this contamination is not exactly known, but the evaluation of fission product deposition experiments indicates that the end of life contamination reached several percent of a single core inventory, which is some orders of magnitude more than precalculated and far more than in large LWRs. A major fraction of this contamination is bound on graphitic dust and thus partly mobile in depressurization accidents, which has to be considered in safety analyses of future reactors. A re-evaluation of the AVR contamination is performed here in order to quantify consequences for future HTRs (400 MW th ). It leads to the conclusion that the AVR contamination was mainly caused by inadmissible high core temperatures, increasing fission product release rates, and not - as presumed in the past - by inadequate fuel quality only. The high AVR core temperatures were detected not earlier than one year before final AVR shut-down, because a pebble bed core cannot yet be equipped with instruments. The maximum core temperatures are still unknown but were more than 200 K higher than calculated. Further, azimuthal temperature differences at the active core margin of up to 200 K were observed

Model description and kinetic parameter analysis of MTBE biodegradation in a packed bed reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Waul, Christopher Kevin; Arvin, Erik; Schmidt, Jens Ejbye

2008-01-01

A dynamic modeling approach was used to estimate in-situ model parameters, which describe the degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in a laboratory packed bed reactor. The measured dynamic response of MTBE pulses injected at the reactor's inlet was analyzed by least squares and parameter...

New sampling method in continuous energy Monte Carlo calculation for pebble bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, Isao; Takahashi, Akito; Mori, Takamasa; Nakagawa, Masayuki.

1997-01-01

A pebble bed reactor generally has double heterogeneity consisting of two kinds of spherical fuel element. In the core, there exist many fuel balls piled up randomly in a high packing fraction. And each fuel ball contains a lot of small fuel particles which are also distributed randomly. In this study, to realize precise neutron transport calculation of such reactors with the continuous energy Monte Carlo method, a new sampling method has been developed. The new method has been implemented in the general purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP to develop a modified version MCNP-BALL. This method was validated by calculating inventory of spherical fuel elements arranged successively by sampling during transport calculation and also by performing criticality calculations in ordered packing models. From the results, it was confirmed that the inventory of spherical fuel elements could be reproduced using MCNP-BALL within a sufficient accuracy of 0.2%. And the comparison of criticality calculations in ordered packing models between MCNP-BALL and the reference method shows excellent agreement in neutron spectrum as well as multiplication factor. MCNP-BALL enables us to analyze pebble bed type cores such as PROTEUS precisely with the continuous energy Monte Carlo method. (author)

Determination of pressure distribution in an aerated bed in a controlled pilot-scale compost reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solowiej, P. [Warmia and Mazury Univ., Olsztyn (Poland)

2010-07-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of dealing with biological waste by composting. In particular, it examined the feasibility of recovering excess thermal energy produced in the process of composting biological waste in terms of mass and energy transport parameters required in the aerated compost bed. An experiment was performed in which a 100 dm{sup 3} adiabatic, leak-tight reactor equipped with a controlled aeration system was constructed to study the temperature and pressure distribution in the bed. Sensors were used to determine the amount and humidity of emitted gases under variable external physical conditions. The perforated bottom of the reactor allowed for bed aeration. As such, the humidity and heat were transported upwards, forced by the air pumped in and by natural convection. In terms of pressure distribution inside the composted and aerated bed, the study results showed that there were considerable differences in pressure for the selected places of the bed of the composted biological material. An increase in upwards pressure was observed in the heap throughout the experiment. Pressure differences in the same plane of the bed were also noted. The study results should facilitate the development of a model of mass and energy transport in a bed of composted material.

Homogeneity of Continuum Model of an Unsteady State Fixed Bed Reactor for Lean CH4 Oxidation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subagjo

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, the homogeneity of the continuum model of a fixed bed reactor operated in steady state and unsteady state systems for lean CH4 oxidation is investigated. The steady-state fixed bed reactor system was operated under once-through direction, while the unsteady-state fixed bed reactor system was operated under flow reversal. The governing equations consisting of mass and energy balances were solved using the FlexPDE software package, version 6. The model selection is indispensable for an effective calculation since the simulation of a reverse flow reactor is time-consuming. The homogeneous and heterogeneous models for steady state operation gave similar conversions and temperature profiles, with a deviation of 0.12 to 0.14%. For reverse flow operation, the deviations of the continuum models of thepseudo-homogeneous and heterogeneous models were in the range of 25-65%. It is suggested that pseudo-homogeneous models can be applied to steady state systems, whereas heterogeneous models have to be applied to unsteady state systems.

Engineering solutions for a reflector change concept in the high-temperature reactor with pebble bed core and OTTO-fueling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasper, K.J.

1975-06-01

In the field of reactor engineering an increasing tendency is visible towards a 'repairable reactor'. In the construction of the HTR with spherical fuel elements this fact should already be taken into account at an early stage. Additionally it is possible that in connection with the OTTO-fueling load conditions for the graphite reflector could result which are locally not far away from limiting values. Therefore the removability of the reflector is included in the reactor construction as an accompanying technical step of the physical lay-out of the core. The core arrangements, realized for HTR until recently, are discussed as well as the properties of the graphites used and the operating conditions in the reactors are stated. At the example of the PR 3,000 proposals are offered for the construction of a removable side and top reflector for a pebble bed reactor. Hereby a solution was found which, on one hand allows the changing of the reflector and on the other hand requires no significant increase of the costs for the reactor assembly. Moreover the requirements of reactor operation and of repairability are satisfied in an optimal manner. (orig.) [de

The performance of a three-phase fluidized bed reactor in treatment of wastewater with high organic load

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. R. Souza

2004-06-01

Full Text Available An experimental study was carried out aiming to evaluate the performance of a three-phase fluidized bed bioreactor (FBBR used to treat milk wastewater. In this study three different concentrations of milk wastewater substrate (462, 825 and 1473 mg O2/L were tested. Using the same number of support particles, the results demonstrate that the average efficiency of COD removal decreased as the concentration of organic load in the substrate was increased. The growth of microorganism in the FBBR was followed by a count of viable cells in both liquid phase and the biofilms attached to the support. An increased number of viable cells were observed inside the reactor when it was used to degrade higher organic loads, with most of the cells on the support. The higher concentration of active biomass was responsible for achieving a relatively high absolute degradation of the wastewater containing the high organic load.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of anaerobic fluidized bed biofilm reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Fuentes

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This work presents an experimental and theoretical investigation of anaerobic fluidized bed reactors (AFBRs. The bioreactors are modeled as dynamic three-phase systems. Biochemical transformations are assumed to occur only in the fluidized bed zone. The biofilm process model is coupled to the system hydrodynamic model through the biofilm detachment rate; which is assumed to be a first-order function of the energy dissipation parameter and a second order function of biofilm thickness. Non-active biomass is considered to be particulate material subject to hydrolysis. The model includes the anaerobic conversion for complex substrate degradation and kinetic parameters selected from the literature. The experimental set-up consisted of two mesophilic (36±1ºC lab-scale AFBRs (R1 and R2 loaded with sand as inert support for biofilm development. The reactor start-up policy was based on gradual increments in the organic loading rate (OLR, over a four month period. Step-type disturbances were applied on the inlet (glucose and acetic acid substrate concentration (chemical oxygen demand (COD from 0.85 to 2.66 g L-1 and on the feed flow rate (from 3.2 up to 6.0 L d-1 considering the maximum efficiency as the reactor loading rate switching. The predicted and measured responses of the total and soluble COD, volatile fatty acid (VFA concentrations, biogas production rate and pH were investigated. Regarding hydrodynamic and fluidization aspects, variations of the bed expansion due to disturbances in the inlet flow rate and the biofilm growth were measured. As rate coefficients for the biofilm detachment model, empirical values of 3.73⋅10(4 and 0.75⋅10(4 s² kg-1 m-1 for R1 and R2, respectively, were estimated.

Development of high temperature gas cooled reactor in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, Wentao [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen (Switzerland). Dept. of Nuclear Energy and Safety; Schorer, Michael [Swiss Nuclear Forum, Olten (Switzerland)

2018-02-15

High temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) is one of the six Generation IV reactor types put forward by Generation IV International Forum (GIF) in 2002. This type of reactor has high outlet temperature. It uses Helium as coolant and graphite as moderator. Pebble fuel and ceramic reactor core are adopted. Inherit safety, good economy, high generating efficiency are the advantages of HTGR. According to the comprehensive evaluation from the international nuclear community, HTGR has already been given the priority to the research and development for commercial use. A demonstration project of the High Temperature Reactor-Pebble-�bed Modules (HTR-PM) in Shidao Bay nuclear power plant in China is under construction. In this paper, the development history of HTGR in China and the current situation of HTR-PM will be introduced. The experiences from China may be taken as a reference by the international nuclear community.

Simulation in CFD of a Pebble Bed: Advanced high temperature reactor core using OpenFOAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahl, Pamela M.; Su, Jian

2017-01-01

Numerical simulations of a Pebble Bed nuclear reactor core are presented using the multi-physics tool-kit OpenFOAM. The HTR-PM is modeled using the porous media approach, accounting both for viscous and inertial effects through the Darcy and Forchheimer model. Initially, cylindrical 2D and 3D simulations are compared, in order to evaluate their differences and decide if the 2D simulations carry enough of the sought information, considering the savings in computational costs. The porous medium is considered to be isotropic, with the whole length of the packed bed occupied homogeneously with the spherical fuel elements. Steady-state simulations for normal equilibrium operation are performed, using a semi sine function of the power density along the vertical axis as the source term for the energy balance equation.Total pressure drop is calculated and compared with that obtained from literature for a similar case. At a second stage, transient simulations are performed, where relevant parameters are calculated and compared to those of the literature. (author)

Simulation in CFD of a Pebble Bed: Advanced high temperature reactor core using OpenFOAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahl, Pamela M.; Su, Jian, E-mail: sujian@nuclear.ufrj.br [Coordenacao de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-07-01

Numerical simulations of a Pebble Bed nuclear reactor core are presented using the multi-physics tool-kit OpenFOAM. The HTR-PM is modeled using the porous media approach, accounting both for viscous and inertial effects through the Darcy and Forchheimer model. Initially, cylindrical 2D and 3D simulations are compared, in order to evaluate their differences and decide if the 2D simulations carry enough of the sought information, considering the savings in computational costs. The porous medium is considered to be isotropic, with the whole length of the packed bed occupied homogeneously with the spherical fuel elements. Steady-state simulations for normal equilibrium operation are performed, using a semi sine function of the power density along the vertical axis as the source term for the energy balance equation.Total pressure drop is calculated and compared with that obtained from literature for a similar case. At a second stage, transient simulations are performed, where relevant parameters are calculated and compared to those of the literature. (author)

Experimental and numerical validation of a two-region-designed pebble bed reactor with dynamic core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, S.Y.; Yang, X.T.; Tang, Z.W.; Wang, W.J.; Tu, J.Y.; Liu, Z.Y.; Li, J.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The experimental installation has been built to investigate the pebble flow. ► The feasibility of two-region pebble bed reactor has been verified. ► The pebble flow is more uniform in a taller vessel than that in a lower vessel. ► Larger base cone angle will decrease the scale of the stagnant zone. - Abstract: The pebble flow is the principal issue for the design of the pebble bed reactor. In order to verify the feasibility of a two-region-designed pebble bed reactor, the experimental installation with a taller vessel has been built, which is proportional to the real pebble bed reactor. With the aid of the experimental installation, the stable establishment and maintenance of the two-region arrangement has been verified, at the same time, the applicability of the DEM program has been also validated. Research results show: (1) The pebble's bouncing on the free surface is an important factor for the mixing of the different colored pebbles. (2) Through the guide plates installed in the top of the pebble packing, the size of the mixing zone can be reduced from 6–7 times to 3–4 times the pebble diameter. (3) The relationship between the width of the central region and the ratio of loading pebbles is approximately linear in the taller vessel. (4) The heighten part of the pebble packing can improve the uniformity of the flowing in the lower. (5) To increase the base cone angle can decrease the scale of the stagnant zone. All of these conclusions are meaningful to the design of the real pebble reactor.

Thermal and mechanical behaviour of oxygen carrier materials for chemical looping combustion in a packed bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, M.; Van Noyen, J.; Larring, Y.; Mccann, M.; Pishahang, M.; Amini, S.; Ortiz, M.; Galluci, F.; Sint-Annaland, M.V.; Tournigant, D.; Louradour, E.; Snijkers, F.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Ilmenite-based oxygen carriers were developed for packed-bed chemical looping. • Addition of Mn_2O_3 increased mechanical strength and microstructure of the carriers. • Oxygen carriers were able to withstand creep and thermal cycling up to 1200 °C. • Ilmenite-based granules are a promising shape for packed-bed reactor conditions. - Abstract: Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is a promising carbon capture technology where cyclic reduction and oxidation of a metallic oxide, which acts as a solid oxygen carrier, takes place. With this system, direct contact between air and fuel can be avoided, and so, a concentrated CO_2 stream is generated after condensation of the water in the exit gas stream. An interesting reactor system for CLC is a packed bed reactor as it can have a higher efficiency compared to a fluidized bed concept, but it requires other types of oxygen carrier particles. The particles must be larger to avoid a large pressure drop in the reactor and they must be mechanically strong to withstand the severe reactor conditions. Therefore, oxygen carriers in the shape of granules and based on the mineral ilmenite were subjected to thermal cycling and creep tests. The mechanical strength of the granules before and after testing was investigated by crush tests. In addition, the microstructure of these oxygen particles was studied to understand the relationship between the physical properties and the mechanical performance. It was found that the granules are a promising shape for a packed bed reactor as no severe degradation in strength was noticed upon thermal cycling and creep testing. Especially, the addition of Mn_2O_3 to the ilmenite, which leads to the formation of an iron–manganese oxide, seems to results in stronger granules than the other ilmenite-based granules.

Cleaning of porous filters in fossilized bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigo Otero, A.; Sancho Rod, J.

1965-01-01

In this report are established the optimum working conditions of a filter cleaning system by blow back. For this purpose it was determined in the first place the blow back air rate necessary to have a good cleaning. The reasons for which it was not possible until now to control the pressure in a fluidized bed calcination reactor are analyzed and a criteria is established to calculate the optimum floe necessary to clean efficiently a porous by this procedures. (Author)

Pressurizing Behavior on Ingress of Coolant into Pebble Bed of Blanket of Fusion DEMO Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daigo Tsuru; Mikio Enoeda; Masato Akiba

2006-01-01

Solid breeder blankets are being developed as candidate blankets for the Fusion DEMO reactor in Japan. JAEA is performing the development of the water cooled and helium cooled solid breeder blankets. The blanket utilizes ceramic breeder pebbles and multiplier pebbles beds cooled by high pressure water or high pressure helium in the cooling tubes placed in the blanket box structure. In the development of the blanket, it is very important to incorporate the safety technology as well as the performance improvement on tritium production and energy conversion. In the safety design and technology, coolant ingress in the blanket box structure is one of the most important events as the initiators. Especially the thermal hydraulics in the pebble bed in the case of the high pressure coolant ingress is very important to evaluate the pressure propagation and coolant flow behavior. This paper presents the preliminary results of the pressure loss characteristics by the coolant ingress in the pebble bed. Experiments have been performed by using alumina pebble bed (4 litter maximum volume of the pebble bed) and nitrogen gas to simulate the helium coolant ingress into breeder and multiplier pebble beds. Reservoir tank of 10 liter is filled with 1.0 MPa nitrogen. The nitrogen gas is released at the bottom part of the alumina pebble bed whose upper part is open to the atmosphere. The pressure change in the pebble bed is measured to identify the pressure loss. The measured values are compared with the predicted values by Ergun's equation, which is the correlation equation on pressure loss of the flow through porous medium. By the results of the experiments with no constraint on the alumina pebble bed, it was clarified that the measured value agreed in the lower flow rate. However, in the higher flow rate where the pressure loss is high, the measured value is about half of the predicted value. The differences between the measured values and the predicted values will be discussed from

Method of neutronic calculations for a spherical cell equivalent to cylindrical one for using computer codes in light water reactors in the fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, V.; Sefidvash, F.; Rastogi, E.P.; Huria, H.C.; Krishnani, P.D.

1989-01-01

In order to use the existing light water reactor cell calculation codes for fluidized bed nuclear reactor having spherical fuel cells, an equivalence method has been developed. This method is shown to be adequate in calculation of the Dancoff factor. This method also was applicable in LEOPARD code and the results obtained in calculation of K ∞ was compared with the obtained using the DTF IV code, the results showed that the method is adequate for the calculations neutronics of the fluidized bed nuclear reactor. (author) [pt

Nuclear propulsion systems for orbit transfer based on the particle bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.R.; Ludewig, H.; Horn, F.L.

1987-01-01

The technology of nuclear direct propulsion orbit transfer systems based on the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) is described. A 200 megawatt illustrative design is presented for LEO to GEO and other high ΔV missions. The PBR-NOTV can be used in a one-way mode with the shuttle or an expendable launch vehicle, e.g., the Titan 34D7, or as a two-way reusable space tug. In the one-way mode, payload capacity is almost three times greater than that of chemical OTV's. PBR technology status is described and development needs outlined

How to prevent runaways in trickle-bed reactors for Pygas hydrogenation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerterp, K.R.; Kronberg, Alexandre E.

2002-01-01

In the past, several runaways have occurred in Trickle-Bed Reactors (TBR) used for the hydrogenation of pyrolysis gasoline as produced in ethylene cracking installations. This phenomenon has been studied in the framework of a special program in the Netherlands, which is administered by the National

The effects of baffles and gas superficial velocity on a bubble fluidized bed reactor's applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghorbanpour, A.; Ghannadi Maragheh, M.; Mallah, M. H.

2008-01-01

Baffles are used for decreasing bubbles diameter in order to increase the conversion rate along the bubbling fluidized bed reactors. The appearance of this phenomenon is due to bursting of the bubbles during the pass of bubbles from baffles. In this work, a computerized modeling and simulation have been performed in order to obtain a fundamental knowledge of the influence of the baffles on the bubble diameter and the specific mass transfer area. The height of the bed is 5 meters and its diameter is 0.3 meter. Baffles are located at 1 and 2 meters from the bottom of the bed. A two phase model together with a comprehensive fluid dynamical description of bubbling fluidized is presented. The effects of baffles and gas superficial velocity on the operating behavior of fluidized bed reactors are considered. The results are compared to the previously reported documents, and the experiments which have been carried out. MATLAB software is used in this simulation

A kinetic study of gaseous potassium capture by coal minerals in a high temperature fixed-bed reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zheng, Yuanjing; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Jensen, Anker Degn

2008-01-01

The reactions between gaseous potassium chloride and coal minerals were investigated in a lab-scale high temperature fixed-bed reactor using single sorbent pellets. The applied coal minerals included kaolin, mullite, silica, alumina, bituminous coal ash, and lignite coal ash that were formed...... into long cylindrical pellets. Kaolin and bituminous coal ash that both have significant amounts of Si and Al show superior potassium capture characteristics. Experimental results show that capture of potassium by kaolin is independent of the gas oxygen content. Kaolin releases water and forms metakaolin...... when heated at temperatures above 450°C. The amounts of potassium captured by metakaolin pellet decreases with increasing reaction temperature in the range of 900-1300°C and increases again with further increasing the temperature up to 1500°C. There is no reaction of pre-made mullite with KCl...

HTR-2002: Proceedings of the conference on high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

High temperature reactors are considered as future inherently safe and efficient energy sources. The presentations covered all the relevant aspects of the existing HTGRs and/or helium cooled pebble bed reactors. They were sorted into 7 sessions: HTR Projects and Programmes; Fuel and Fuel Cycle; Physics and Neutronics; Thermohydraulic Calculation; Engineering, Design and Applications; Materials and Components; Safety and Licensing

Distributed secondary gas injection via a fractal injector : A nature-inspired approach to improving conversion in fluidized bed reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Christensen, D.O.

2008-01-01

The conversion in bubbling fluidized bed reactors is suppressed because the interphase mass transfer and gas-solid contact in bubbling fluidized bed reactors are often poor. Most of the gas is present in the form of bubbles, which have low surface-to-volume ratios and are nearly devoid of catalyst

Gas fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardelli, H. da C.

1976-03-01

The equations of motion for both gas and particles in a gas fluidised system are stablished through general assumptions which are generally accepted on physical grounds. The resulting model is used to study the velocity fields of each phase in the case of an isolated bubble rising close to the flat distributor plate. A well posed problem results for the solution of Laplace's equation of the potential flow of the particles when consideration is given to the presence of the distributor as a boundary condition. The corresponding stream functions are also obtained which enable the drawing of the motion patterns using numerical techniques. The following two dimensional cases are analysed: S/b=1; S/b=1,5; S/b=2,5; S/b=5 and the limiting case S/b→αinfinite. The results for the interphase exchange between bubbles and particulate phases are applied to a gas fluidised bed reactor and its effect on the chemical conversion is studied for the simplest cases of piston flow and perfect mixing in the particulate phase [pt

Denitrification performance of Pseudomonas denitrificans in a fluidized-bed biofilm reactor and in a stirred tank reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cattaneo, C.; Nicolella, C.; Rovatti, M. [Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa (Italy)

2003-04-09

Denitrification of a synthetic wastewater containing nitrates and methanol as carbon source was carried out in two systems - a fluidized-bed biofilm reactor (FBBR) and a stirred tank reactor (STR) - using Pseudomonas denitrificans over a period of five months. Nitrogen loading was varied during operation of both reactors to assess differences in the response to transient conditions. Experimental data were analyzed to obtain a comparison of denitrification kinetics in biofilm and suspended growth reactors. The comparison showed that the volumetric degradation capacity in the FBBR (5.36 kg {sub N} . m{sup -3} . d{sup -1}) was higher than in the STR, due to higher biomass concentration (10 kg {sub BM} . m{sup -3} vs 1.2 kg {sub BM} m{sup -3}). (Abstract Copyright [2003], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Thermohydraulic modeling of very high temperature reactors in regimes with loss of coolant using CFD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreira, Uebert G.; Dominguez, Dany S. [Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilh´eus, BA (Brazil). Programa de P´os-Graduacao em Modelagem Computacional em Ciencia e Tecnologia; Mazaira, Leorlen Y.R.; Lira, Carlos A.B.O. [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Departamento de Energia Nuclear; Hernandez, Carlos R.G., E-mail: uebert.gmoreira@gmail.com, E-mail: dsdominguez@gmail.com, E-mail: leored1984@gmail.com, E-mail: cabol@ufpe.br, E-mail: cgh@instec.cu [Instituto Superior de Tecnologas y Ciencias Aplicadas (InSTEC), La Habana (Cuba)

2017-07-01

The nuclear energy is a good alternative to meet the continuous increase in world energy demand. In this perspective, VHTRs (Very High Temperature Reactors) are serious candidates for energy generation due to its inherently safe performance, low power density and high conversion efficiency. However, the viability of these reactors depends on an efficient safety system in the operation of nuclear plants. The HTR (High Temperature Reactor)-10 model, an experimental reactor of the pebble bed type, is used as a case study in this work to perform the thermohydraulic simulation. Due to the complex patterns flow that appear in the pebble bed reactor core, and advances in computational capacity, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) techniques are used to simulate these reactors. A realistic approach is adopted to simulate the central annular column of the reactor core, which each pebble bed element is modeled in detail. As geometrical model of the fuel elements was selected the BCC (Body Centered Cubic) arrangement. Previous works indicate this arrangement as the configuration that obtain higher fuel temperatures inside the core. Parameters considered for reactor design are available in the technical report of benchmark issues by IAEA (TECDOC-1694). Among the results obtained, we obtained the temperature profiles with different mass flow rates for the coolant. In general, the temperature distributions calculated are consistent with phenomenological behaviour. Even without consider the reactivity changes to reduce the reactor power or other safety procedures, the maximum temperatures do not exceed the recommended limits for fuel elements. (author)

Thermohydraulic modeling of very high temperature reactors in regimes with loss of coolant using CFD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Uebert G.; Dominguez, Dany S.

2017-01-01

The nuclear energy is a good alternative to meet the continuous increase in world energy demand. In this perspective, VHTRs (Very High Temperature Reactors) are serious candidates for energy generation due to its inherently safe performance, low power density and high conversion efficiency. However, the viability of these reactors depends on an efficient safety system in the operation of nuclear plants. The HTR (High Temperature Reactor)-10 model, an experimental reactor of the pebble bed type, is used as a case study in this work to perform the thermohydraulic simulation. Due to the complex patterns flow that appear in the pebble bed reactor core, and advances in computational capacity, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) techniques are used to simulate these reactors. A realistic approach is adopted to simulate the central annular column of the reactor core, which each pebble bed element is modeled in detail. As geometrical model of the fuel elements was selected the BCC (Body Centered Cubic) arrangement. Previous works indicate this arrangement as the configuration that obtain higher fuel temperatures inside the core. Parameters considered for reactor design are available in the technical report of benchmark issues by IAEA (TECDOC-1694). Among the results obtained, we obtained the temperature profiles with different mass flow rates for the coolant. In general, the temperature distributions calculated are consistent with phenomenological behaviour. Even without consider the reactivity changes to reduce the reactor power or other safety procedures, the maximum temperatures do not exceed the recommended limits for fuel elements. (author)

Study of the obtainment of Mo_2C by gas-solid reaction in a fixed and rotary bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, C.P.B. de; Souza, C.P. de; Souto, M.V.M.; Barbosa, C.M.; Frota, A.V.V.M.

2016-01-01

Carbides' synthesis via gas-solid reaction overcomes many of the difficulties found in other processes, requiring lower temperatures and reaction times than traditional metallurgic routes, for example. In carbides' synthesis in fixed bed reactors (FB) the solid precursor is permeated by the reducing/carburizing gas stream forming a packed bed without mobility. The use of a rotary kiln reactor (RK) adds a mixing character to this process, changing its fluid-particle dynamics. In this work ammonium molybdate was subjected to carbo-reduction reaction (CH4 / H2) in both reactors under the same gas flow (15L / h) and temperature (660 ° C) for 180 minutes. Complete conversion was observed Mo2C (dp = 18.9nm modal particles sizes' distribution) in the fixed bed reactor. In the RK reactor this conversion was only partial (∼ 40%) and Mo2C and MoO3 (34nm dp = bimodal) could be observed on the produced XRD pattern. Partial conversion was attributed to the need to use higher solids loading in the reactor CR (50% higher) to avoid solids to centrifuge. (author)

Aerobic biodegradation of a sulfonated phenylazonaphthol dye by a bacterial community immobilized in a multistage packed-bed BAC reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Arias, Alfredo; Juárez-Ramírez, Cleotilde; de los Cobos-Vasconcelos, Daniel; Ruiz-Ordaz, Nora; Salmerón-Alcocer, Angélica; Ahuatzi-Chacón, Deifilia; Galíndez-Mayer, Juvencio

2010-11-01

A microbial community able to aerobically degrade the azo dye Acid Orange 7 was selected from riparian or lacustrine sediments collected at sites receiving textile wastewaters. Three bacterial strains, pertaining to the genera Pseudomonas, Arthrobacter, and Rhizobium, constitute the selected community. The biodegradation of AO7 was carried out in batch-suspended cell culture and in a continuously operated multistage packed-bed BAC reactor. The rapid decolorization observed in batch culture, joined to a delay of about 24 h in COD removal and cell growth, suggests that enzymes involved in biodegradation of the aromatic amines generated after AO7 azo-bond cleavage (1-amino-2-naphthol [1-A2N] and 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid [4-ABS]), are inducible in this microbial consortium. After this presumptive induction period, the accumulated byproducts, measured through COD, were partially metabolized and transformed in cell mass. At all azo dye loading rates used, complete removal of AO7 and 1-A2N was obtained in the multistage packed-bed BAC reactor (PBR).; however, the overall COD (eta ( COD )) and 4-ABS (eta ( ABS )) removal efficiencies obtained in steady state continuous culture were about 90%. Considering the toxicity of 1-A2N, its complete removal has particular relevance. In the first stages of the packed-bed BAC reactor (Fig. 4a-c), major removal was observed. In the last stage, only a slight removal of COD and 4-ABS was obtained. Comparing to several reported studies, the continuously operated multistage packed-bed BAC reactor showed similar or superior results. In addition, the operation of large-packed-bed BAC reactors could be improved by using several shallow BAC bed stages, because the pressure drop caused by bed compaction of a support material constituted by small and fragile particles can be reduced.

Pyrolysis of softwood carbohydrates in a fluidized bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Aho, Atte; Kumar, Narendra; Eränen, Kari; Holmbom, Bjarne; Hupa, Mikko; Salmi, Tapio; Murzin, Dmitry Yu

2008-09-01

In the present work pyrolysis of pure pine wood and softwood carbohydrates, namely cellulose and galactoglucomannan (the major hemicellulose in coniferous wood), was conducted in a batch mode operated fluidized bed reactor. Temperature ramping (5 degrees C/min) was applied to the heating until a reactor temperature of 460 degrees C was reached. Thereafter the temperature was kept until the release of non-condensable gases stopped. The different raw materials gave significantly different bio-oils. Levoglucosan was the dominant product in the cellulose pyrolysis oil. Acetic acid was found in the highest concentrations in both the galactoglucomannan and in the pine wood pyrolysis oils. Acetic acid is most likely formed by removal of O-acetyl groups from mannose units present in GGM structure.

Performances and microbial features of an aerobic packed-bed biofilm reactor developed to post-treat an olive mill effluent from an anaerobic GAC reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marchetti Leonardo

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Olive mill wastewater (OMW is the aqueous effluent of olive oil producing processes. Given its high COD and content of phenols, it has to be decontaminated before being discharged. Anaerobic digestion is one of the most promising treatment process for such an effluent, as it combines high decontamination efficiency with methane production. The large scale anaerobic digestion of OMWs is normally conducted in dispersed-growth reactors, where however are generally achieved unsatisfactory COD removal and methane production yields. The possibility of intensifying the performance of the process using a packed bed biofilm reactor, as anaerobic treatment alternative, was demonstrated. Even in this case, however, a post-treatment step is required to further reduce the COD. In this work, a biological post-treatment, consisting of an aerobic biological "Manville" silica bead-packed bed aerobic reactor, was developed, tested for its ability to complete COD removal from the anaerobic digestion effluents, and characterized biologically through molecular tools. Results The aerobic post-treatment was assessed through a 2 month-continuous feeding with the digested effluent at 50.42 and 2.04 gl-1day-1 of COD and phenol loading rates, respectively. It was found to be a stable process, able to remove 24 and 39% of such organic loads, respectively, and to account for 1/4 of the overall decontamination efficiency displayed by the anaerobic-aerobic integrated system when fed with an amended OMW at 31.74 and 1.70 gl-1day-1 of COD and phenol loading rates, respectively. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences of biomass samples from the aerobic reactor biofilm revealed that it was colonized by Rhodobacterales, Bacteroidales, Pseudomonadales, Enterobacteriales, Rhodocyclales and genera incertae sedis TM7. Some taxons occurring in the influent were not detected in the biofilm, whereas others, such as Paracoccus, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Enterobacter

Butanol production by bioconversion of cheese whey in a continuous packed bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Raganati, F; Olivieri, G; Procentese, A; Russo, M E; Salatino, P; Marzocchella, A

2013-06-01

Butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum DSM 792 fermentation was investigated. Unsupplemented cheese whey was adopted as renewable feedstock. The conversion was successfully carried out in a biofilm packed bed reactor (PBR) for more than 3 months. The PBR was a 4 cm ID, 16 cm high glass tube with a 8 cm bed of 3mm Tygon rings, as carriers. It was operated at the dilution rate between 0.4h(-1) and 0.94 h(-1). The cheese whey conversion process was characterized in terms of metabolites production (butanol included), lactose conversion and biofilm mass. Under optimized conditions, the performances were: butanol productivity 2.66 g/Lh, butanol concentration 4.93 g/L, butanol yield 0.26 g/g, butanol selectivity of the overall solvents production 82 wt%. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Catalytic fast pyrolysis of white oak wood in-situ using a bubbling fluidized bed reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Catalytic fast pyrolysis was performed on white oak wood using two zeolite-type catalysts as bed material in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor. The two catalysts chosen, based on a previous screening study, were Ca2+ exchanged Y54 (Ca-Y54) and a proprietary ß-zeolite type catalyst (catalyst M) both ...

High-temperature reactor developments in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schram, R.P.C.; Cordfunke, E.H.P.; Heek, A.I. van.

1996-01-01

The high-temperature reactor development in the Netherland is embedded in the WHITE reactor program, in which several Dutch research institutes and engineering companies participate. The activities within the WHITE program are focused on the development of a small scale HTS for combined heat and power generation. In 1995, design choices for a pebble bed reactor were made at ECN. The first concept HTR will gave a closed cycle helium turbine and a power level of 40 MWth. It is intended to make the market introduction of a commercially competitive HTR feasible. The design will be an optimization of the Peu-a-Peu (PAP) concept of KFA Juelich. Computer codes necessary for the evaluation of reactor physics aspects of this reactor are developed in cooperation with international partners. An evaluation of a 20 MWth PAP concept showed that the maximum fuel termmperature after depressurization does not exceed 1300 C. (orig.)

Liquid distribution in trickle-bed reactor; Distribution du liquide en reacteur a lit ruisselant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marcandelli, C.; Wild, G. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-ENSIC), Lab. des Sciences du Genie Chimique, 54 - Nancy (France); Lamine, A.S. [CNRS-Universite de Paris-Nord, Lab. d' Ingenierie des Materiaux et des Hautes Pressions, 93 - Villetaneuse (France); Bernard, J.R. [Elf Antar France, Centre de Recherche Elf de Solaize, 69 - Solaize (France)

2000-07-01

The aim of this study is to develop techniques to qualify the efficiency of liquid distribution in trickle-bed reactors, using cold mockups. The experimental setup consists mainly in a 0.3-m-ID packed-bed column with three different plates used to vary the quality of inlet liquid distribution. Liquid distribution has been qualified using several techniques: global pressure drop measurements, global RTD (Residence-Time Distribution) of the liquid, local heat transfer probes, capacitance tomography, collector at the bottom of the reactor with nine equal zones. The bed pressure drop and the overall external liquid saturation decrease when the maldistribution increases; quantitative information is however difficult to obtain this way. Global RTD of the liquid allows quantifying of the average liquid distribution in the bed. The local thermal sensors give an indication of local liquid velocity and indicate possible local maldistribution of the liquid (scale mm) even when global distribution is good. Concerning the results obtained with the collector, a maldistribution index is defined ranging from 0 (ideal distribution) to 1 (worst possible distribution), and the influence of the different operating parameters (gas and liquid velocities, particle shape) is discussed. (authors)

Transesterification of rapeseed oil for biodiesel production in trickle-bed reactors packed with heterogeneous Ca/Al composite oxide-based alkaline catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yong-Lu; Tian, Song-Jiang; Li, Shu-Fen; Wang, Bo-Yang; Zhang, Min-Hua

2013-05-01

A conventional trickle bed reactor and its modified type both packed with Ca/Al composite oxide-based alkaline catalysts were studied for biodiesel production by transesterification of rapeseed oil and methanol. The effects of the methanol usage and oil flow rate on the FAME yield were investigated under the normal pressure and methanol boiling state. The oil flow rate had a significant effect on the FAME yield for the both reactors. The modified trickle bed reactor kept over 94.5% FAME yield under 0.6 mL/min oil flow rate and 91 mL catalyst bed volume, showing a much higher conversion and operational stability than the conventional type. With the modified trickle bed reactor, both transesterification and methanol separation could be performed simultaneously, and glycerin and methyl esters were separated additionally by gravity separation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental and computational investigation of flow of pebbles in a pebble bed nuclear reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Khane, Vaibhav B.

The Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) is a 4th generation nuclear reactor which is conceptually similar to moving bed reactors used in the chemical and petrochemical industries. In a PBR core, nuclear fuel in the form of pebbles moves slowly under the influence of gravity. Due to the dynamic nature of the core, a thorough understanding about slow and dense granular flow of pebbles is required from both a reactor safety and performance evaluation point of view. In this dissertation, a new integrated experimental and computational study of granular flow in a PBR has been performed. Continuous pebble re-circulation experimental set-up, mimicking flow of pebbles in a PBR, is designed and developed. Experimental investigation of the flow of pebbles in a mimicked test reactor was carried out for the first time using non-invasive radioactive particle tracking (RPT) and residence time distribution (RTD) techniques to measure the pebble trajectory, velocity, overall/zonal residence times, flow patterns etc. The tracer trajectory length and overall/zonal residence time is found to increase with change in pebble's initial seeding position from the center towards the wall of the test reactor. Overall and zonal average velocities of pebbles are found to decrease from the center towards the wall. Discrete element method (DEM) based simulations of test reactor geometry were also carried out using commercial code EDEM(TM) and simulation results were validated using the obtained benchmark experimental data. In addition, EDEM(TM) based parametric sensitivity study of interaction properties was carried out which suggests that static friction characteristics play an important role from a packed/pebble beds structural characterization point of view. To make the RPT technique viable for practical applications and to enhance its accuracy, a novel and dynamic technique for RPT calibration was designed and developed. Preliminary feasibility results suggest that it can be implemented as a non

Burnup analysis of a peu a peu fuel-loading scheme in a pebble bed reactor using the Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwanto, Dwi; Obara, Toru

2010-01-01

The design of a pebble bed reactor can be simplified by removing the unloading device from the system. For this reactor design, a suitable fuel-loading scheme is the peu a peu (little by little) fueling scheme. In the peu a peu mode, there is no unloading device; as such, the fuels are never discharged and remain at the bottom of the core during reactor operation. This means that the burnup cycle and reactivity is controlled by the addition of fuel. In this study, the Monte Carlo method is used to perform calculations with high accuracy. However, the calculation procedures for the peu a peu mode using the Monte Carlo method require lot of steps. Therefore, a computer code to automate the process of the peu a peu fuel-loading scheme based on the Monte Carlo MVP/MVP-BURN code has been developed using Fortran. Using the method developed in this study, burnup characteristics for a reference design of a small 20-MW pebble bed reactor with the peu a peu concept were analyzed. (author)

Effect of Mass-Transport Limitations on the Performance of a Packed Bed Membrane Reactor for Partial Oxidations. Transport from the Membrane to the Packed Bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sint Annaland, M.; Kurten, U.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2007-01-01

With a packed bed membrane reactor, the product yield can be significantly enhanced for partial oxidation systems, via distributive addition of oxygen to the reaction mixture along the axial coordinate of the reactor, provided that the reaction order in oxygen of the formation rate of the target

Effect of mass-transport limitations on the performance of a packed bed membrane reactor for partial oxidations. Transport from the membrane to the packed bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sint Annaland, van M.; Kurten, U.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2007-01-01

With a packed bed membrane reactor, the product yield can be significantly enhanced for partial oxidation systems, via distributive addition of oxygen to the reaction mixture along the axial coordinate of the reactor, provided that the reaction order in oxygen of the formation rate of the target

Fluidized-bed design for ICF reactor blankets using solid-lithium compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sucov, E.W.; Malick, F.S.; Green, L.; Hall, B.O.

1983-01-01

A fluidized-bed concept for blankets of dry or wetted first-wall ICF reactors using solid-lithium compounds is described. The reaction chamber is a right cylinder, 32 m high and 20 m in diameter; the blanket is composed of 36 steel tanks, 32 m high, which carry the sintered Li 2 O particles in the fluidizing helium gas. Each tank has a radial thickness of 2 m which generates a tritium breeding ration (TBR) of 1.27 and absorbs over 98% of the neutron energy; reducing the thickness to 1.2 m produces a TBR of 1.2 and energy absorption of 97% which satisfy the design goals. Calculations of tritium diffusion through the grains and heat removal from the grains showed that neither could be removed by the carrier gas; tritium and heat are therefore removed by removing the grains themselves by varying the helium flow rate. The particles are continuously fed into the bottom of the tanks at 300 0 C and removed at the top at 475 0 C. Tritium and heat extraction are easily and conveniently done outside the reactor

Modelling of HTR (High Temperature Reactor Pebble-Bed 10 MW to Determine Criticality as A Variations of Enrichment and Radius of the Fuel (Kernel With the Monte Carlo Code MCNP4C

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hammam Oktajianto

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Gas-cooled nuclear reactor is a Generation IV reactor which has been receiving significant attention due to many desired characteristics such as inherent safety, modularity, relatively low cost, short construction period, and easy financing. High temperature reactor (HTR pebble-bed as one of type of gas-cooled reactor concept is getting attention. In HTR pebble-bed design, radius and enrichment of the fuel kernel are the key parameter that can be chosen freely to determine the desired value of criticality. This paper models HTR pebble-bed 10 MW and determines an effective of enrichment and radius of the fuel (Kernel to get criticality value of reactor. The TRISO particle coated fuel particle which was modelled explicitly and distributed in the fuelled region of the fuel pebbles using a Simple-Cubic (SC lattice. The pebble-bed balls and moderator balls distributed in the core zone using a Body-Centred Cubic lattice with assumption of a fresh fuel by the fuel enrichment was 7-17% at 1% range and the size of the fuel radius was 175-300 µm at 25 µm ranges. The geometrical model of the full reactor is obtained by using lattice and universe facilities provided by MCNP4C. The details of model are discussed with necessary simplifications. Criticality calculations were conducted by Monte Carlo transport code MCNP4C and continuous energy nuclear data library ENDF/B-VI. From calculation results can be concluded that an effective of enrichment and radius of fuel (Kernel to achieve a critical condition was the enrichment of 15-17% at a radius of 200 µm, the enrichment of 13-17% at a radius of 225 µm, the enrichments of 12-15% at radius of 250 µm, the enrichments of 11-14% at a radius of 275 µm and the enrichment of 10-13% at a radius of 300 µm, so that the effective of enrichments and radii of fuel (Kernel can be considered in the HTR 10 MW. Keywords—MCNP4C, HTR, enrichment, radius, criticality 

Pyrolysis of high-ash sewage sludge in a circulating fluidized bed reactor for production of liquids rich in heterocyclic nitrogenated compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Wu; Jin, Baosheng; Huang, Yaji; Sun, Yu; Li, Rui; Jia, Jiqiang

2013-01-01

A circulating fluidized bed reactor was used for pyrolyzing sewage sludge with a high ash content to produce liquids rich in heterocyclic nitrogenated compounds. GC/MS and FTIR analyses showed that heterocyclic nitrogenated compounds and hydrocarbons made up 38.5-61.21% and 2.24-17.48% of the pyrolysis liquids, respectively. A fluidized gas velocity of 1.13 m/s, a sludge feed rate of 10.78 kg/h and a particle size of 1-2mm promoted heterocyclic nitrogenated compound production. Utilizing heterocyclic nitrogenated compounds as chemical feedstock could be a way for offsetting the cost of sewage sludge treatment. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pyrolysis of Softwood Carbohydrates in a Fluidized Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry Yu. Murzin

2008-09-01

Full Text Available In the present work pyrolysis of pure pine wood and softwood carbohydrates, namely cellulose and galactoglucomannan (the major hemicellulose in coniferous wood, was conducted in a batch mode operated fluidized bed reactor. Temperature ramping (5°C/min was applied to the heating until a reactor temperature of 460 °C was reached. Thereafter the temperature was kept until the release of non-condensable gases stopped. The different raw materials gave significantly different bio-oils. Levoglucosan was the dominant product in the cellulose pyrolysis oil. Acetic acid was found in the highest concentrations in both the galactoglucomannan and in the pine wood pyrolysis oils. Acetic acid is most likely formed by removal of O-acetyl groups from mannose units present in GGM structure.

Core-adjacent instrumentation systems for pebble bed reactors for process heat application - state of planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benninghofen, G.; Serafin, N.; Spillekothen, H.G.; Hecker, R.; Brixy, H.; Serpekian, T.

1982-06-01

Planning and theoretical/experimental development work for core surveillance instrumentation systems is being performed to meet requirements of pebble bed reactors for process heat application. Detailed and proved instrumentation concepts are now available for the core-adjacent instrumentation systems. The current work and the results of neutron flux measurements at high temperatures are described. Operation devices for long-term accurate gas outlet temperature measurements up to approximately 1423 deg. K will also be discussed. (author)

Studi Awal Desain Pebble Bed Reactor Berbasis Htr-pm Dengan Skema Resirkulasi Bahan Bakar Once-through-then-out

OpenAIRE

Setiadipura, Topan; Pane, Jupiter Sitorus; Zuhair, Zuhair

2016-01-01

STUDI AWAL DESAIN PEBBLE BED REACTOR BERBASIS HTR-PM DENGAN RESIRKULASI BAHAN BAKAR ONCE-THROUGH-THEN-OUT. Reaktor nuklir tipe pebble bed reactor (PBR) adalah salah satu reaktor canggih dengan fitur keselamatan pasif yang kuat. Pada desain tipe ini berpotensi untuk dilakukan kogenerasi yang bermanfaat untuk pengolahan berbagai mineral di berbagai pulau di Indonesia. Operasi PBR dapat lebih disederhanakan dengan menerapkan skema pengisian bahan bakar once-through-then-out (OTTO) dimana bahan b...

The effects of temperatures on the pebble flow in a pebble bed high temperature reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen, R. S.; Cogliati, J. J.; Gougar, H. D.

2012-01-01

The core of a pebble bed high temperature reactor (PBHTR) moves during operation, a feature which leads to better fuel economy (online refueling with no burnable poisons) and lower fuel stress. The pebbles are loaded at the top and trickle to the bottom of the core after which the burnup of each is measured. The pebbles that are not fully burned are recirculated through the core until the target burnup is achieved. The flow pattern of the pebbles through the core is of importance for core simulations because it couples the burnup distribution to the core temperature and power profiles, especially in cores with two or more radial burnup 'zones '. The pebble velocity profile is a strong function of the core geometry and the friction between the pebbles and the surrounding structures (other pebbles or graphite reflector blocks). The friction coefficient for graphite in a helium environment is inversely related to the temperature. The Thorium High Temperature Reactor (THTR) operated in Germany between 1983 and 1989. It featured a two-zone core, an inner core (IC) and outer core (OC), with different fuel mixtures loaded in each zone. The rate at which the IC was refueled relative to the OC in THTR was designed to be 0.56. During its operation, however, this ratio was measured to be 0.76, suggesting the pebbles in the inner core traveled faster than expected. It has been postulated that the positive feedback effect between inner core temperature, burnup, and pebble flow was underestimated in THTR. Because of the power shape, the center of the core in a typical cylindrical PBHTR operates at a higher temperature than the region next to the side reflector. The friction between pebbles in the IC is lower than that in the OC, perhaps causing a higher relative flow rate and lower average burnup, which in turn yield a higher local power density. Furthermore, the pebbles in the center region have higher velocities than the pebbles next to the side reflector due to the

The effects of temperatures on the pebble flow in a pebble bed high temperature reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sen, R. S.; Cogliati, J. J.; Gougar, H. D. [Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States)

2012-07-01

The core of a pebble bed high temperature reactor (PBHTR) moves during operation, a feature which leads to better fuel economy (online refueling with no burnable poisons) and lower fuel stress. The pebbles are loaded at the top and trickle to the bottom of the core after which the burnup of each is measured. The pebbles that are not fully burned are recirculated through the core until the target burnup is achieved. The flow pattern of the pebbles through the core is of importance for core simulations because it couples the burnup distribution to the core temperature and power profiles, especially in cores with two or more radial burnup 'zones '. The pebble velocity profile is a strong function of the core geometry and the friction between the pebbles and the surrounding structures (other pebbles or graphite reflector blocks). The friction coefficient for graphite in a helium environment is inversely related to the temperature. The Thorium High Temperature Reactor (THTR) operated in Germany between 1983 and 1989. It featured a two-zone core, an inner core (IC) and outer core (OC), with different fuel mixtures loaded in each zone. The rate at which the IC was refueled relative to the OC in THTR was designed to be 0.56. During its operation, however, this ratio was measured to be 0.76, suggesting the pebbles in the inner core traveled faster than expected. It has been postulated that the positive feedback effect between inner core temperature, burnup, and pebble flow was underestimated in THTR. Because of the power shape, the center of the core in a typical cylindrical PBHTR operates at a higher temperature than the region next to the side reflector. The friction between pebbles in the IC is lower than that in the OC, perhaps causing a higher relative flow rate and lower average burnup, which in turn yield a higher local power density. Furthermore, the pebbles in the center region have higher velocities than the pebbles next to the side reflector due to the

Partial oxidation of Raffinate II and other mixtures of n-Butane and n-Butenes to maleic anhydride in a fixed-bed reactor

OpenAIRE

Brandstädter, Willi Michael

2008-01-01

The utilisation of the C4 streams of steamcrackers by converting raffinate II to maleic anhydride was studied. The oxidation reactions were investigated in a laboratory-scale fixed-bed reactor to determine reaction kinetics. The effects of pore diffusional resistance were investigated and explained. A two-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous reactor model was used for the simulation of a production-scale fixed-bed reactor. A flow scheme of the reactor section including a recycle was proposed.

A comparison of mass transfer coefficients between trickle-bed, hollow fiber membrane and stirred tank reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Orgill, James J; Atiyeh, Hasan K; Devarapalli, Mamatha; Phillips, John R; Lewis, Randy S; Huhnke, Raymond L

2013-04-01

Trickle-bed reactor (TBR), hollow fiber membrane reactor (HFR) and stirred tank reactor (STR) can be used in fermentation of sparingly soluble gasses such as CO and H2 to produce biofuels and bio-based chemicals. Gas fermenting reactors must provide high mass transfer capabilities that match the kinetic requirements of the microorganisms used. The present study compared the volumetric mass transfer coefficient (K(tot)A/V(L)) of three reactor types; the TBR with 3 mm and 6 mm beads, five different modules of HFRs, and the STR. The analysis was performed using O2 as the gaseous mass transfer agent. The non-porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) HFR provided the highest K(tot)A/V(L) (1062 h(-1)), followed by the TBR with 6mm beads (421 h(-1)), and then the STR (114 h(-1)). The mass transfer characteristics in each reactor were affected by agitation speed, and gas and liquid flow rates. Furthermore, issues regarding the comparison of mass transfer coefficients are discussed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dispersed plug flow model for upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactors with focus on granular sludge dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kalyuzhnyi, S.V.; Fedorovich, V.V.; Lens, P.N.L.

2006-01-01

A new approach to model upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB)-reactors, referred to as a one-dimensional dispersed plug flow model, was developed. This model focusses on the granular sludge dynamics along the reactor height, based on the balance between dispersion, sedimentation and convection using

Dynamic analysis and application of fuel elements pneumatic transportation in a pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Hongbing; Du, Dong; Han, Zandong; Zou, Yirong; Pan, Jiluan

2015-01-01

Almost 10,000 spherical fuel elements are transported pneumatically one by one in the pipeline outside the core of a pebble bed reactor every day. Any failure in the transportation will lead to the shutdown of the reactor, even safety accidents. In order to ensure a stable and reliable transportation, it's of great importance to analyze the motion and force condition of the fuel element. In this paper, we focus on the dynamic analysis of the pneumatic transportation of the fuel element and derive kinetic equations. Then we introduce the design of the transportation pipeline. On this basis we calculate some important data such as the velocity of the fuel element, the force between the fuel element and the pipeline and the efficiency of the pneumatic transportation. Then we analyze these results and provide some suggestions for the design of the pipeline. The experiment was carried out on an experimental platform. The velocities of the fuel elements were measured. The experimental results were consistent with and validated the theoretical analysis. The research may offer the basis for the design of the transportation pipeline and the optimization of the fuel elements transportation in a pebble bed reactor. - Highlights: • The kinetic equations of the fuel element in pneumatic transportation are derived. • The dynamic characteristics of the fuel element are analyzed. • Some important parameters are calculated based on the kinetic equations. • The experimental results were consistent with the analysis and verified the analysis. • This paper may offer an important guide to the research of a pebble bed reactor

Pebble bed modular reactors versus other generation technologies. Costs and challenges for South Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grubert, Emily; Parks, Brian; Schneider, Erich; Sekar, Srinivas

2011-01-01

South Africa is Africa's major economy, with plans to double its electricity generation capacity by 2026. South Africa has spent almost two decades developing a nuclear reactor known as a Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), which could provide substantial benefits to the electricity grid but was recently mothballed due to high costs. This work estimates the lifecycle financial costs of South African PBMRs, then compares these costs to those of five other generation options: coal, nuclear as pressurized water reactors (PWRs), wind, and solar as photovoltaics (PV) or concentrating solar power (CSP). Each technology is evaluated with low, base case, and high assumptions for capital costs, construction time, and interest rates. Decommissioning costs, project lifetime, capacity factors, and sensitivity to carbon price are also considered. PBMR could be cost competitive with coal under certain low cost conditions, even without a carbon price. However, international lending practices and other factors suggest that a high capital cost, high interest rate nuclear plant is likely to be competing with a low capital cost, low interest rate coal plant in a market where cost recovery is challenging. PBMR could potentially become more competitive if low rate international loans were available to nuclear projects or became unavailable to coal projects. (author)

Interim report on core physics and fuel cycle analysis of the pebble bed reactor power plant concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vondy, D.R.

1977-12-01

Calculations were made to predict the performance of a pebble bed reactor operated in a mode to produce fissile fuel (high conversion or breeding). Both a one pebble design and a design involving large primary feed pebbles and small fertile pebbles were considered. A relatively short residence time of the primary pebbles loaded with 233 U fuel was found to be necessary to achieve a high breeding ratio, but this leads to relatively high fuel costs. A high fissile inventory is associated with a low C/Th ratio and a high thorium loading, causing the doubling time to be long, even though the breeding ratio is high, and the fuel cost of electrical product to be high. Production of 233 U fuel from 235 U feed was studied and performances of the converter and breeder reactor concepts were examined varying the key parameters

Performance evaluation of an anaerobic fluidized bed reactor with natural zeolite as support material when treating high-strength distillery wastewater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, N. [Renewable Energy Technology Center (CETER), ' ' Jose Antonio Echeverria' ' Polytechnical University, Calle 127 s/n, CP 19390, Apdo. 6028, Habana 6 Marianao, Ciudad de La Habana (Cuba); Montalvo, S. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Santiago de Chile University, Ave. Lib. Bernardo O' Higgins 3363, Santiago de Chile (Chile); Borja, R.; Travieso, L.; Raposo, F. [Instituto de la Grasa (CSIC), Avenida Padre Garcia Tejero 4, 41012 Sevilla (Spain); Guerrero, L. [Department of Chemical, Biotechnological and Environmental Processes, Federico Santa Maria Technical University, Casilla 110-V, Valparaiso (Chile); Sanchez, E.; Colmenarejo, M.F. [Centro de Ciencias Medioambientales (CSIC), C/Serrano, 115-Duplicado, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Cortes, I. [Environment Nacional Center, Chile University, Ave. Larrain 9975, La Reina, Santiago de Chile (Chile)

2008-11-15

The performance of two laboratory-scale fluidized bed reactors with natural zeolite as support material when treating high-strength distillery wastewater was assessed. Two sets of experiments were carried out. In the first experimental set, the influences of the organic loading rate (OLR), the fluidization level (FL) and the particle diameter of the natural zeolite (D{sub P}) were evaluated. This experimental set was carried out at an OLR from 2 to 5 g COD (chemical oxygen demand)/l d, at FL 20% and 40% and with D{sub P} in the range of 0.2-0.5 mm (reactor 1) and of 0.5-0.8 mm (reactor 2). It was demonstrated that OLR and FL had a slight influence on COD removal, whereas they had a strong influence on the methane production rate. The COD removal was slightly higher for the highest particle diameter used. The second experimental set was carried out at an OLR from 3 to 20 g COD/l d with 25% of fluidization and D{sub P} in the above-mentioned ranges for reactors 1 and 2. The performance of the two reactors was similar; no significant differences were found. The COD removal efficiency correlated with the OLR based on a straight line. COD removal efficiencies higher than 80% were achieved in both reactors without significant differences. In addition, a straight line equation with a slope of 1.74 d{sup -1} and an intercept on the y-axis equal to zero described satisfactorily the effect of the influent COD on the COD removal rate. It was also observed that both COD removal rate and methane production (Q{sub M}) increased linearly with the OLR, independently of the D{sub P} used. (author)

Summary of particle bed reactor designs for the Space Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Program

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, J. R.; Ludewig, H.; Todosow, M.

1993-09-01

A summary report of the Particle Bed Reactor (PBR) designs considered for the space nuclear thermal propulsion program has been prepared. The first chapters outline the methods of analysis, and their validation. Monte Carlo methods are used for the physics analysis, several new algorithms are used for the fluid dynamics heat transfer and engine system analysis, and commercially available codes are used for the stress analysis. A critical experiment, prototypic of the PBR was used for the physics validation, and blowdown experiments using fuel beds of prototypic dimensions were used to validate the power extraction capabilities from particle beds. In all four different PBR rocket reactor designs were studied to varying degrees of detail. They varied in power from 400 MW to 2000 MW. These designs were all characterized by a negative prompt coefficient, due to Doppler feedback, and the feedback due to moderator heat up varied from slightly negative to slightly positive. In all practical cases, the coolant worth was positive, although core configurations with negative coolant worth could be designed. In all practical cases the thrust/weight ratio was greater than 20.

Transient Effects in Fischer-Tropsch Reactor with a Fixed Bed of Catalyst Particles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Derevich

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Based on analysis of small temperature disturbances in the Fischer-Tropsch reactor with a fixed bed of catalyst particles various scenarios of thermal instability were investigated. There are two possible scenarios of thermal instability of the reactor. First, thermal explosion may occur due to growth of temperature disturbances inside a catalytic granule. Second scenario connected with loss of thermal stability as a result of an initial increase in temperature in the reactor volume. The boundaries of thermal stability of the reactor were estimated by solving the eigenvalue problems for spherical catalyst particles and cylindrical reactor. Processes of diffusional resistance inside the catalytic granule and heat transfer from wall of the reactor tube are taken into account. Estimation of thermal stability area is compared with the results of numerical simulation of behavior of temperature and concentration of synthesis gas.

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation in an immobilized cell trickle bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C H; Okos, M R; Wankat, P C

1989-06-05

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation was successfully carried out in an immobilized cell trickle bed reactor. The reactor was composed of two serial columns packed with Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 entrapped on the surface of natural sponge segments at a cell loading in the range of 2.03-5.56 g dry cells/g sponge. The average cell loading was 3.58 g dry cells/g sponge. Batch experiments indicated that a critical pH above 4.2 is necessary for the initiation of cell growth. One of the media used during continuous experiments consisted of a salt mixture alone and the other a nutrient medium containing a salt mixture with yeast extract and peptone. Effluent pH was controlled by supplying various fractions of the two different types of media. A nutrient medium fraction above 0.6 was crucial for successful fermentation in a trickle bed reactor. The nutrient medium fraction is the ratio of the volume of the nutrient medium to the total volume of nutrient plus salt medium. Supplying nutrient medium to both columns continuously was an effective way to meet both pH and nutrient requirement. A 257-mL reactor could ferment 45 g/L glucose from an initial concentration of 60 g/L glucose at a rate of 70 mL/h. Butanol, acetone, and ethanol concentrations were 8.82, 5.22, and 1.45 g/L, respectively, with a butanol and total solvent yield of 19.4 and 34.1 wt %. Solvent productivity in an immobilized cell trickle bed reactor was 4.2 g/L h, which was 10 times higher than that obtained in a batch fermentation using free cells and 2.76 times higher than that of an immobilized CSTR. If the nutrient medium fraction was below 0.6 and the pH was below 4.2, the system degenerated. Oxygen also contributed to the system degeneration. Upon degeneration, glucose consumption and solvent yield decreased to 30.9 g/L and 23.0 wt %, respectively. The yield of total liquid product (40.0 wt %) and butanol selectivity (60.0 wt %) remained almost constant. Once the cells were degenerated

Selenate removal in methanogenic and sulfate-reducing upflow anaerobic sludge bed reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenz, M.; Hullebusch, van E.D.; Hommes, G.; Corvini, P.F.X.; Lens, P.N.L.

2008-01-01

This paper evaluates the use of upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) bioreactors (30 degrees C, pH = 7.0) to remove selenium oxyanions from contaminated waters (790 mu g Se L-1) under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions using lactate as electron donor. One UASB reactor received sulfate at

Localization of the Hot Spot in the Gap of Pebble Bed of Very High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor(VHTGR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sa Ya; Hong, Sung Je; Lee, Jae Young

2010-01-01

Pebble Bed Reactor(PBR) has been investigated intensively due to its benefits in management, but its complicated flow geometry requests reliable analytical methods. Hassan and Lee et al. have been made three dimensional computational methods. Hassan also measured local velocity fields with Particle Tracking Velocimetry(PTV), in small sized packed bed using liquid coolant, and Lee et al. measured flow field in the 2-dimensional wind tunnel with a hot wire system. In the present study, we develop the scaled up wind tunnel of pebble bed to use air as coolant in the same Reynolds number condition, as 21614, of the PBMR-250MWth. In order to measure the local surface temperature, the heating system and temperature measurement system were installed and heat transfer analogy was performed. The local surface temperature data shows that the predicted hot spots by Lee et al. at the top and bottom of the pebble by the velocity field measurement are reasonable, but the heat conduction is prior than contact effect at contact points

Breakthrough of toluene vapours in granular activated carbon filled packed bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohan, N.; Kannan, G.K.; Upendra, S.; Subha, R.; Kumar, N.S.

2009-01-01

The objective of this research was to determine the toluene removal efficiency and breakthrough time using commercially available coconut shell-based granular activated carbon in packed bed reactor. To study the effect of toluene removal and break point time of the granular activated carbon (GAC), the parameters studied were bed lengths (2, 3, and 4 cm), concentrations (5, 10, and 15 mg l -1 ) and flow rates (20, 40, and 60 ml/min). The maximum percentage removal of 90% was achieved and the maximum carbon capacity for 5 mg l -1 of toluene, 60 ml/min flow rate and 3 cm bed length shows 607.14 mg/g. The results of dynamic adsorption in a packed bed were consistent with those of equilibrium adsorption by gravimetric method. The breakthrough time and quantity shows that GAC with appropriate surface area can be utilized for air cleaning filters. The result shows that the physisorption plays main role in toluene removal.

Anaerobic up flow fluidized bed reactor performance as a primary treatment unit in domestic wastewater treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.A. Moharram

2016-04-01

The efficiencies of Total nitrogen removal ranged between 2.23 and 10.83% with an apparent decrease during the low temperature high rate stages. Nitrite removal was in the range of (23.08–77% with up to the 2 mg/L in the effluent water when obtaining high organic loading and warm temperature. These results demonstrated that the domestic wastewater could be anaerobically treated in a fluidized bed UASB reactor with very low HRT reaching 2.5 h.

A simulation of a pebble bed reactor core by the MCNP-4C computer code

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakhshayesh Moshkbar Khalil

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Lack of energy is a major crisis of our century; the irregular increase of fossil fuel costs has forced us to search for novel, cheaper, and safer sources of energy. Pebble bed reactors - an advanced new generation of reactors with specific advantages in safety and cost - might turn out to be the desired candidate for the role. The calculation of the critical height of a pebble bed reactor at room temperature, while using the MCNP-4C computer code, is the main goal of this paper. In order to reduce the MCNP computing time compared to the previously proposed schemes, we have devised a new simulation scheme. Different arrangements of kernels in fuel pebble simulations were investigated and the best arrangement to decrease the MCNP execution time (while keeping the accuracy of the results, chosen. The neutron flux distribution and control rods worth, as well as their shadowing effects, have also been considered in this paper. All calculations done for the HTR-10 reactor core are in good agreement with experimental results.

Fast oxidative pyrolysis of sugar cane straw in a fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mesa-Pérez, Juan Miguel; Rocha, José Dilcio; Barbosa-Cortez, Luis Augusto; Penedo-Medina, Margarita; Luengo, Carlos Alberto; Cascarosa, Esther

2013-01-01

This study focuses on the technical viability evaluation of the fast pyrolysis of sugar cane straw for its energy use. By means of this thermochemical process, the sugar cane straw is converted into bio-fuels (biochar, bio-oil) and non-condensable gases. The bio-fuels obtained could be used as fuel or as raw material in the chemical industry. The fast pyrolysis of sugar cane straw has been developed in a fluidized bed reactor. In order to improve this process to obtain high bio-oil yield, the influence of the operational conditions (equivalence ratio and temperature) on the product yields and on their characteristics was evaluated. The product yields of bio-oil and char were up to 35.5 wt.% and 48.2 wt.% respectively. The maximum bio-oil yield was achieved at temperature and equivalence ratio conditions of 470 °C and 0.14. The bio-oil obtained has low oxygen content (38.48 wt.% dry basis), very low water content, and a lower heating value of 22.95 MJ/kg. The gas chromatographic analyses allowed the identification of oxygenated compounds and heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The bio-oil pH ranged between 3.14 and 3.57 due to the presence of acid organic compounds. The char obtained has a high fixed carbon and volatile matter content. Its HHV value is 13.54 MJ/kg. -- Highlights: • Pyrolysis of sugar cane straw was studied in a fluidized bed reactor. • The product yields were evaluated. • The composition of the liquid and solid products obtained was analyzed. • This is an environmentally friendly use for this waste

PEBBLES: A COMPUTER CODE FOR MODELING PACKING, FLOW AND RECIRCULATIONOF PEBBLES IN A PEBBLE BED REACTOR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joshua J. Cogliati; Abderrafi M. Ougouag

2006-10-01

A comprehensive, high fidelity model for pebble flow has been developed and embodied in the PEBBLES computer code. In this paper, a description of the physical artifacts included in the model is presented and some results from using the computer code for predicting the features of pebble flow and packing in a realistic pebble bed reactor design are shown. The sensitivity of models to various physical parameters is also discussed.

TiO2-photocatalyzed As(III) oxidation in a fixed-bed, flow-through reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Megan A; Hering, Janet G

2006-07-01

Compliance with the U.S. drinking water standard for arsenic (As) of 10 microg L(-1) is required in January 2006. This will necessitate implementation of treatment technologies for As removal by thousands of water suppliers. Although a variety of such technologies is available, most require preoxidation of As(III) to As(V) for efficient performance. Previous batch studies with illuminated TiO2 slurries have demonstrated that TiO2-photocatalyzed AS(III) oxidation occurs rapidly. This study examined reaction efficiency in a flow-through, fixed-bed reactor that provides a better model for treatment in practice. Glass beads were coated with mixed P25/sol gel TiO2 and employed in an upflow reactor irradiated from above. The reactor residence time, influent As(III) concentration, number of TiO2 coatings on the beads, solution matrix, and light source were varied to characterize this reaction and determine its feasibility for water treatment. Repeated usage of the same beads in multiple experiments or extended use was found to affect effluent As(V) concentrations but not the steady-state effluent As(III) concentration, which suggests that As(III) oxidation at the TiO2 surface undergoes dynamic sorption equilibration. Catalyst poisoning was not observed either from As(V) or from competitively adsorbing anions, although the higher steady-state effluent As(III) concentrations in synthetic groundwater compared to 5 mM NaNO3 indicated that competitive sorbates in the matrix partially hinder the reaction. A reactive transport model with rate constants proportional to incident light at each bead layer fit the experimental data well despite simplifying assumptions. TiO2-photocatalyzed oxidation of As(III) was also effective under natural sunlight. Limitations to the efficiency of As(III) oxidation in the fixed-bed reactor were attributable to constraints of the reactor geometry, which could be overcome by improved design. The fixed-bed TiO2 reactor offers an environmentally

Experiment and modeling of low-concentration methane catalytic combustion in a fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Zhongqing; Yang, Peng; Zhang, Li; Guo, Mingnv; Ran, Jingyu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The catalytic combustion of 0.15~3 vol. % low concentration methane in a fluidized bed was studied. • A mathematical model was proposed on the basis of gas–solid flow theory. • A comparative analysis of the established model with plug flow, mixed flow and K-L models was carried out. • The axial methane profile along fluidized bed was predicted by using the mathematical model. • The bed temperature has greater impact on methane conversion than fluidized velocity. - Abstract: This study undertakes a theoretical analysis and an experimental investigation into the characteristics of low-concentration methane catalytic combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor using 0.5 wt.% Pd/Al_2O_3 as catalytic particles. A mathematical model is established based on gas–solid flow theory and is used to study the effects of bed temperature and fluidized velocity on methane catalytic combustion, and predict the dimensionless methane concentration axial profile in reactor. It is shown that methane conversion increases with bed temperature, but decreases with increasing fluidized velocity. These theoretical results are found to correlate well with the experimental measurement, with a deviation within 5%. A comparative analysis of the developed model with plug flow, mixed flow and K-L models is also carried out, and this further verifies that the established model better reflects the characteristics of low-concentration methane catalytic combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed. Using this reaction model, it was found that the difference in methane conversion between dense and freeboard zones gradually increases with bed temperature; the dense zone reaction levels off at 650 °C, thereby minimizing the difference between the dense and freeboard regions to around 15%. With an increase in bed temperature, the dimensionless methane concentration in the dense zone decreases exponentially, while in the splash zone, it varies from an exponential decay to a slow

Analysis of the start-up and control of a particle bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazareth, O.W.; Araj, K.J.; Horn, F.L.; Ludewig, H.; Powell, J.R.

1987-01-01

This study describes the modeling of start-up transients in Particle Bed Reactors (PBR) for burst electric power. Two computer programs have been developed to analyze the start-up process. The first program (named KINETIC) analyzes the entire fuel element, calculating time dependent solutions for power and the temperature distribution in the packed bed. The second program (named SPHEAT, for Spherical Heating) calculates time-dependent temperatures inside individual, cladded fuel particles. The two programs provide powerful analytical tools for evaluation of material and geometrical options, power and time constraints, and conditions that could lead to element failures

Wastewater treatment with submerged fixed bed biofilm reactor systems--design rules, operating experiences and ongoing developments.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlegel, S; Koeser, H

2007-01-01

Wastewater treatment systems using bio-films that grow attached to a support media are an alternative to the widely used suspended growth activated sludge process. Different fixed growth biofilm reactors are commercially used for the treatment of municipal as well as industrial wastewater. In this paper a fairly new fixed growth biofilm system, the submerged fixed bed biofilm reactor (SFBBR), is discussed. SFBBRs are based on aerated submerged fixed open structured plastic media for the support of the biofilm. They are generally operated without sludge recirculation in order to avoid clogging of the support media and problems with the control of the biofilm. Reactor and process design considerations for these reactors are reviewed. Measures to ensure the development and maintenance of an active biofilm are examined. SFBBRs have been applied successfully to small wastewater treatment plants where complete nitrification but no high degree of denitrification is necessary. For the pre-treatment of industrial wastewater the use of SFBBRs is advantageous, especially in cases of wastewater with high organic loading or high content of compounds with low biodegradability. Performance data from exemplary commercial plants are given. Ongoing research and development efforts aim at achieving a high simultaneous total nitrogen (TN) removal of aerated SFBBRs and at improving the efficiency of TN removal in anoxic SFBBRs.

Application of point kinetic model in the study of fluidized bed reactor dynamic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, Volnei; Vilhena, Marco Tullio de; Streck, Elaine E.

1995-01-01

In this work the dynamical behavior of the fluidized bed nuclear reactor is analysed. The main goal consist to study the effect of the acceleration term in the point kinetic equations. Numerical simulations are reported considering constant acceleration. (author). 7 refs, 4 figs

Production of structured lipids in a packed-bed reactor with Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Xuebing; Porsgaard, Trine; Zhang, Hong

2002-01-01

Lipase-catalyzed interesterification between fish oil and medium-chain TAG has been investigated in a packed-bed reactor with a commercially immobilized enzyme. The enzyme, a Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase immobilized on silica by granulation (Lipozyme TL IM; Novozymes A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark), ha...

Carbon coated (carbonous) catalyst in ebullated bed reactor for production of oxygenated chemicals from syngas/CO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peizheng Zhou

2002-01-01

This report summarizes the work completed under DOE's Support of Advanced Fuel Research program, Contract No. DE-FG26-99FT40681. The contract period was October 2000 through September 2002. This R and D program investigated the modification of the mechanical strength of catalyst extrudates using Hydrocarbon Technologies, Inc. (HTI) carbon-coated catalyst technology so that the ebullated bed technology can be utilized to produce valuable oxygenated chemicals from syngas/CO 2 efficiently and economically. Exothermic chemical reactions benefit from the temperature control and freedom from catalyst fouling provided by the ebullated bed reactor technology. The carbon-coated extrudates prepared using these procedures had sufficient attrition resistance and surface area for use in ebullated bed operation. The low cost of carbon coating makes the carbon-coated catalysts highly competitive in the market of catalyst extrudates

Transformation products of clindamycin in moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Gordon Tze Hoong; Escola Casas, Monica; Andersen, Henrik Rasmus

2017-01-01

Clindamycin is widely prescribed for its ability to treat a number of common bacterial infections. Thus, clindamycin enters wastewater via human excretion or disposal of unused medication and widespread detection of pharmaceuticals in rivers proves the insufficiency of conventional wastewater...... treatment plants in removing clindamycin. Recently, it has been discovered that attached biofilm reactors, e.g., moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBRs) obtain a higher removal of pharmaceuticals than conventional sludge wastewater treatment plants. Therefore, this study investigated the capability of MBBRs...... process converts clindamycin into the, possibly persistent, products clindamycin sulfoxide and N-desmethyl clindamycin as well as 3 other mono-oxygenated products. Subsequently, the removal kinetics of clindamycin and the formation of the two identified products were investigated in batch experiments...

Thermophilic two-phase anaerobic digestion using an innovative fixed-bed reactor for enhanced organic matter removal and bioenergy recovery from sugarcane vinasse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuess, Lucas Tadeu; Kiyuna, Luma Sayuri Mazine; Ferraz, Antônio Djalma Nunes; Persinoti, Gabriela Felix

2017-01-01

Highlights: • An innovative fixed-film anaerobic reactor was applied to sugarcane vinasse. • Stable operation was observed for OLRs as high as 30 kg COD m"−"3 day"−"1. • Propionate buildup did not impact the stability of the structured-bed reactor. • Enhanced bioenergy recovery was estimated from biodigestion with phase separation. • Energy extraction was over 20% higher compared to single-phase systems. - Abstract: This study considered the application of anaerobic digestion (AD) with phase separation combined with the use of an anaerobic structured-bed reactor (ASTBR) as the methanogenic phase for the treatment of sugarcane vinasse, a high-strength wastewater resulting from ethanol production. Two combined thermophilic acidogenic-methanogenic systems formed by one single acidogenic reactor followed by two methanogenic reactors operated in parallel were compared, namely, a conventional UASB reactor and an upflow ASTBR reactor. Increasing organic loading rate (OLR) conditions (15–30 kg COD m"−"3 d"−"1) were applied to the methanogenic reactors. The results highlighted the feasibility of applying the ASTBR to vinasse, indicating a global COD removal higher than 80%. The ASTBR exhibited a stable long-term operation (240 days), even for OLR values as high as 30 kg COD m"−"3 d"−"1. The application of similar conditions to the UASB reactor indicated severe performance losses, leading to the accumulation of acids for every increase in the OLR. An energetic potential of 181.5 MJ for each cubic meter of vinasse was estimated from both hydrogen and methane. The provision of bicarbonate alkalinity proved to be a key factor in obtaining stable performance, offsetting the limitations of relatively low hydraulic retention times (<24 h).

Development of a computer program for the simulation of one-dimensional fixed- and moving-bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartner, P.

1996-11-01

Chemical reactors with a flow through a bed of solid particles are of great importance in the processing industry. Modern computational tools allow for an improved characterization of the complex facts in such reactors leading to new opportunities of optimizing the reactor operation and environmental effects. This thesis is concerned with the development of the one-dimensional simulation software REASIM. The program covers the effects within a reacting bed and is designed for fixed and moving beds. To describe the reactor the balances for energy, momentum and mass are solved. The drying of the particles, pyrolysis and chemical gas-solid and gas-gas reactions are considered. For the description of the chemical gas-solid reactions a particle model for porous solids is developed. The calculation of mass transfer and of chemical reactions is strictly separated. All parameters necessary for the model can be measured in the laboratory. The model equations form a system of partial differential equations. This system is transformed to a set of ordinary differential equations. It is found that the best discretization method is the method of finite differences with the upwind-scheme for situations where convection is strong. The program has a modular structure making it is easy to replace parts of the program by new, improved modules if they become available. (author)

Safeguards Challenges for Pebble-Bed Reactors (PBRs):Peoples Republic of China (PRC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsberg, Charles W.; Moses, David Lewis

2009-01-01

The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is operating the HTR-10 pebble-bed reactor (PBR) and is in the process of building a prototype PBR plant with two modular reactors (250-MW(t) per reactor) feeding steam to a single turbine-generator. It is likely to be the first modular high temperature reactor to be ready for commercial deployment in the world because it is a high priority project for the PRC. The plant design features multiple modular reactors feeding steam to a single turbine generator where the number of modules determines the plant output. The design and commercialization strategy are based on PRC strengths: (1) a rapidly growing electric market that will support low-cost mass production of modular reactor units and (2) a balance of plant system based on economics of scale that uses the same mass-produced turbine-generator systems used in PRC coal plants. If successful, in addition to supplying the PRC market, this strategy could enable China to be the leading exporter of nuclear reactors to developing countries. The modular characteristics of the reactor match much of the need elsewhere in the world. PBRs have major safety advantages and a radically different fuel. The fuel, not the plant systems, is the primary safety system to prevent and mitigate the release of radionuclides under accident conditions. The fuel consists of small (6-cm) pebbles (spheres) containing coated particle fuel in a graphitized carbon matrix. The fuel loading per pebble is small (∼9 grams of low-enriched uranium) and hundreds of thousands of pebbles are required to fuel a nuclear plant. The uranium concentration in the fuel is an order of magnitude less than in traditional nuclear fuels. These characteristics make the fuel significantly less attractive for illicit use (weapons production or dirty bomb); but, its unusual physical form may require changes in the tools used for safeguards. This report describes PBRs, what is different, and the safeguards challenges. A series of

Pebble bed modular reactor fuel enrichment discrimination using delayed neutrons - HTR2008-58133

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skoda, R.; Rataj, J.; Uhera, J.

2008-01-01

The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is a helium-cooled, graphite-moderated high temperature nuclear power reactor which utilise fuel in form of spheres that are randomly loaded and continuously circulated through the core until they reach their prescribed end-of-life burn-up limit. When the reactor is started up for the first time, the lower-enriched start-up fuel is used, mixed with graphite spheres, to bring the core to criticality. As the core criticality is established and the start-up fuel is burned-in, the graphite spheres are progressively removed and replaced with more start-up fuel. Once it becomes necessary for maintaining power output, the higher enriched equilibrium fuel is introduced to the reactor and the start-up fuel is removed. During the initial run of the reactor it is important to discriminate between the irradiated startup fuel and the irradiated equilibrium fuel to ensure that only the equilibrium fuel is returned to the reactor. There is therefore a need for an on-line enrichment discrimination device that can discriminate between irradiated start-up fuel spheres and irradiated equilibrium fuel spheres. The device must also not be confused by the presence of any remaining graphite spheres. Due to it's on-line nature the device must accomplish the discrimination within tight time limits. Theoretical calculations and experiments show that Fuel Enrichment Discrimination based on delayed neutrons detection is possible. The paper presents calculations and experiments showing viability of the method. (authors)

Localization of the hot spots in a pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Leisheng; Lee, Wooram; Lee, Jaeyoung

2016-01-01

The pebble bed reactor (PBR) is a candidate reactor type for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR), which is one of the Generation-IV reactor types. The HTGR design concept exhibits excellent safety features due to the low power density and the large amount of graphite present in the core which gives a large thermal inertia in an accident such as loss of coolant. The conclusions are made and may contribute to a better design of a PBR core and a closer inspection of the local hot spots to avoid destruction of pebbles from happening. Thermal field of a PBR core is investigated in this study. Specifically, experiments on measuring the pebbles' surface temperature are performed. It is found that the upper pebble has an overall higher temperature profile than the other pebbles and the stagnation zone under does not increase its surface's temperature. In addition, the temperature profile of the side pebble shows a concave form and it keeps decreasing from the contact point to the vertex in the lower pebble. Lastly, the maximum temperature difference among these points is 5.83 deg. C. These findings above are validated by CFX simulations under two different turbulence models (k-e, SST) and two contact areas (diameter of 6mm and 3.5mm). By contrasting the temperature variation trends of all simulation cases, it is concluded that SST turbulence model with 20% intensity shows a better agreement with the experiment result, nevertheless, slightly deviation is also found in terms of total temperature difference and the peak appears in position 17-19 in experiments

Localization of the hot spots in a pebble bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Leisheng; Lee, Wooram; Lee, Jaeyoung [Handong Global University, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The pebble bed reactor (PBR) is a candidate reactor type for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR), which is one of the Generation-IV reactor types. The HTGR design concept exhibits excellent safety features due to the low power density and the large amount of graphite present in the core which gives a large thermal inertia in an accident such as loss of coolant. The conclusions are made and may contribute to a better design of a PBR core and a closer inspection of the local hot spots to avoid destruction of pebbles from happening. Thermal field of a PBR core is investigated in this study. Specifically, experiments on measuring the pebbles' surface temperature are performed. It is found that the upper pebble has an overall higher temperature profile than the other pebbles and the stagnation zone under does not increase its surface's temperature. In addition, the temperature profile of the side pebble shows a concave form and it keeps decreasing from the contact point to the vertex in the lower pebble. Lastly, the maximum temperature difference among these points is 5.83 deg. C. These findings above are validated by CFX simulations under two different turbulence models (k-e, SST) and two contact areas (diameter of 6mm and 3.5mm). By contrasting the temperature variation trends of all simulation cases, it is concluded that SST turbulence model with 20% intensity shows a better agreement with the experiment result, nevertheless, slightly deviation is also found in terms of total temperature difference and the peak appears in position 17-19 in experiments.

Membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor: experimental demonstration for partial oxidation of methanol

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deshmukh, S.A.R.K.

2004-01-01

In this thesis the reactor concept has been developed on the basis of an experimental study on the effect of fluidization conditions on the membrane permeation rate in a MAFBR, the extent of gas back mixing and the tube-to-bed heat transfer rates in the presence of membrane bundles with and without

High throughput photo-oxidations in a packed bed reactor system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Caleb J; Fisher, Daniel; Desai, Bimbisar K; Yang, Yuan; Ahmad, Saeed; Belecki, Katherine; Gupton, B Frank

2017-12-01

The efficiency gains produced by continuous-flow systems in conducting photochemical transformations have been extensively demonstrated. Recently, these systems have been used in developing safe and efficient methods for photo-oxidations using singlet oxygen generated by photosensitizers. Much of the previous work has focused on the use of homogeneous photocatalysts. The development of a unique, packed-bed photoreactor system using immobilized rose bengal expands these capabilities as this robust photocatalyst allows access to and elaboration from these highly useful building blocks without the need for further purification. With this platform we were able to demonstrate a wide scope of singlet oxygen ene, [4+2] cycloadditions and heteroatom oxidations. Furthermore, we applied this method as a strategic element in the synthesis of the high-volume antimalarial artemisinin. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Pebble bed reactor with one-zone core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller-Frank, U.; Lohnert, G.

1977-01-01

The claim deals with measures to differentiate the flow rate and to remove spherical fuel elements in the core of a pebble bed reactor. Hence the vertical rate of the fuel elements in the border region is for example twice as much as in the centre. A central funnel-shaped outlet on the floor of the core container over which a conical body is placed with its peak pointing upwards, or also the forming of several outlets can be used to adjust to a certain exit rate for the fuel elements. The main target of the invention is a radially extensively constant coolant outlet temperature at the outlet of the core which determines the effectiveness of the connected heat exchanger and thus contributes to economy. (UA) [de

Pellet bed reactor for nuclear propelled vehicles: Part 2: Missions and vehicle integration trades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haloulakos, V.E.

1991-01-01

Mission and vehicle integration tradeoffs involving the use of the pellet bed reactor (PBR) for nuclear powered vehicles is discussed, with much of the information being given in viewgraph form. Information is given on propellant tank geometries, shield weight requirements for conventional tank configurations, effective specific impulse, radiation mapping, radiation dose rate after shutdown, space transfer vehicle design data, a Mars mission summary, sample pellet bed nuclear orbit transfer vehicle mass breakdown, and payload fraction vs. velocity increment

Pellet bed reactor for nuclear propelled vehicles: Part 2: Missions and vehicle integration trades

Science.gov (United States)

Haloulakos, V. E.

1991-01-01

Mission and vehicle integration tradeoffs involving the use of the pellet bed reactor (PBR) for nuclear powered vehicles is discussed, with much of the information being given in viewgraph form. Information is given on propellant tank geometries, shield weight requirements for conventional tank configurations, effective specific impulse, radiation mapping, radiation dose rate after shutdown, space transfer vehicle design data, a Mars mission summary, sample pellet bed nuclear orbit transfer vehicle mass breakdown, and payload fraction vs. velocity increment.

Butanol production by Clostridium acetobutylicum in a continuous packed bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Napoli, Fabio; Olivieri, Giuseppe; Russo, Maria Elena; Marzocchella, Antonio; Salatino, Piero

2010-06-01

In this study, we report on a butanol production process by immobilized Clostridium acetobutylicum in a continuous packed bed reactor (PBR) using Tygon rings as a carrier. The medium was a solution of lactose (15-30 g/L) and yeast extract (3 g/L) to emulate the cheese whey, an abundant lactose-rich wastewater. The reactor was operated under controlled conditions with respect to the pH and to the dilution rate. The pH and the dilution rate ranged between 4 and 5, the dilution rate between 0.54 and 2.4 h(-1) (2.5 times the maximum specific growth rate assessed for suspended cells). The optimal performance of the reactor was recorded at a dilution rate of 0.97 h(-1): the butanol productivity was 4.4 g/Lh and the selectivity of solvent in butanol was 88%(w).

Detection system for location of fuel pebbles transported in pipes in a pebble-bed reactor based on vibration signal processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Hongbing, E-mail: liuhb07@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education P. R. China, Beijing 100084 (China); Du, Dong, E-mail: dudong@tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education P. R. China, Beijing 100084 (China); Huang, An; Chang, Baohua; Han, Zandong [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education P. R. China, Beijing 100084 (China); He, Ayada [Shanghai Electric Power Generation Group Shanghai Generator Works, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • A detection system for locations of pebbles transported in pipes is introduced. • The detection system is based on vibration signal processing, which is original. • The characteristics of the vibration signals of the pipe are analyzed. • The experiment shows that the detection results are accurate. • The research provides an important basis for the design of the reactor. - Abstract: Pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactors have many advantages such as inherent safety, high efficiency, etc., and have been considered as a candidate for Generation IV nuclear reactors. During the operation of the reactor, there are thousands of fuel pebbles transported in the pipes outside the core by gravity and helium flow. The pattern of the pipes which consist of straight and arc sections is very complex. When a fuel pebble is transported, it will constantly collide with the pipes, especially in the arc sections. The collisions will lead to the vibration of the pipes. This paper aims to provide a detection system for the location of fuel pebbles transported in pipes in a pebble-bed reactor based on vibration signal processing. Before the reactor is running, the system acquires the vibration signals of several key sections by sensors. Then the frequency characteristics of the signals are obtained by joint time–frequency analysis. When the reactor is running, the system detects the signals and processes them based on their frequency characteristics in real time. According to the results of the processing, the system can correctly judge whether the fuel pebble has passed through the section and records the time of the passing. The experiment validates the accuracy and reliability of the detection results. In this way, the operational condition of the reactor can be monitored so that the normal running of the reactor can be ensured. Additionally, the detection data are of great significance to the evaluation and optimization of the reactor performance

Detection system for location of fuel pebbles transported in pipes in a pebble-bed reactor based on vibration signal processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Hongbing; Du, Dong; Huang, An; Chang, Baohua; Han, Zandong; He, Ayada

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A detection system for locations of pebbles transported in pipes is introduced. • The detection system is based on vibration signal processing, which is original. • The characteristics of the vibration signals of the pipe are analyzed. • The experiment shows that the detection results are accurate. • The research provides an important basis for the design of the reactor. - Abstract: Pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactors have many advantages such as inherent safety, high efficiency, etc., and have been considered as a candidate for Generation IV nuclear reactors. During the operation of the reactor, there are thousands of fuel pebbles transported in the pipes outside the core by gravity and helium flow. The pattern of the pipes which consist of straight and arc sections is very complex. When a fuel pebble is transported, it will constantly collide with the pipes, especially in the arc sections. The collisions will lead to the vibration of the pipes. This paper aims to provide a detection system for the location of fuel pebbles transported in pipes in a pebble-bed reactor based on vibration signal processing. Before the reactor is running, the system acquires the vibration signals of several key sections by sensors. Then the frequency characteristics of the signals are obtained by joint time–frequency analysis. When the reactor is running, the system detects the signals and processes them based on their frequency characteristics in real time. According to the results of the processing, the system can correctly judge whether the fuel pebble has passed through the section and records the time of the passing. The experiment validates the accuracy and reliability of the detection results. In this way, the operational condition of the reactor can be monitored so that the normal running of the reactor can be ensured. Additionally, the detection data are of great significance to the evaluation and optimization of the reactor performance

Reactor design and operation strategies for a large-scale packed-bed CLC power plant with coal syngas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spallina, V.; Chiesa, P.; Martelli, E; Gallucci, F.; Romano, M.C.; Lozza, G.; Sint Annaland, van M.

2015-01-01

This paper deals with the design and operation strategies of dynamically operated packed-bed reactors (PBRs) of a chemical looping combustion (CLC) system included in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) for electric power generation with low CO2 emission from coal. The CLC reactors,

Optimization of a radially cooled pebble bed reactor - HTR2008-58117

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, B.; Kloosterman, J. L.; Lathouwers, D.; Van Der Hagen, T. H. J. J.; Van Dam, H.

2008-01-01

By altering the coolant flow direction in a pebble bed reactor from axial to radial, the pressure drop can be reduced tremendously. In this case the coolant flows from the outer reflector through the pebble bed and finally to flow paths in the inner reflector. As a consequence, the fuel temperatures are elevated due to the reduced heat transfer of the coolant. However, the power profile and pebble size in a radially cooled pebble bed reactor can be optimized to achieve lower fuel temperatures than current axially cooled designs, while the low pressure drop can be maintained. The radial power profile in the core can be altered by adopting multi-pass fuel management using several radial fuel zones in the core. The optimal power profile yielding a flat temperature profile is derived analytically and is approximated by radial fuel zoning. In this case, the pebbles pass through the outer region of the core first and each consecutive pass is located in a fuel zone closer to the inner reflector. Thereby, the resulting radial distribution of the fissile material in the core is influenced and the temperature profile is close to optimal. The fuel temperature in the pebbles can be further reduced by reducing the standard pebble diameter from 6 cm to a value as low as I cm. An analytical investigation is used to demonstrate the effects on the fuel temperature and pressure drop for both radial and axial cooling. Finally, two-dimensional numerical calculations were performed, using codes for neutronics, thermal-hydraulics and fuel depletion analysis, in order to validate the results for the optimized design that were obtained from the analytical investigations. It was found that for a radially cooled design with an optimized power profile and reduced pebble diameter (below 3.5 cm) both a reduction in the pressure drop (Δp = -2.6 bar), which increases the reactor efficiency with several percent, and a reduction in the maximum fuel temperature (ΔT = -50 deg. C) can be achieved

Effect of sulfide concentration on the location of the metal precipitates in inversed fluidized bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villa-Gomez, D., E-mail: d.villagomez@unesco-ihe.org [Core Pollution Prevention and Control, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft (Netherlands); Ababneh, H.; Papirio, S.; Rousseau, D.P.L.; Lens, P.N.L. [Core Pollution Prevention and Control, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, PO Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft (Netherlands)

2011-08-15

Highlights: {yields} Sulfide concentration governs the location of metal precipitates in sulfate reducing bioreactors. {yields} High dissolved sulfide induces metal precipitation in the bulk liquid as fines. {yields} Low dissolved sulfide concentrations yield local supersaturation and thus metal precipitation in the biofilm. -- Abstract: The effect of the sulfide concentration on the location of the metal precipitates within sulfate-reducing inversed fluidized bed (IFB) reactors was evaluated. Two mesophilic IFB reactors were operated for over 100 days at the same operational conditions, but with different chemical oxygen demand (COD) to SO{sub 4}{sup 2-} ratio (5 and 1, respectively). After a start up phase, 10 mg/L of Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn each were added to the influent. The sulfide concentration in one IFB reactor reached 648 mg/L, while it reached only 59 mg/L in the other one. In the high sulfide IFB reactor, the precipitated metals were mainly located in the bulk liquid (as fines), whereas in the low sulfide IFB reactor the metal preciptiates were mainly present in the biofilm. The latter can be explained by local supersaturation due to sulfide production in the biofilm. This paper demonstrates that the sulfide concentration needs to be controlled in sulfate reducing IFB reactors to steer the location of the metal precipitates for recovery.

Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of the Dehydrogenation of Ethyl Benzene to Form Styrene Using Steady-State Fixed Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zaidon M. Shakoor

2013-05-01

Full Text Available In this research, two models are developed to simulate the steady state fixed bed reactor used for styrene production by ethylbenzene dehydrogenation. The first is one-dimensional model, considered axial gradient only while the second is two-dimensional model considered axial and radial gradients for same variables.The developed mathematical models consisted of nonlinear simultaneous equations in multiple dependent variables. A complete description of the reactor bed involves partial, ordinary differential and algebraic equations (PDEs, ODEs and AEs describing the temperatures, concentrations and pressure drop across the reactor was given. The model equations are solved by finite differences method. The reactor models were coded with Mat lab 6.5 program and various numerical techniques were used to obtain the desired solution.The simulation data for both models were validated with industrial reactor results with a very good concordance.

Immobilized glucose oxidase--catalase and their deactivation in a differential-bed loop reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Prenosil, J E

1979-01-01

Glucose oxidase containing catalase was immobilized with a copolymer of phenylenediamine and glutaraldehyde on pumice and titania carrier to study the enzymatic oxidation of glucose in a differential-bed loop reactor. The reaction rate was found to be first order with respect to the concentration of limiting oxygen substrate, suggesting a strong external mass-transfer resistance for all the flow rates used. The partial pressure of oxygen was varied from 21.3 up to 202.6 kPa. The use of a differential-bed loop reactor for the determination of the active enzyme concentration in the catalyst with negligible internal pore diffusion resistance is shown. Catalyst deactivation was studied, especially with respect to the presence of catalase. It is believed that the hydrogen peroxide formed in the oxidation reaction deactivates catalase first; if an excess of catalase is present, the deactivation of glucose oxidase remains small. The mathematical model subsequently developed adequately describes the experimental results.

Bed Agglomeration During the Steam Gasification of a High Lignin Corn Stover Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation (SSF) Digester Residue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howe, Daniel T.; Taasevigen, Danny J.; Gerber, Mark A.; Gray, Michel J.; Fernandez, Carlos A.; Saraf, Laxmikant; Garcia-Perez, Manuel; Wolcott, Michael P.

2015-11-13

This research investigates the bed agglomeration phenomena during the steam gasification of a high lignin residue produced from the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of corn stover in a bubbling fluidized bed. The studies were conducted at 895°C using alumina as bed material. Biomass was fed at 1.5 kg/hr, while steam was fed to give a velocity equal to 2.5 times the minimum fluidization velocity, with a steam/carbon ratio of 0.9. The pelletized feedstock was co-fed with a cooling nitrogen stream to mitigate feed line plugging issues. Tar production was high at 50.3 g/Nm3, and the fraction of C10+ compounds was greater than that seen in the gasification of traditional lignocellulosic feedstocks. Carbon closures over 94 % were achieved for all experiments. Bed agglomeration was found to be problematic, indicated by pressure drop increases observed below the bed and upstream of the feed line. Two size categories of solids were recovered from the reactor, +60 mesh and -60 mesh. After a 2.75-hour experiment, 61.7 wt % was recovered as -60 mesh particles and 38.2 wt% of the recovered reactor solids were +60 mesh. A sizeable percentage, 31.8 wt%, was +20 mesh. The -60 mesh particles were mainly formed by the initial bed material (Al2O3). Almost 50 wt. % of the + 20 mesh particles was found to be formed by organics. The unreacted carbon remaining in the reactor resulted in a low conversion rate to product gas. ICP-AES, SEM, SEM-EDS, and XRD confirmed that the large agglomerates (+ 20 mesh) were not encapsulated bed material but rather un-gasified feedstock pellets with sand particles attached to it.

CFD analysis of hot spot formation through a fixed bed reactor of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamed Aligolzadeh

2015-12-01

Full Text Available One of the interesting methods for conversion of synthesis gas to heavy hydrocarbons is Fischer–Tropsch process. The process has some bottlenecks, such as hot spot formation and low degree of conversion. In this work, computational fluid dynamics technique was used to simulate conversion of synthetic gas and product distribution. Also, hot spot formation in the catalytic fixed-bed reactor was investigated in several runs. Simulation results indicated that hot spot formation occurred more likely in the early and middle part of reactor due to high reaction rates. Based on the simulation results, the temperature of hot spots increased with increase in the inlet temperature as well as pressure. Among the many CFD runs conducted, it is found that the optimal temperature and pressure for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis are 565 K and 20 bar, respectively. As it seems that the reactor shall work very well under optimal conditions, the reaction rates and catalyst duration would simultaneously be maximum .

Study on neutron diffusion and time dependence heat ina fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilhena, M.T. de.

1988-01-01

The purpose of this work is to model the neutron diffusion and heat transfer for a Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor and its solution by Laplace Transform Technique with numerical inversion using Fourier Series. Also Gaussian quadrature and residues techniques were applied for numerical inversion. The neutron transport, diffusion, and point Kinetic equation for this nuclear reactor concept are developed. A matricial and Taylor Series methods are proposed for the solution of the point Kinetic equation which is a time scale problem of Stiff type

Adjustement of Dancoff factor for calculating the cell of fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, V.; Sefidvash, F.

1988-01-01

A new nuclear reactor design based on the fluidized bed concept is under reserch and development. It utilized spherical fuel of slightly enriched zircaloy-clad uranium dioxide fluidized by light water under pressure since the Leopard code has been developed for light water reactor analysis, it was necessary to develop a method to determine the dimensions of the hypothetical fuel rod lattice, which are neutronically equivalent to the spherical fuel pellet lattice. This method is shown to calculate the Dancoff factor correctly. (author) [pt

Defluidization in fluidized bed gasifiers using high-alkali content fuels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Narayan, Vikas; Jensen, Peter Arendt; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk

2016-01-01

samples,agglomeration could be attributed to viscous silicate melts formed from reaction of inorganic alkalineand alkali earth species with silica from the bed particles. A mathematical model that addresses the defluidization behavior of alkali-rich samples was developed based on the experiments performed...... and calcium, which may form viscous melts that adhere on the surface of the colliding bed particles and bind them to form agglomerates. In this paper, studies were made to understand the behavior of inorganic elements (mainly K, Si and Ca) on agglomeration and de-fluidization of alkali rich bed...... in the bench-scale fluidized bed reactor as well as on results from literature. The model was then used topredict the de-fluidization behavior of alkali-rich bed material in a large-scale LTCFB gasifier....

Design and optimization of a fixed - bed reactor for hydrogen production via bio-ethanol steam reforming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maria A Goula; Olga A Bereketidou; Costas G Economopoulos; Olga A Bereketidou; Costas G Economopoulos

2006-01-01

Global climate changes caused by CO 2 emissions are currently debated around the world. Renewable sources of energy are being sought as alternatives to replace fossil fuels. Hydrogen is theoretically the best fuel, environmentally friendly and its combustion reaction leads only to the production of water. Bio-ethanol has been proven to be effective in the production of hydrogen via steam reforming reaction. In this research the steam reforming reaction of bio-ethanol is studied at low temperatures over 15,3 % Ni/La 2 O 3 catalyst. The reaction and kinetic analysis takes place in a fixed - bed reactor in 130 - 250 C in atmospheric pressure. This study lays emphasis on the design and the optimization of the fixed - bed reactor, including the total volume of the reactor, the number and length of the tubes and the degree of ethanol conversion. Finally, it is represented an approach of the total cost of the reactor, according to the design characteristics and the materials that can be used for its construction. (authors)

Metaphysics methods development for high temperature gas cooled reactor analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seker, V.; Downar, T. J.

2007-01-01

Gas cooled reactors have been characterized as one of the most promising nuclear reactor concepts in the Generation-IV technology road map. Considerable research has been performed on the design and safety analysis of these reactors. However, the calculational tools being used to perform these analyses are not state-of-the-art and are not capable of performing detailed three-dimensional analyses. This paper presents the results of an effort to develop an improved thermal-hydraulic solver for the pebble bed type high temperature gas cooled reactors. The solution method is based on the porous medium approach and the momentum equation including the modified Ergun's resistance model for pebble bed is solved in three-dimensional geometry. The heat transfer in the pebble bed is modeled considering the local thermal non-equilibrium between the solid and gas, which results in two separate energy equations for each medium. The effective thermal conductivity of the pebble-bed can be calculated both from Zehner-Schluender and Robold correlations. Both the fluid flow and the heat transfer are modeled in three dimensional cylindrical coordinates and can be solved in steady-state and time dependent. The spatial discretization is performed using the finite volume method and the theta-method is used in the temporal discretization. A preliminary verification was performed by comparing the results with the experiments conducted at the SANA test facility. This facility is located at the Institute for Safety Research and Reactor Technology (ISR), Julich, Germany. Various experimental cases are modeled and good agreement in the gas and solid temperatures is observed. An on-going effort is to model the control rod ejection scenarios as described in the OECD/NEA/NSC PBMR-400 benchmark problem. In order to perform these analyses PARCS reactor simulator code will be coupled with the new thermal-hydraulic solver. Furthermore, some of the other anticipated accident scenarios in the benchmark

Experimental study of bypass flow in near wall gaps of a pebble bed reactor using hot wire anemometry technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amini, Noushin; Hassan, Yassin A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Coolant flow behavior in near wall gaps of a pebble bed reactor is studied. • Hot wire anemometry is applied for high frequency velocity measurements. • Bypass flow is identified within the velocity profiles of near wall gaps. • Effect of gap geometry and Reynolds number on bypass flow is investigated. • Variation of velocity power spectra with radial location and Reynolds number is studied. - Abstract: Coolant flow behavior through the core of an annular pebble bed reactor is investigated in this experimental study. A high frequency hot wire anemometry system coupled with an X-probe is used for measurement of axial and radial velocity components at different points within two near wall gaps at five different modified Reynolds numbers (Re m = 2043–6857). The velocity profiles within the gaps verify the presence of an area of increased velocity close to the pebble bed outer reflector wall, which is known as the bypass flow. Moreover, the characteristics of the coolant flow profile are seen to be highly dependent on the gap geometry. The effect of Reynolds number on the velocity profiles varies as the geometry of the gap changes. The time histories of the local velocities measured with considerably high frequency are further analyzed using power spectral density technique. Power spectral plots illustrate substantial spatial variation of the energy content, spectral shape, and the slope of the energy cascade region. A significant correlation between Reynolds number and characteristics of the velocity power spectra is observed

Catalytic pyrolysis of woody biomass in a fluidized bed reactor: influence of the zeolite structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A. Aho; N. Kumar; K. Eranen; T. Salmi; M. Hupa; D.Yu. Murzin [Aabo Akademi University, Aabo/Turku (Finland). Process Chemistry Centre, Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry and Reaction Engineering

2008-09-15

Catalytic pyrolysis of biomass from pine wood was carried out in a fluidized bed reactor at 450{sup o}C. Different structures of acidic zeolite catalysts were used as bed material in the reactor. Proton forms of Beta, Y, ZSM-5, and Mordenite were tested as catalysts in the pyrolysis of pine, while quartz sand was used as a reference material in the non-catalytic pyrolysis experiments. The yield of the pyrolysis product phases was only slightly influenced by the structures, at the same time the chemical composition of the bio-oil was dependent on the structure of acidic zeolite catalysts. Ketones and phenols were the dominating groups of compounds in the bio-oil. The formation of ketones was higher over ZSM-5 and the amount of acids and alcohols lower than over the other bed materials tested. Mordenite and quartz sand produced smaller quantities of polyaromatic hydrocarbons than the other materials tested. It was possible to successfully regenerate the spent zeolites without changing the structure of the zeolite. 12 refs., 9 figs., 5 tabs.

The analysis for inventory of experimental reactor high temperature gas reactor type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri Kuntjoro; Pande Made Udiyani

2016-01-01

Relating to the plan of the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) to operate an experimental reactor of High Temperature Gas Reactors type (RGTT), it is necessary to reactor safety analysis, especially with regard to environmental issues. Analysis of the distribution of radionuclides from the reactor into the environment in normal or abnormal operating conditions starting with the estimated reactor inventory based on the type, power, and operation of the reactor. The purpose of research is to analyze inventory terrace for Experimental Power Reactor design (RDE) high temperature gas reactor type power 10 MWt, 20 MWt and 30 MWt. Analyses were performed using ORIGEN2 computer code with high temperatures cross-section library. Calculation begins with making modifications to some parameter of cross-section library based on the core average temperature of 570 °C and continued with calculations of reactor inventory due to RDE 10 MWt reactor power. The main parameters of the reactor 10 MWt RDE used in the calculation of the main parameters of the reactor similar to the HTR-10 reactor. After the reactor inventory 10 MWt RDE obtained, a comparison with the results of previous researchers. Based upon the suitability of the results, it make the design for the reactor RDE 20MWEt and 30 MWt to obtain the main parameters of the reactor in the form of the amount of fuel in the pebble bed reactor core, height and diameter of the terrace. Based on the main parameter or reactor obtained perform of calculation to get reactor inventory for RDE 20 MWT and 30 MWT with the same methods as the method of the RDE 10 MWt calculation. The results obtained are the largest inventory of reactor RDE 10 MWt, 20 MWt and 30 MWt sequentially are to Kr group are about 1,00E+15 Bq, 1,20E+16 Bq, 1,70E+16 Bq, for group I are 6,50E+16 Bq, 1,20E+17 Bq, 1,60E+17 Bq and for groups Cs are 2,20E+16 Bq, 2,40E+16 Bq, 2,60E+16 Bq. Reactor inventory will then be used to calculate the reactor source term and it

Flow instability tests for a particle bed reactor nuclear thermal rocket fuel element

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Timothy J.

1993-05-01

Recent analyses have focused on the flow stability characteristics of a particle bed reactor (PBR). These laminar flow instabilities may exist in reactors with parallel paths and are caused by the heating of the gas at low Reynolds numbers. This phenomena can be described as follows: several parallel channels are connected at the plenum regions and are stabilized by some inlet temperature and pressure; a perturbation in one channel causes the temperature to rise and increases the gas viscosity and reduces the gas density; the pressure drop is fixed by the plenum regions, therefore, the mass flow rate in the channel would decrease; the decrease in flow reduces the ability to remove the energy added and the temperature increases; and finally, this process could continue until the fuel element fails. Several analyses based on different methods have derived similar curves to show that these instabilities may exist at low Reynolds numbers and high phi's ((Tfinal Tinitial)/Tinitial). These analyses need to be experimentally verified.

Graphite beds for coolant filtration at high temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heathcock, R.E.; Lacy, C.S.

1978-01-01

High temperature filtration will be provided for new Ontario Hydro CANDU heat transport systems. Filtration has been shown to effectively reduce the concentration of circulating corrosion products in our heat transport systems, hence, minimizing the processes of activity transport. This paper will present one option we have for this application; Deep Bed Granular Graphite Filters. The filter system is described by discussing pertinent aspects of its development programme. The compatibility of the filter and the heat transport coolant are demonstrated by results from loop tests, both out- and in-reactor, and by subsequent results from a large filter installation in the NPD NGS heat transport system. (author)

Continuous thermophilic biohydrogen production in packed bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Shantonu; Vishnuvardhan, M.; Das, Debabrata

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Continuous H 2 production in whole cell immobilized system was compared with CSTR. • Suitability of environment friendly support matrix for immobilization of whole cells was explored. • Pack bed reactor showed higher stability as compared to CSTR at lower HRTs. • Flow cytometry study showed the influence of recycle ratio on viability of cells. • Novel approach to find out the effect of NADH/NAD + ratio during H 2 production. - Abstract: The present research work deals with the performance of packed bed reactor for continuous H 2 production using cane molasses as a carbon source. Maximum H 2 production rate of 1.7 L L −1 h −1 was observed at a dilution rate and recycle ratio of 0.8 h −1 and 0.6, respectively which was corresponding to the lowest NADH/NAD + ratio. This suggests that the utilization of NADH pool for H 2 and metabolite production might lead to decrement in NADH/NAD + ratio. Thus NADH/NAD + ratio show inverse relation with hydrogen production. The substrate degradation kinetics was investigated as a function of flow rate considering the external film diffusion model. At a flow rate of 245 mL h −1 , the contribution of external film mass transfer coefficient and first order substrate degradation constant were 55.4% and 44.6% respectively. Recycle ratio of 0.6 improved the hydrogen production rates by 9%. The viable cell count was directly proportional to the recycle ratio (within the range 0.1–0.6). Taguchi design showed the significant influence of the feed pH on continuous H 2 production followed by dilution rate and recycle ratio. Thus environmentally friendly and cheaper solid matrix like coconut coir could be efficiently used for thermophilic continuous hydrogen production

Stability analysis of the high temperature thermal pebble bed nuclear reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vondy, D.R.

1981-02-01

A study was made of the stability of the high temperature gas-cooled pebble bed core against xenon-driven oscillation. This generic study indicated that a core as large as 3000 MW(t) could be stable. Several aspects present a challenge to analysis including the void space above the pebble bed, the effects of possible control rod configurations, and the temperature feedback contribution. Special methods of analysis were developed in this effort. Of considerable utility was the scheme of including an azimuthal buckling loss term in the neturon balance equations admitting direct solution of the first azimuthal harmonic for a core having azimuthal symmetry. This technique allows the linear stability analysis to be done solving two-dimensional (RZ) problems instead of three-dimensional problems. A scheme for removing the fundamental source contribution was also implemented to allow direct iteration toward the dominant harmonic solution, treating up to three dimensions with diffusion theory

ITER: a technology test bed for a fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huguet, M.; Green, B.J.

1996-01-01

The ITER Project aims to establish nuclear fusion as an energy source that has potential safety and environmental advantages, and to develop the technologies required for a fusion reactor. ITER is a collaborative project between the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United States of America. During the current phase of the Project, an R and D programme of about 850 million dollars is underway to develop the technologies required for ITER. This technological effort should culminate in the construction of the components and systems of the ITER machine and its auxiliaries. The main areas of technological development include the first wall and divertor technology, the blanket technology and tritium breeding, superconducting magnet technology, pulsed power technology and remote handling. ITER is a test bed and an essential step to establish the technology of future fusion reactors. Many of the ITER technologies are of potential interest to other fields and their development is expected to benefit the industries involved. (author)

Process integration for biological sulfate reduction in a carbon monoxide fed packed bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Manoj; Sinharoy, Arindam; Pakshirajan, Kannan

2018-05-09

This study examined immobilized anaerobic biomass for sulfate reduction using carbon monoxide (CO) as the sole carbon source under batch and continuous fed conditions. The immobilized bacteria with beads made of 10% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) showed best results in terms of sulfate reduction (84 ± 3.52%) and CO utilization (98 ± 1.67%). The effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT), sulfate loading rate and CO loading rate on sulfate and CO removal was investigated employing a 1L packed bed bioreactor containing the immobilized biomass. At 48, 24 and 12 h HRT, the sulfate removal was 94.42 ± 0.15%, 89.75 ± 0.47% and 61.08 ± 0.34%, respectively, along with a CO utilization of more than 90%. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the results obtained showed that only the initial CO concentration significantly affected the sulfate reduction process. The reactor effluent sulfate concentrations were 27.41 ± 0.44, 59.16 ± 1.08, 315.83 ± 7.33 mg/L for 250, 500 and 1000 mg/L of influent sulfate concentrations respectively, under the optimum operating conditions. The sulfate reduction rates matched well with low inlet sulfate loading rates, indicating stable performance of the bioreactor system. Overall, this study yielded very high sulfate reduction efficiency by the immobilized anaerobic biomass under high CO loading condition using the packed bed reactor system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel auto-thermal reforming membrane reactor for high purity H2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tony Boyd; Grace, J.R.; Lim, C.J.; Adris, A.M.

2006-01-01

A novel hydrogen reactor based on steam reforming of natural gas has been developed and tested. The reactor produces high purity hydrogen using in-situ perm-selective membranes installed in a fluidized catalyst bed, thus shifting the thermodynamic equilibrium of the SMR reaction and eliminating the need for downstream hydrogen purification. The reactor is particularly suited to auto-thermal reforming, where air is added to the reformer to provide the endothermic reaction heat, thus eliminating the need to indirectly heat the reactor. The gas flow pattern within the fluidized bed induces an internal circulation of catalyst particles between the central SMR reaction (permeation) zone and an outer annulus. The circulating hot catalyst particles from the oxidation zone carry the required endothermic heat of reaction for the reforming, while ensuring that the palladium membranes are not exposed to excessive temperatures or to oxygen. Another beneficial characteristic of the reactor is that very little of the nitrogen present in the oxidation air reaches the reaction zone, thus maintaining the hydrogen driving force for the perm-selective membranes. Pilot plant results carried out in a semi-industrial scale reactor will be presented. The reactor was operated up to 650 C and 14 bar. Pure hydrogen (99.999+%) was initially obtained from the reactor and an equilibrium shift was demonstrated. (authors)

Co-Fuelling of Peat with Meat and Bone Meal in a Pilot Scale Bubbling Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markku Orjala

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Co-combustion performance trials of Meat and Bone Meal (MBM and peat were conducted using a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB reactor. In the combustion performance trials the effects of the co-combustion of MBM and peat on flue gas emissions, bed fluidization, ash agglomeration tendency in the bed and the composition and quality of the ash were studied. MBM was mixed with peat at 6 levels between 15% and 100%. Emissions were predominantly below regulatory limits. CO concentrations in the flue gas only exceeded the 100 mg/m3 limit upon combustion of pure MBM. SO2 emissions were found to be over the limit of 50 mg/m3, while in all trials NOx emissions were below the limit of 300 mg/m3. The HCl content of the flue gases was found to vary near the limit of 30 mg/m3. VOCs however were within their limits. The problem of bed agglomeration was avoided when the bed temperature was about 850 °C and only 20% MBM was co-combusted. This study indicates that a pilot scale BFB reactor can, under optimum conditions, be operated within emission limits when MBM is used as a co-fuel with peat. This can provide a basis for further scale-up development work in industrial scale BFB applications.

Remediation of trichloroethylene by bio-precipitated and encapsulated palladium nanoparticles in a fixed bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennebel, Tom; Verhagen, Pieter; Simoen, Henri; De Gusseme, Bart; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E; Boon, Nico; Verstraete, Willy

2009-08-01

Trichloroethylene is a toxic and recalcitrant groundwater pollutant. Palladium nanoparticles bio-precipitated on Shewanella oneidensis were encapsulated in polyurethane, polyacrylamide, alginate, silica or coated on zeolites. The reactivity of these bio-Pd beads and zeolites was tested in batch experiments and trichloroethylene dechlorination followed first order reaction kinetics. The calculated k-values of the encapsulated catalysts were a factor of six lower compared to non-encapsulated bio-Pd. Bio-Pd, used as a catalyst, was able to dechlorinate 100 mgL(-1) trichloroethylene within a time period of 1h. The main reaction product was ethane; yet small levels of chlorinated intermediates were detected. Subsequently polyurethane cubes empowered with bio-Pd were implemented in a fixed bed reactor for the treatment of water containing trichloroethylene. The influent recycle configuration resulted in a cumulative removal of 98% after 22 h. The same reactor in a flow through configuration achieved removal rates up to 1059 mg trichloroethylene g Pd(-1)d(-1). This work showed that fixed bed reactors with bio-Pd polyurethane cubes can be instrumental for remediation of water contaminated with trichloroethylene.

Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Hot-Spot Fuel Temperature in Pebble Bed and Prismatic Modular Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In, W. K.; Lee, S. W.; Lim, H. S.; Lee, W. J.

2006-01-01

High temperature gas-cooled reactors(HTGR) have been reviewed as potential sources for future energy needs, particularly for a hydrogen production. Among the HTGRs, the pebble bed reactor(PBR) and a prismatic modular reactor(PMR) are considered as the nuclear heat source in Korea's nuclear hydrogen development and demonstration project. PBR uses coated fuel particles embedded in spherical graphite fuel pebbles. The fuel pebbles flow down through the core during an operation. PMR uses graphite fuel blocks which contain cylindrical fuel compacts consisting of the fuel particles. The fuel blocks also contain coolant passages and locations for absorber and control material. The maximum fuel temperature in the core hot spot is one of the important design parameters for both a PBR and a PMR. The objective of this study is to predict the hot-spot fuel temperature distributions in a PBR and a PMR at a steady state. The computational fluid dynamics(CFD) code, CFX-10 is used to perform the three-dimensional analysis. The latest design data was used here based on the reference reactor designs, PBMR400 and GTMHR60

Packed bed reactor for degradation of simulated cyanide-containing wastewater

OpenAIRE

Kumar, Virender; Kumar, Vijay; Bhalla, Tek Chand

2014-01-01

The discharge of cyanide-containing effluents into the environment contaminates water bodies and soil. Effective methods of treatment which can detoxify cyanide are the need of the hour. The aim of the present study is to develop a bioreactor for complete degradation of cyanide using immobilized cells of Serratia marcescens RL2b. Alginate-entrapped cells of S. marcescens RL2b were used for complete degradation of cyanide in a packed bed reactor (PBR). Cells grown in minimal salt medium (pH 6....

Characteristic Studies of Micron Zinc Particle Hydrolysis in a Fixed Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lv Ming

2015-09-01