Evaluating Catalytic Fixed‐Bed Reactors for Dry Reforming of Methane with Detailed CFD

A rigorous modeling of catalytic fixed‐bed reactors with spherical and non‐spherical particles is presented. The spatially resolved randomly distributed particles allow a comprehensive description of the interstitial flow. The detailed fluid dynamics are coupled with a detailed reaction mechanism of the heterogeneous dry reforming of methane (DRM). Three different kinds of particles of typical industrial dimensions are evaluated under characteristic reaction conditions toward conversions and yields of the DRM. It was found that the fixed bed consisting of cylindrical particles shows the highest conversions and yields. On the contrary, the one‐hole cylinder packing exhibits a low performance. With this modeling transport phenomena inside fixed beds can be fully addressed and finally, a substantial quantitative comparison between different packings is possible.