Computer-Aided Modeling and Additive Manufacturing of Promising Protective Layer Materials for Catalytic Reactors

The study demonstrates the potential for computer-aided modeling methods and additive manufacturing techniques to fabricate novel protective layer materials for catalytic reactors. These novel materials have a specifically developed channel design that cannot be achieved by any conventional methods such as extrusion, die forming, or slip casting. A number of 3D pellet models with specified complex through-channel geometry were built in a CAD software environment. The experimental pellets based on these models were printed from ceramic materials using stereolithography (STL) technology. The experimental pellets were subjected to functional testing to assess, in comparison with commercial analogs, their strength, abrasive resistance, aerodynamic resistance, and the ability to capture solids. The study findings suggest that the 3D modeling and additive printing techniques are feasible and have good prospects for the development and fabrication of high-performance protective layer materials. These materials are widely used on an industrial scale, in particular in catalytic hydrotreaters operated at refineries.