MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF A LABORATORY METHYLCYCLOHEXANE DEHYDROGENATION REACTOR AND ESTIMATION OF RADIAL THERMAL CONDUCTIVITIES AND WALL HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENTS

A laboratory micro-pilot fixed-bed reactor for the dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane was modeled. The kinetic model developed in our previous work (Usman et al., 2012) over 1.0 wt.% Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ was used in modeling the reactor. The experimental data over the same catalyst was compared with the proposed model and reasonable estimates of the data were found. Effective radial thermal conductivity and apparent wall heat transfer coefficient were observed to be a function of the composition of the reaction mixture and varied along the length of the reactor.