Start
May 23, 2013 - 17:00
End
May 23, 2013 - 18:00
Venue
Room 118 (Creativity Hall) Ground Floor Chemical Engineering Department
Event Type
Speaker
Dr. Srinivas Seethamraju Postdoctoral Associate MIT Cambridge USA
Title
Simulation & Analysis of XTL Processes
Abstract : The advent of high-speed computers has brought about a great change in the pace of development of new chemical engineering processes making Computer aided design and simulation as one of the frontier areas of research. The applications include conceptual design and feasibility study of novel processes techno-economic analysis of different process pathways exploration of energy- efficiency measures in process plants etc. After giving an overview of some of these applications this talk will focus on two specific topics in the context of developing flowsheets for Biomass/Coal/Gas to Liquids (XTL) processes. The first topic is related to finding a suitable correlation to predict the solubility of H2 and CO in heavy paraffins. This is important in modeling the reaction and separation performance of units like Fischer-Tropsch reactors hydrocrackers and fractionators that are part of an XTL process. The challenges in finding this correlation will be discussed. The second part of the talk will focus on an area that remains to be a hurdle in the commercialization of biomass gasification processes – tar destruction. The formation of tars during biomass gasification in fluidized beds is inevitable and it is necessary to eliminate them to avoid problems in downstream equipment like clogging and to avoid catalyst poisoning. The most promising options to remove tars are uncatalyzed partial oxidation and catalytic reforming. A comparison of these two options will be presented with insights into the challenges in modeling them.