Reactor pressure drop causes head loss
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When performing catalyst skimming in a typical reactor, what are the pressure drop across the first bed layer and the total pressure drop?
It depends on the size of the device, right? It’s not a fixed value!
0.2-0.4mpa, depending on the compressor outlet pressure and flow rate
Apart from the situation where the differential pressure across the bed layer rises rapidly during normal production and production cannot be maintained, other cases are determined based on experience and the requirements of maintenance schedules. For example, if the overall differential pressure across the reactor’s bed layer is 500 kPa, and this value already reaches over 100 or 200 in the first bed layer at the start of operation, rising to nearly 300 after some time of operation, then this is abnormal and it becomes necessary to consider taking action to address the issue. Of course, factors such as raw materials, the quality of catalyst loading, and operating conditions also need to be carefully analyzed; otherwise, problems may arise again once operations resume after taking such actions, so a comprehensive consideration is required
The pressure difference at which the reactor needs to be drained depends generally on the pressure tolerance requirements of the components inside the reactor; it must not exceed these limits. It also depends on the actual processing tasks of the company – if there is no urgency in the processing tasks and time is available, draining the reactor can be done in advance to facilitate subsequent processing.
Generally, in a hydrogenation fixed-bed reactor, the pressure drop across the first bed layer should not exceed 0.3 Mpa, while the total pressure drop of the reactor should not exceed 0.5 Mpa
What should be of more concern is how long it takes to turn the head
The pressure drop across a single layer should generally not exceed 0.4 MPa; this refers to the pressure per square centimeter on the internal components of the reactor, and it can cause significant damage to those components
Based on the pressure resistance requirements of the components inside the reactor, it is strictly prohibited to exceed the high-pressure limit, as this could damage the reactor’s protrusions!