Pressure drop measurements and hydrodynamic model description of SiC foam composites decorated with SiC nanofiber

During the last decade there has been a growing interest in catalytic reactor engineering based on structured catalytic beds. Compared to traditional packed bed reactors, structured catalytic beds provide improved hydrodynamics and catalytic performance. In this context, silicon carbide (SiC) foam materials seems to be a good candidate for use as catalyst support due to their high geometrical surface area (m−1) and open porosity leading to low pressure drop. However, foam structures have a relatively low specific surface area (m2/g) for performing good anchorage and dispersion of the active phase which is one of the crucial points in catalysis. This study proposes a new type of material which combined the advantage of foam (high porosity) with nanofiber of SiC (high specific surface (m2/g)). The knowledge of pressure drop characteristics of foam with nanofiber is necessary for the future process design. However, due to the complexity of the geometric shape of new foam materials, up to date, no general relationship exists for the calculation of the pressure drop through different foam matrix and generally, empirical equation with modified parameters of the Ergun's equation were needed to fit the data. This study show that a simple model can be used for the prediction of the pressure drop in the SiC foam with nanofiber through Ergun's equation without using any fitting in order to reconcile experimental data with theory.