Applying new kinetic and deactivation models in simulation of a novel thermally coupled reactor in continuous catalytic regenerative naphtha process

Naphtha reforming unit occupies a key position in refineries to obtain high octane gasoline and BTX (benzene, toluene, and xylene) components which are the basic substances of petrochemical industries. In this study, a novel thermally coupled reactor for continuous catalytic regenerative naphtha process has been proposed to boost the aromatics and hydrogen productions and to produce aniline as a valuable product. In this configuration, the naphtha reforming (endothermic reaction) and nitrobenzene hydrogenation (exothermic reaction) reactions are carried out simultaneously. According to complex kinetic of reforming process a new kinetic model including 32 pseudo components with 84 reactions is proposed. As well, a novel catalyst deactivation model considering acidic and metallic functions of catalyst is presented to predict the behavior of the reactions which subject to the catalyst deactivation. Mathematical modeling of coupled reactor is considered in two dimensions (radial and axial directions). In order to assess the performance of the new configuration, the modeling results of thermally coupled reactor (TCR) is compared with the obtained results of conventional reactor (CR). By employing coupled reactors, aromatics production rates is improved acceptably (about 92 kmol/h in comparison with conventional system), and the amount of produced hydrogen is increased greatly (190 kmol/h compared to CR).