Unsteady-state operation of trickle-bed reactor for dicyclopentadiene hydrogenation

Unsteady-state operation of a trickle-bed reactor (TBR) was investigated using a multi-step exothermic reaction, hydrogenation of dicylcopentadiene (DCPD) in the presence of Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. The influences of five operation strategies on the reactor performance were symmetrically studied and compared with the steady-state operation, including ON–OFF and PEAK–BASE modulations of the liquid flow rate or concentrations, and a novel hybrid modulation of liquid flow rate and concentration. Attempts were also made to develop an unsteady-state operated TBR model based on a plug-flow model incorporating fluid flowing behaviors, three-zone partial wetting catalyst, vapor–liquid phase equilibrium and enthalpy balance, to predict the overall performance under unsteady-state operations. Compared with the experimental observations, it is indicated that the developed model is generally reliable to predict performance enhancement for different modulation strategies.