Multi-zone parallel-series plug flow reactor model with catalyst deactivation effect for continuous catalytic reforming process

•The multi-zone parallel-series PFR modeling approach is proposed.•An axial catalyst deactivation model is designed and integrated into PFR model.•The prediction performance is validated by the commercial plant datasets.•The effect of zone number on prediction and computational cost is studied.•Both concentration and temperature distributions are thoroughly investigated.

Accurate and reliable modeling of continuous catalytic regenerative (CCR) reforming process plays a significant role not only in product and temperature distributions prediction, but also in real-time optimization and control. In this study, a new multi-zone parallel-series plug flow reactor (PFR) model is proposed for the CCR reformer with four-stage stacked radial flow moving bed reactors (RFMBRs). A 27-lumped kinetic model is used to describe the aromatics aimed CCR reforming process. An empirical catalyst deactivation model is designed to describe the axial catalyst activity distribution information and integrated into the multi-zone parallel-series PFR model. The effectiveness of the proposed model is validated by the industrial plant datasets from a commercial reforming process. The zone number of 4 is reasonably determined by balancing the trade-off between the prediction accuracy and computational cost. Moreover, the detailed distributions of component mass fraction, temperature and catalyst activity are thoroughly investigated by means of the simulation results of the 4-zone parallel-series PFR model. The prediction results illustrate that the proposed model could provide accurate predictions of product and temperature distributions, which indicates that the proposed modeling approach could be greatly helpful for assisting in real-time optimization and control of CCR reforming process.