A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Fluid Catalytic Cracking Cyclones

J. W. McTernan[1], I. Abu-Mahfouz[2]
[1]Buell Division of Fisher-Klosterman Inc., Lebanon, PA, USA
[2]Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg, Middletown, PA, USA
发布日期 2014

Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) regenerators utilize a fluidized bed to facilitate catalyst regeneration. Cyclones are used to separate the catalyst from the gas stream and return the catalyst to the fluidized bed; as the gas progresses through the system for further processing. This is accomplished by centrifugal forces that force the particles to dislodge from the fluid flow. The fluid exits through the vortex finder at the top of the cyclone while the particles fall to the bottom of the cyclone for collection. Pressure loss and collection efficiency are the two most important aspects of a cyclone. This paper examines the aspects of cyclone design using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).