Computer simulation of catalytic oxidation of gaseous ammonia in bubbling fluidized bed

Catalytic conversion of ammonia in bubbling fluidized bed has been simulated using three different hydrodynamic models: (a) Kunii and Levenspiel model, (b) Simple two-phase model, and (c) Dynamic two-phase model. The basic differences between the models lie in the assumptions and mass transfer correlations used to describe the hydrodynamics of the fluidized bed. This study compares the predictions of the performance of a fluidized bed reactor by different models, comparing with experimental data of ammonia oxidation using metal oxide catalysts. The predictions from all the models compared well with the experimental data within acceptable levels of error. The variations among the models were found to be insignificant. However, simulation of the model to assess the effect of different hydrodynamic parameters, including gas velocity, bed diameter and particle size, and bed density on conversion showed significant variation among the models.