Work

Pilot plant reactor for ammonia synthesis – Computational fluid dynamics analysis with experimental validation

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study focuses on the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation of the pilot plant ammonia reactor. The reactor contains six parallel catalyst beds positioned in a circle in the middle part of the apparatus. This work aims to create a validated CFD model consistent with the Yara unit’s experimental results. The authors performed experiments on the physical pilot-plant ammonia synthesis reactor and provided experimental data to create the CFD model. The reactor was modelled in a 3-dimensional domain that covers its entire geometry. The kinetic reaction model used a modified Temkin and Pyzhev expression. The catalyst bed was modelled using a porous zone model with the reaction rate implemented as a UDF (User Defined Function). The model was validated using two “blind” tests on a new set of results and a different experimental reactor, which has an excellent potential for validating numerical models of pilot-scale ammonia synthesis processes.

Source: Process Safety and Environmental Protection

DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2025.07.026

Authors: Mariusz Tyrański, Jakub Michał Bujalski, Elin Nilsen, Oskar Bestul, Wojciech Orciuch, Łukasz Makowski

Institutions: Warsaw University of Technology, Yara (Norway)

Language: English

Topic: Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,500