Estimação de parâmetros, modelagem e simulação da síntese de Fischer-Tropsch em reator tubular de leito fixo com catalisador de cobalto

Abstract

In this work, the reaction of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, which may be understood as a polymerization between the gases carbon monoxide and hydrogen, mixture known as synthesis gas, with the formation of paraffinic and olefinic hydrocarbons, occurs under heterogeneous catalysis, where those of cobalt appear as the most promising when you want to produce hydrocarbon fractions commercially more favorable, such as gasoline, diesel and waxes. The reaction is already perceived as an alternative to petroleum, since the synthesis gas is generated from other sources, notably natural gas. The knowledge of the reaction is still essentially experimental, and there are no specific mechanisms that explain precisely the formation of the products and their distribution over a range of hydrocarbons. This work performs initial parameter estimation, framed in a kinetic modeling, which seek to explain the development of the reaction and the formation of paraffins and olefins in tubular fixed bed reactors with cobalt catalyst. In possession of the parameters, we tried to one better suited to reality modeling of reactor operation, with the use of equations for mass transfer and heat. These simulations were later subjected to a statistical analysis to determine the most significant variables for the reaction.