Effect of the combination of squid-fin-inspired wall and internal vortex generator on methane reduction in a micro-fluidized bed reactor

Microthermal analyzers based on micro-fluidized bed reactors have been widely used to analyze reaction kinetics. However, the reactors are often featured by limited heat and mass transfer rates which affect their capacity in characterizing the kinetics of gas-solid endothermic reactions. This study focused on the typical gas-solid endothermic reaction of reducing CH4 with oxygen carrier Fe2O3, and established an experimentally validated three-dimensional Eulerian reaction flow model to study the fluid dynamics, heat transfer characteristics, and reaction performance of the reactor. The results revealed that the new reactor enhances gas flow disturbance, increasing the standard deviation of gas phase velocity by 82.9% and solid phase velocity by 29.37%. The squid-fin-inspired wall increased the contact area between the wall and the fluidizing medium by 27.7%, increasing the average bed temperature by about 85 degrees C. The combination of the corrugated vortex generator and the squid-fin-inspired wall increased the methane conversion rate by 26%. The newly developed reactors can be applied to obtain precise kinetic parameters for intense heat absorption and rapid reactions.