A mathematical model of an isothermal, flue gas desulfurization, copper oxide moving-bed reactor

An analytical model of an isothermal flue gas desulfurization moving-bed reactor has been developed. The governing equations can be applied to any moving bed reactor system with pseudo-first order gas phase kinetics. The average concentrations of SO2 in the effluent gas and CuO in the exiting sorbent are provided by explicit equations. The performance of the moving bed reactor can be predicted with these two simple expressions, thereby eliminating the need for numerical simulators that model the reactor as an array of interconnected microreactors. This analytical model is in agreement with an analytical model developed by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Eight sets of experimental results from DOE's pilot-scale Life-Cycle-Test-System desulfurization reactor were compared wish predictions from both models. No adjustable parameters were used to optimize the fit of the data. The isothermal model underestimated the effluent concentration of SO2 by an average value of 13.2%, and underestimated the change in composition by 0.066%.