I am getting interested in the problem of Methanol synthesis reactor. I have done it in SCILAB. The paper I referred is "A SIMULATION STUDY OF AN INDUSTRIAL METHANOL REACTOR BASED ON SIMPLIFIED STEADY-STATE MODEL", Suzana Yusup*, Nguyen Phuong Anh & Haslinda Zabiri,IJRRAS 5 (3) ● December 2010.
I have coded the rate equations in the CORN reaction template. The temperature profile does not come out as expected.
Also I have had a look at the rate equations that you are referring to. They are I suppose the following paper
http://www.ijser.org/researchpaper%5CSimulation-of-methanol-synthesis-from-synthesis-gas-in-fixed-bed.pdfas equation 4 and equation 5. My guess is that you must have entered it in the template by clicking setting>reaction packs and then entering the expression.
Did you get the proper temperature profile?
ermorgan wrote:The way I approached this was to use the Vanden Bussche/Froment paper (1996) called "A Steady-State Kinetic Model for Methanol Synthesis and the Water Gas Shift Reaction on a Commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 Catalyst". Just put the rate equations into the plug flow reactor. Don't use activation energies, etc. The process is tedious, but not terrible.
Eric