Study of industrial titania synthesis using a hybrid particle-number and detailed particle model
- Hybrid particle model combined with overlapping spheres detailed particle model
- Robust and efficient hybrid approach used to study industrially relevant conditions
- Energy balance included to allow flexible reactor modelling framework
- Particle structure resolved by primary coordinate tracking compared with real product
We apply a hybrid particle model to study synthesis of particulate titania under representative industrial conditions. The hybrid particle model employs a particle-number description for small particles, and resolves complicated particle morphology where required using a detailed particle model. This enables resolution of particle property distributions under fast process dynamics. Robustness is demonstrated in a network of reactors used to simulate the industrial process. The detailed particle model resolves properties of the particles that determine end-product quality and post-processing efficiency, including primary particle size and degree of aggregate cohesion. Sensitivity of these properties to process design choices is quantified, showing that higher temperature injections produce more sintered particles; more frequent injections narrow the geometric standard deviation of primary particle diameter; and chlorine dilution reduces particle size and size variance. Structures of a typical industrial particle are compared visually with simulated particles, illustrating similar aggregate features with slightly larger primary particles.
- This paper draws from preprint 242: Study of industrial titania synthesis using a hybrid particle-number and detailed particle model
- Access the article at the publisher: DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2020.115615
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