Hi, for a quick sizing of mixed-phase reactors(such as say a trickle bed which has both liquid feed and a gas like hydrogen enteriong the reactor) I ma using LHSV values typically applied to this type of reaction from literature.
what I wanted to know was does the definition of LSHV include porosity? this is not clearly mentioned anywhere. Some say it doesn, some say it doesnt.
for example, in a lot of peer reviewed papers and articles, LHSV for a particular reaction is mentioned as 5 hr-1.
So lets say i have a LIQUID feed flow rate of 5 m3/hr entering the reatcor. (Gas flow may be higher say 25 m3/hr)
so the bed volume = liquid flow rate/LHSV = 5/5 = 1 m3.
now is this the bulk bed volume or just the volume occupied by the solid catalyst particles? if its the latter, i need to divide this volume further by voidage to get my bed volume.. what is the commonly accepted convention scentifically and industrially? i need this to quickly scale up a reactor based on data from literature for industrial operation.
any pointers to reactor design of this type based on LHSV is welcome. I also need to know how to figure in the gas velocity in sizing the bed and the reactor volumes. (reactor volume is > bed volume)
Thanks