Macroscale Particle Motion Modeling in a Stirred Tank

Incineration is a commonly used method that utilizes high temperatures (1000 ^oC or higher) for clearing solid waste from landfills. However, the emission of pollutants makes this method undesirable. One potential alternative for gasifying polymer waste is Wet-Thermal Catalytic Oxidation (WTCO), a low temperature (300 - 350 ^oC) fuel-producing process that consists of three parallel reactions: oxidation of polymers, water-gas shift, and the Sabatier reaction. However, the reacting environment of WTCO consists of a three-phase slurry system where the interaction of solid waste, catalysts, liquid water, and gaseous oxygen need to be promoted. This makes developing homogeneity to maximize the reaction rate and conversion of WTCO challenging.

In this study, we model the behavior of spherical particles in a liquid environment within a stirred tank in 2D. Modeling the dynamics of these particles in a stirred media will better identify optimal mixing configurations and operation settings for different substrates. This will ensure WTCO is not limited by the fluid dynamics of the particulate system and associated transport phenomena.