My research proposal

This semester I've started to write the proposal for my research with my partner, Feri Wibisono (or known as Bobi). We've decided to do a research entitled The Dynamic of Reverse Flow Reactor for Lean Methane Emission Oxidation. Finally, the proposal has been finished this morning and all we have to do is waiting for the seminar next week. I've displayed the abstract below(in English of course. We have to summit our abstract in English and Indonesian) so you'll get a glimpse about the research.

TK-4081 CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH I
The Dynamic of Reverse Flow Reactor for Lean Methane Emission Oxidation
Group B-89-3-28

Hans Gunawan Rimbualam (13006026) and Andhika Feri Wibisono (13006092)
Supervisors:
Dr. Yogi Wibisono Budhi Dr. Yazid Bindar

ABSTRACT

Methane is one of the main greenhouse gases after carbon dioxide in term of its influence to global warming. Considering its potential as greenhouse gases, which is 23 times higher than carbon dioxide, the methane emission should be converted into carbon dioxide, which is harmless than methane. The methane conversion to CO₂ can reduce the global warming effect up to 87%.

The methane gas emitted to atmosphere typically has low concentration (about 0.1 – 1.0%-vol). The catalytic oxidation of methane needs an elevated temperature to activate the catalyst. Nevertheless, the lean methane emission only gives the adiabatic temperature rise about 200 – 300^oC. Therefore, the use of the fixed bed reactor becomes less efficient due to the need of continuously feed heating. In addition, the methane emission frequently exhibits the fluctuations, both flow rate and concentration. As consequence, the conventional fixed bed reactor may suffer to such dynamic behaviors.

Reverse Flow Reactor (RFR) offers a new way to overcome such operation problem. RFR can create an autothermal condition by trapping the heat propagation inside the reactor bed. As a result, the preheaters can be excluded during operation. Moreover, the stored heat, if necessary, can be extracted as thermal energy source. The development of transient operation procedure is required to improve the reactor performance, indicated as reactor conversion, selectivity, and energy efficiency.

The aim of this research is to study the effect of the switching time to the dynamic of RFR, including heat propagation along the bed reactor, reaction rate, and the amount of heat that can be extracted from the RFR.

This research is divided into two sections. The first section is to find the reactor’s characteristics using steady-state operation. The manipulated reactor’s characteristics are residence time and reactor’s temperature. The second section is to observe the effect of switching time to reactor’s dynamic using reverse flow operation.

Keywords: autothermal operation; switching time; catalytic reaction.