Abstract

The aim of this paper is to size the PFR reactor and to deduce the likely useful mass of the catalyst in the PBR for the production of hydrocarbons such as propane, butane and pentane from methanol via dimethyl ether (DME). The use of these reactors would require kinetic analysis, material balance, energy balance and then sizing. The interest in the chemical catalytic conversion of synthesis gas to gasoline suggests that the fuels industry may have come full circle from the time that synthesis gas from either natural gas or coal gasification were economic alternatives to crude oil. In this instance, cellulosic waste is the alternative raw materials that can be provided from DRCs logging waste and from agricultural activities. In the case of Muanda in the DRC, as in neighboring countries, the exploitation of black gold does not seem to have played any positive role in terms of development.

Key words: Packed bed reactor, plug flow reactor, modeling, simulation.