14-01-2013

Rensselaer polytechnic institute studies Blasch VectorWall

Blasch Precision Ceramics and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have recently entered into a sponsored research agreement that is designed to create a comprehensive modeling and analysis tool that can be used to optimize the performance the patented Blasch VectorWall^TM product.

The VectorWall^TM is a proven, reliably stable, easy to install, infinitely adaptable, mixing wall designed to be placed in a high temperature reaction furnace environment to modify furnace wide gas flow fields to improve mixing and, subsequently, reaction furnace performance. Field results of VectorWall^TM installations in refinery Claus sulfur recovery unit reaction furnaces thus far have resulted in very significant performance improvements. The need for a more fundamental understanding of how these improvements are generated is the motivation behind this new cooperation with Rensselaer, through the university’s New York state-funded Center for Future Energy Systems.            

The project will begin with the development of various ideal model analyses to establish a directional understanding of the role of the VectorWall^TM in the reactions of interest. Insights gained from these analyses will be integrated into large scale simulations of Blasch VectorWall^TM installations integrating computational fluid dynamics analysis with multiphysics (heat, mass, flow and kinetic) reactor simulations to quantify performance gains and other process implications associated with application of the VectorWall^TM. It is expected that much of this analysis will employ the Very Large Parallel Cluster computer facility at the Rensselaer supercomputing center, the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations.             

The principal investigators for this research will be Dr. Joel L. Plawsky and Dr. Max O. Bloomfield, both of Rensselaer along with Dr. Keith DeCarlo from Blasch Precision Ceramics.             

The ultimate objective of this research is to develop and validate a reliable modeling and simulation process to quantitatively predict the impact of the VectorWall^TM on sulfur recovery unit reaction chamber performance. “Working together with Rensselaer and with customer-driven input, this project should produce excellent and meaningful data that will predict positive changes in vessel performance, theoretically saving our customers hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating costs annually, while greatly reducing or eliminating multi million dollars of capital investment in new capacity“, remarked Dave Bobrek, CEO of Blasch Precision Ceramics.

For more information, please visit petrochemical.blaschceramics.com