Simulation of particulates in a carbon black reactor

A carbon black reactor is simulated by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The computed flow and chemical species fields are input for a simulation of particle inception, growth and aggregation. For this complex system quantitative results are still prone to errors. Yet the method is robust enough so that the computed particle field can help understand and explain different aspects of the reactor and the aggregate particles produced. With this knowledge the process designer has a powerful tool for designing new and optimizing existing reactors, in order to obtain truly tailor-made products.