Lattice Boltzmann simulation of catalytic reaction in porous media with buoyancy

The catalytic reaction is a common process in the chemical industry, which involves the complex heat and mass transfer in pore system, chemical reaction and multi-component flow. The endothermic reaction of isopropanol dehydrogenation with buoyancy is studied in this paper. The fractal carpet is used to construct the catalyst porous media. The lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) for the multi-component flow and heat and mass transfer with the buoyancy, which is induced by the difference of the temperature and concentration, is established and solved. The results computed by the lattice Boltzmann method are compared with those calculated by the FLUENT software to check the reliability of the LBM. The effects of the buoyancy on the conversion and pressure difference between the inlet and outlet are studied at different inlet velocities. The effects of the buoyancy on the distributions of the outlet velocity, concentration and temperature are also investigated.