Title: Modelling, design and kinetics of novel Fred-Ugi environmental wastes converter reactor plant for crude oil distillates, minerals and petrochemical synthesis

Authors: Fredrick Bekong Ugi; Emmanuel O. Ehirim; Animia Ajor Wordu; Benedict U. Ugi

Addresses: Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering Department, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria ' Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering Department, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria ' Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering Department, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria ' Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria

Abstract: This work presents a design of waste converter reactor plant (WCRP) functional for transformation of waste potpourri, via combustion and distillation processes into crude oil distillates, solid minerals and petrochemicals. Reactor performance equations applied with chemical reaction kinetics are developed from the principles of conservation of mass and energy in consideration of all necessary thermodynamic status of the plant for the determination of the WCRP Volume and other functional parameters such as length, space time, space velocity and diameter. Both hand-calculative and simulative approaches have been applied in the plant design to attain a validated set point for determining its dimensional and functional parameters. The plant simulation, verified with results and plots obtained using MATLAB-Simulink, satisfies that 232 kg/hr municipal wastes under 702°C (975k), using 1.8 m³. WCRP reactor's volume for 16.6 hrs process space time, generates crude oil distillates, solid minerals and petrochemical at a heat load of 55.5 × 10⁵ J.

Keywords: waste; converter-reactor; minerals; distillate; kinetic; rate law.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2023.132633

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2023 Vol.12 No.2, pp.159 - 191

Received: 07 Nov 2022
Accepted: 06 May 2023
Published online: 31 Jul 2023 *

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