A detailed chemistry model for transient hydrogen and carbon monoxide catalytic recombination on parallel flat Pt surfaces implemented in an integral code

Abstract

A detailed chemistry model has been adapted and developed for surface chemistry, heat and mass transfer between H2/CO/air/steam/CO2 mixtures and vertical parallel Pt-coated surfaces. This model is based onto a simplified Deutschmann reaction scheme for methane surface combustion and the analysis by Elenbaas for buoyancy-induced heat transfer between parallel plates. Mass transfer is treated by the heat and mass transfer analogy. The proposed model is able to simulate the H2/CO recombination phenomena characteristic of parallel-plate Passive Autocatalytic Recombiners (PARs), which have been proposed and implemented as a promising hydrogen-control strategy in the safety of nuclear power stations or other industries. The transient model is able to approach the warm-up phase of the PAR and its shut-down as well as the dynamic changes within the surrounding atmosphere. The model has been implemented within the MELCOR code and assessed against results of the Battelle Model Containment tests of the Zx series. Results show accurate predictions and a better performance than traditional methods in integral codes, i.e., empirical correlations, which are also much case-specific. Influence of CO present in the mixture on the PAR performance is also addressed in this paper.