Numerical Analysis of Flow Uniformity in Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Process Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

The NOx removal performance of the SCR process depends on various factors such as catalytic factors (catalyst composition, shape, space velocity, etc.), temperature and flow rate distribution of the exhaust gas. Among them, the uniformity of the flow flowing into the catalyst bed plays the most important role. In this study, the flow characteristics in the SCR reactor in the design stage were simulated using a three-dimensional numerical analysis technique to confirm the uniformity of the airflow. Due to the limitation of the installation space, the shape of the inlet duct was compared with the two types of inlet duct shape because there were many curved sections of the inlet duct and the duct size margin was not large. The effect of inlet duct shape, guide vane or mixer installation, and venturi shape change on SCR reactor internal flow, airflow uniformity, and space utilization rate of ammonia concentration were studied. It was found that the uniformity of the airflow reaching the catalyst layer was greatly improved when an inlet duct with a shape that could suppress drift was applied and guide vanes were installed in the curved part of the inlet duct to properly distribute the process gas. In addition, the space utilization rate was greatly improved when the duct at the rear of the nozzle was applied as a venturi type rather than a mixer for uniform distribution of ammonia gas.