Researchers from UGENT (LCT and ICAT), have published a new scientific article, “A physics-based electrothermal fluidized bed reactor model applied to COS decomposition,” in Chemical Engineering Science.

This publication marks a significant advance in the electrification of chemical processes, focusing on replacing traditional fossil-fuel heating with direct electrical heating in fluidised bed reactors – a key step towards decarbonising the chemical industry. ElectroThermal Fluidized Bed (ETFB) reactors are particularly attractive as they can supply distributed heat directly via Joule heating. However, reactor-scale models that consistently link electrical design variables to temperature and conversion profiles are still limited. The authors have developed a coupled electrical–thermal modelling framework for ETFB reactors to address this gap.

The model, developed from first principles, is intended to serve as a physics-based benchmark and can be used for future extensions and more complex models.