Area of Collaboration

Develop a comprehensive modeling and analysis tool that can be used to optimize the performance of Blasch patented VectorWallTM product in high temperature applications.

Company Background

Blasch Precision Ceramics Inc. was formed in 1979 and serves a variety of manufacturing and processing industries throughout the world, providing innovative, customized solutions for chemically difficult or high temperature applications. This NY based company produces and markets net shape ceramic and refractory components to a wide variety of industrial markets where operating environments require corrosion, erosion and chemical reactions at high temperatures aand pressures. The VectorWallTM  is a proven, reliably stable, easy to install, infinitely adaptable, mixing wall designed to be placed in a high temperature reaction furnace environment to modify furnace wide gas flows fields to improve mixing and reaction performance. 

Work with CFES

Blasch was looking for a more fundamental understanding of the product on reaction kinetics to enhance installation knowledge in Claus sulfur recovery unit reaction furnaces to match significant performance improvements. The project study included various ideal model analyses to establish directional understanding of the mixing in the reactions of interest. Insights from these analyses were integrated into large scale simulations of VectorWallTM installations integrating 2D/3D computational fluid dynamic analysis with multi-physics (heat, mass, flow and kinetic) reactor simulations to quantify performance gains. The results indicate that VectorWallTM configuration has significant mixing advantages over choke ring designs leading to enhanced conversion within the reactor and more uniform distribution of reacted material at any axial position downstream of the VectorWallTM   

Impacts of CFES Work

CFES faculty, Dr. Joel L. Plawsky and Dr. Max O. Bloomfield, were able to provide engineering technical assistance and 2D/3D turbulent flow simulations to evaluate the effectiveness of the patented BPC VectorWallTM in high temperature chemical processes and gain better understanding of kinetics and flows. The work accelerated adaptation in the oil and gas industry leading to an increase in  maufacturing jobs and professional support in marketing and research. Prodcut revenues have exceeded $3 Million and 20 new jobs have resulted in Albany. In addition, customers utilizing the VectorWallTM technology have increased their process efficiencies by 20%.