Improving the octane number of the aromatics compounds has always been an important
matter in refineries and lots of investigations have been made concerning this issue. In this
study, an axial-flow spherical packed-bed reactor (AF-SPBR) is considered for naphtha
reforming process in the presence of catalyst deactivation. Model equations are solved by
the orthogonal collocation method. The AF-SPBR results are compared with the plant data
of a conventional tubular packed-bed reactor (TR). The effects of some important parameters
such as pressure and temperature on aromatic and hydrogen production rates and
catalyst activity have been investigated. Higher production rates of aromatics can
successfully be achieved in this novel reactor. Moreover, results show the capability of flow
augmentation in the proposed configuration in comparison with the TR. This study shows
the superiority of AF-SPBR configuration to the conventional types.