LAGRANGIAN APPROACH OF MODELLING THE PRODUCTION RATE OF CARBON NANOTUBES (CNTS) SYNTHESIS IN THE FCVD SYSTEM FOR SCALABILITY ANALYSIS.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/jm.v49.722Keywords:
Carbon nanotube synthesis, Lagrangian approach, production rate, FCVD, computational fluid dynamics, growth rate modelAbstract
Flame-assisted chemical vapour deposition (FCVD) is considered an effective method for synthesizing carbon nanotubes at relatively low cost. Large-scale production of carbon nanotubes via FCVD is essential to fully realize the technique's potential for creating nanomaterials for industrial applications. The lack of a comprehensive model for scaling up CNT synthesis in previous research highlights the need for further development. Therefore, this study develops a baseline model for scaling up the synthesis process. It investigates the factors contributing to the decline in CNT yield as bead mass increases—specifically, fluidization intensity, which is determined by particle velocity, average growth temperature, and methane concentration—using a computational approach. In this method, the flow domain temperature was initialised at 500°C, and the substrate was fluidized at varying nitrogen shield gas flow rates across bead masses from 10 g to 25 g for scalability analysis. A discrete phase model (DPM), integrated into ANSYS Fluent CFD software and coupled with the Lagrangian framework, was utilised to track particle trajectories, collect data, and perform analysis. The results were organized and incorporated into the growth rate model, a combined CFD and MATLAB computation, before conducting overall data analysis and presentation. The CNTs produced over a 10-minute growth period indicate the respective production rate for each bead mass. The study shows that increasing fluidization intensity from 11 slpm to 14 slpm and bead mass from 10 g to 25 g results in a decrease in temperature from 1200 K to 1000 K. The velocity magnitude, representing fluidization intensity, rises from 0.017 to 0.02 m/s. Conversely, methane concentration peaks at the highest temperature, which occurs at the lower bead mass of 10 g. Notably, this high methane concentration at elevated temperatures underscores its crucial role in methane decomposition.
References
M. T. Zainal et al., “Zero-dimensional model for the prediction of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth region in heterogeneous methane-flame environment,” Carbon Lett., vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 2199–2210, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s42823-023-00579-z.
Muhammad Syafiq Ridhwan Selamat, Muhammad Thalhah Zainal, Mohd Fairus Mohd Yasin, Norikhwan Hamzah, and Nor Azwadi Che Sidik, “Modelling of the Flame Synthesis of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes in Non-premixed Flames with Aerosol Catalyst,” J. Adv. Res. Numer. Heat Transf., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 39–51, 2023, doi: 10.37934/arnht.13.1.3951.
H. Norikhwan, “Carbon Nanotube Growth Region Characterization Using Wire-Based Macro-Imaging Method Norikhwan Hamzah Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,” pp. 0–200, 2020.
W. Liu, D. Liu, Y. Zhang, and B. Li, “Numerical investigation of particle size distribution, particle transport and deposition in a modified chemical vapour deposition process,” Powder Technol., vol. 407, p. 117616, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.powtec.2022.117616.
G. P. Gakis, S. Termine, A. F. A. Trompeta, I. G. Aviziotis, and C. A. Charitidis, “Unravelling the mechanisms of carbon nanotube growth by chemical vapour deposition,” Chem. Eng. J., vol. 445, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.136807.
N. Baig, I. Kammakakam, W. Falath, and I. Kammakakam, “Nanomaterials: A review of synthesis methods, properties, recent progress, and challenges,” Mater. Adv., vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 1821–1871, 2021, doi: 10.1039/d0ma00807a.
N. Abid et al., “Synthesis of nanomaterials using various top-down and bottom-up approaches, influencing factors, advantages, and disadvantages: A review,” Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., vol. 300, no. December 2021, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102597.
M. D. Rezaee, B. Dahal, J. Watt, M. Abrar, D. R. Hodges, and W. Li, “Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Synthesised through Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapour Deposition,” 2024.
L. von Berg, A. Anca-Couce, C. Hochenauer, and R. Scharler, “Multi-scale modelling of fluidized bed biomass gasification using a 1D particle model coupled to CFD,” Fuel, vol. 324, no. March, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.fuel.2022.124677.
W. J. Sawyer and A. J. Hart, “Aerosol synthesis of high-quality single-wall carbon nanotubes through integrated microplasma generation of catalyst nanoparticles,” Chem. Eng. J., vol. 507, no. October 2024, p. 160690, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2025.160690.
M. S. Challiwala, G. Ibrahim, H. A. Choudhury, and N. O. Elbashir, “Scaling up the advanced dry reforming of methane (DRM) reactor system for multi-walled carbon nanotubes and syngas production: An experimental and modelling study,” Chem. Eng. Process. - Process Intensif., vol. 197, no. February, p. 109693, 2024, doi: 10.1016/j.cep.2024.109693.
M. Liu, M. Wang, K. Zhang, and H. Yu, “Simulation of synthesising carbon nanotubes by catalytic chemical vapour deposition in a fluidized bed using a CFD-PBM model,” Powder Technol., vol. 457, p. 120927, 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2025.120927.
M. T. Zainal, M. F. Mohd Yasin, W. F. F. Wan Ali, K. F. Tamrin, and M. H. Ani, “Carbon precursor analysis for catalytic growth of carbon nanotube in flame synthesis based on semi-empirical approach,” Carbon Lett., vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 569–579, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s42823-020-00127-z.
T. O. Cabral, P. B. Amama, and D. B. Pourkargar, “Multiscale-multiphysics predictive modelling of chemical vapour deposition processes for carbon nanotube synthesis,” Chem. Eng. Sci., vol. 305, no. December 2024, p. 121137, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.ces.2024.121137.
B. Safaei, H. C. How, and G. Scribano, “A computational study on synthesis of carbon nanotubes in a sooty inverse diffusion flame,” Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol., vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 1–10, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s13762-022-04143-6.
B. Leclaire et al., “First challenge on Lagrangian Particle Tracking and Data Assimilation: datasets description and planned evolution to an open online benchmark,” 14th Int. Symp. Part. Image Velocim., vol. 1, no. 1, 2021, doi: 10.18409/ispiv.v1i1.119.
A. Sciacchitano, B. Leclaire, and A. Schroeder, “Main results of the first Lagrangian Particle Tracking Challenge,” 14th Int. Symp. Part. Image Velocim., vol. 1, no. 1, 2021, doi: 10.18409/ispiv.v1i1.197.
Y. W. Son, C. O. Ahn, and S. H. Lee, “Using a Lagrangian-Lagrangian approach for studying flow behaviour inside a bubble column,” Nucl. Eng. Technol., vol. 55, no. 12, pp. 4395–4407, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.net.2023.08.018.
C. Kehl, P. D. Nooteboom, M. L. A. Kaandorp, and E. van Sebille, “Efficiently simulating Lagrangian particles in large-scale ocean flows—Data structures and their impact on geophysical applications,” Comput. Geosci., vol. 175, no. July 2022, p. 105322, 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.cageo.2023.105322.
H. A. Kafiabad, “Grid-based calculation of the Lagrangian mean,” J. Fluid Mech., vol. 940, no. Lm, pp. 1–20, 2022, doi: 10.1017/jfm.2022.233.
F. Petrosino, D. de Rosa, and G. Mingione, “Application of different Lagrangian particle tracking techniques for water impingement,” IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng., vol. 1024, no. 1, 2021, doi: 10.1088/1757-899X/1024/1/012011.
M. T. Zainal, M. F. Mohd Yasin, W. F. F. Wan Ali, K. F. Tamrin, and M. H. Ani, “Carbon precursor analysis for catalytic growth of carbon nanotube in flame synthesis based on semi-empirical approach,” Carbon Lett., vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 569–579, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s42823-020-00127-z.
“FLAME STRUCTURE EFFECTS ON CARBON NANOTUBE GROWTH REGION”.
B. Yang et al., “Experimental and simulation research on the preparation of carbon nano-materials by chemical vapour deposition,” Materials (Basel), vol. 14, no. 23, 2021, doi: 10.3390/ma14237356.
M. D. Ahmad Termizi, “Growth of Carbon Nanotubes on Spherical Substrate Using Biogas Premixed Flame With Direct Vaporisation Technique,” 2021.
M. T. Zainal et al., “Zero-dimensional model for the prediction of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth region in heterogeneous methane-flame environment,” Carbon Lett., pp. 1–19, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s42823-023-00579-z.
M. P. Bondarde et al., “Carbon-based anode materials for lithium-ion batteries,” Lithium-Sulphur Batter. Mater. Challenges Appl., vol. 114, pp. 521–545, 2022, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-91934-0.00004-1.
W. Shi et al., “Synthesis Mechanisms, Structural Models, and Photothermal Therapy Applications of Top-Down Carbon Dots from Carbon Powder, Graphite, Graphene, and Carbon Nanotubes,” Int. J. Mol. Sci., vol. 23, no. 3, 2022, doi: 10.3390/ijms23031456.
W. Bai, D. Chu, and Y. He, “Fluidisation dynamic characteristics of carbon nanotube particles in a tapered fluidized bed,” Chinese J. Chem. Eng., vol. 44, pp. 321–331, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.03.006.
H. J. Basheer, K. Baba, and N. Bahlawane, “Thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition of Superblack Randomly Orientated Carbon Nanotube Coatings,” vol. 1900704, pp. 1–6, 2020, doi: 10.1002/pssa.201900704.
M. Li, M. Risa, T. Osawa, H. Sugime, and S. Noda, “Facile catalyst deposition using mist for fluidized-bed production of sub-millimetre-long carbon nanotubes,” Carbon N. Y., vol. 167, pp. 256–263, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.carbon.2020.06.018.
R. Dubey, D. Dutta, A. Sarkar, and P. Chattopadhyay, “Functionalised carbon nanotubes: synthesis, properties and applications in water purification, drug delivery, and material and biomedical sciences,” Nanoscale Adv., vol. 3, no. 20, pp. 5722–5744, 2021, doi: 10.1039/d1na00293g.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright of articles that appear in Jurnal Mekanikal belongs exclusively to Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Penerbit UTM Press). This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the article, including reprints, electronic reproductions or any other reproductions of similar nature.
