For a specified set of feed streams and a specified network of chemical reactions, there is an
almost limitless variety of reactor−separator designs that might be employed in enhancing the
production rates of certain desired molecules while suppressing the production rates of undesired
ones. Of special significance is the vast spectrum of very different reactor configurations available
to the designer. Here we seek to determine sharp kinetic bounds on what can be achieved in
steady-state reactor−separator systems of arbitrary design, subject perhaps to certain natural
physical constraints. A primary conceptual tool is the continuous flow stirred tank reactor
(CFSTR) equivalence
principle, proven here, which asserts that the effluent of any steady-state
reactor−separator design can be achieved arbitrarily closely by another steady-state design
involving perhaps arbitrarily sharp separations but in which
the only reactor components are
s + 1 ideal CFSTRs, where
s
is the rank of the underlying network of
chemical reactions. Thus,
for the sole purpose of assessing bounds on the set of attainable effluents, it suffices to consider
a surprisingly narrow and simple class of reactor configurations.
Rapid advances in increasing the efficiency of the ultralow sulfur diesel (ULSD) process are hindered owing to the lack of realistic understanding that could be obtained by looking inside an operating ULSD reactor. Herein, quantitative information about the molecular journey of the sulfur, nitrogen, and aromatic compounds from the inlet to the outlet of a ULSD reactor has been provided. The improved understanding resulting from this work is expected to significantly assist catalyst development and mechanistic pathway determination efforts in this important area of research.
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