Catalytic reactor types and their industrial significance

Calculation of Mass Transfer Limitations for a Gas-Phase Reaction in an Isothermal Fixed Bed Reactor: Tutorial and Sensitivity Analysis

“…The superficial velocity of the gas flow is estimated as the average velocity of the fluid, ⟨υ⟩/void fraction of the catalytic bed (obtained with eq ). , Then, it can be estimated as follows, eq : υ s = ⟨ υ ⟩ ε = Q̇ r x n A t r a n s × ε = 2.68 × 10 − 2 true[ normalm normals true] Where, Q̇ rxn is the volumetric flow at the reaction temperature and, for an ideal gas, it can be calculated as follows, eq : Q̇ r x n = true( T r x n T a m b true) Q̇ a m b = 1.62 × 10 − 6 true[ normalm 3 normals true] …”

“…Catalytic reactions over solids involve different steps at the particle scale; see Figure . Steps 1 and 7 are known as external mass transfer and correspond to the transport of reactants from the bulk of the fluid stream to the surface of the catalyst and to the transport of products from the outer surface of the catalyst body to the bulk of the fluid, respectively.…”

Additive manufacturing of microstructured reactors for organometallic catalytic reactions

“…In particular, heterogeneous catalysis is used in three of the major areas of the world economy: petroleum refining, manufacturing of chemicals and environmental clean-up. 1,2 Consequently, heterogeneous catalysts are of crucial importance to the chemical industry. Chemical processes are divided into three main categories depending on the volume of production and price of the final product: bulk chemicals, intermediates and fine chemicals processes.…”

“…10 One approach for Process Intensification corresponds to the modification of the geometry. This can be accomplished by changing the internal structure of the equipment, for example by the reduction of its characteristic lengths, 2 in order to improve the mass and heat transfer properties by reduction of the diffusion path lengths. 3 Reactors with meso and micro internal structures, like monolithic reactors with straight channels (Honeycombs monoliths) or open cell structures, have been proposed in the second half of the last century, 3,6,7,11,12 as a promising replacement of common heterogeneous reactors.…”

“…The catalyst can also be uniformly dispersed in the porous structure. 5 These structures have the particularity to exhibit low pressure drops (two to three times smaller than packed beds 2 ) and depending on the fabrication material a better heat transfer as the structure is continuous. 13 On the other hand, they can be limited by their inherent lack of radial mixing.…”