Are Gases Diluted for the Oxidation of Ethylene

Consider the oxidation of ethylene and assume only the following reaction occurs C2H4 + 02—t C2HaO 

The largest pressure gradient inside the pellet will be obtained for very small catalyst pores (KnyC 00) and at the reactor inlet  

This means that the pressure difference inside a catalyst pellet, no matter the pellet size, will always be smaller than 0.028 x 20 = 0.56 bar. Hence, in general, internal pressure gradients can be neglected for the oxidation of ethylene. 

---