Catalyst system design element

Fig. 5. Catalytic system designs (11) of (a) basic VOC catalytic converter containing a preheater section, a reactor housing the catalyst, and essential controls, ducting, instmmentation, and other elements (b) a heat exchanger using the cleaned air exiting the reactor to raise the temperature of the incoming process exhaust and (c) extracting additional heat from the exit gases by a secondary heat exchanger.

Summarizing, there are still many scientific challenges and major opportunities for the catalysis community in the field of cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis to design improved or totally new catalyst systems. However, such improvements require a profound knowledge of the promoted catalyst material. In this respect, detailed physicochemical insights in the cobalt-support, cobalt-promoter and support-support interfacial chemistry are of paramount importance. Advanced synthesis methods and characterization tools giving structural and electronic information of both the cobalt and the support element under reaction conditions should be developed to achieve this goal. 

The catalyst system originated from the Knapsak catalyst (76) for the am-moxidation and catalysts found in Nippon Kayaku (78-80) for simple oxidation. A number of catalyst systems have been indicated in the patents in the past 25 years, and some of them are used practically in the industrial production. Strictly speaking, almost all catalyst systems may be designed and prepared on the same principle irrespective of their different compositions. The catalyst system is generally expressed as shown in Fig. 5. The first four elements are essential and consist of a fundamental structure of the catalyst system, and the other elements are added for the enhancement of the catalyst life and mechanical strength and minor improvement of the catalytic activity and selectivity. 

Exhaust emission standards since the 1981 model year vehicles have required the use of three-way catalysts, either alone or in combination with an oxidation catalyst. Three-way catalysts are designed to operate in a very narrow range about the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. In this range the HC and CO are subject to oxidation and the NO, compounds undergo reduction. The downstream oxidation catalyst in a dual bed system is generally used as a "clean-up catalyst lo further control HC and CO emissions. The most common catalytic combination in three-way uses is platinum/rhodium. Current production applications use these elements in a relatively rich proportion of 5 1 lo 10 1. whereas the respective mine ratio is about 19 1. 

Since the beginning of PP production, the fourth generation of so-called Ziegler-Natta (ZN) catalysts has been reached [1]. In the case of PP, the catalyst system is the decisive element in respect to both product properties and polymerization technologies. Also metallocene catalysts have just gained commercial interest, allowing the design of PPs with property combinations not realizable up to now. 

Reactive distillation is one of the classic techniques of process intensification. This combination of reaction and distillation was first developed by Eastman Kodak under the 1984 patent in which methyl acetate was produced from methanol and acetic acid. One of the key elements of the design is to use the acetic acid as both a reactant and an extraction solvent within the system, thereby breaking the azeotrope that exists within the system. Likewise, the addition of the catalyst to the system allowed sufficient residence time such that high yields could be obtained, making the process commercially viable. Other examples in which reactive distillation may enhance selectivity include those of serial reactions, in which the intermediate is the desired product, and the reaction and separation rates can be systematically controlled to optimize the yield of the desired intermediate. ... 

These instruments employ a continuous flow of persulfate solution to promote oxidation prior to ultraviolet irradiation, and have a low system blank and low detection limit. Since all reactions take place in the liquid phase, problems suffered by combustion techniques, such as catalyst poisoning, reactor corrosion, and high-temperature element burnouts, are obviated. However, the ultraviolet-promoted chemical oxidation technique is not designed to handle particulate-containing samples, and tends to give incomplete oxidation for certain types of compounds such as cyanuric acid. 

Several factors will conceivably influence the retention. Not all poisons will be retained to the same extent. Retention of any given element might depend on its amount in the fuel and oil on the composition of fuel and oil on the operation variables of the engine on the design of the exhaust system on temperature, shape, size, position of the catalyst, and the atmosphere to which it is exposed the service time of the system etc. It may, or may not, vary linearly with any of these parameters. 

Fig. 2.13 Types of slice reactor systems. Reactor and heat exchanger elements are separated in these designs. This aids in avoiding undesirable thermal cross-talk between catalyst candidates.

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