Catalyst void fraction

The relation between the dusty gas model and the physical structure of a real porous medium is rather obscure. Since the dusty gas model does not even contain any explicit representation of the void fraction, it certainly cannot be adjusted to reflect features of the pore size distributions of different porous media. For example, porous catalysts often show a strongly bimodal pore size distribution, and their flux relations might be expected to reflect this, but the dusty gas model can respond only to changes in the... 

The concentration gradient normal to the outside of the catalyst particle. The rate is expressed on catalyst-filled reactor volume, with e void fraction for this smaller volume the rate must be higher to keep Vrr=Vcr< . This is calculated from the continuity requirement that was mentioned above ... 

The void fraction should be the total void fraction including the pore volume. We now distinguish Stotai from the superficial void fraction used in the Ergun equation and in the packed-bed correlations of Chapter 9. The pore volume is accessible to gas molecules and can constitute a substantial fraction of the gas-phase volume. It is included in reaction rate calculations through the use of the total void fraction. The superficial void fraction ignores the pore volume. It is the appropriate parameter for the hydrodynamic calculations because fluid velocities go to zero at the external surface of the catalyst particles. The pore volume is accessible by diffusion, not bulk flow. 

Dixon and coworkers [25] have performed several CFD simulations of fixed beds with catalyst particles of different geometries (Figure 15.9). The vast number of surfaces and the problems with meshing the void fraction in a packed bed have made it necessary to limit the number of particles and use periodic boundary conditions to obtain a representative flow pattern. Hollow cylinders have a much higher contact area between the fluid and particles at the same pressure drop. However, with a random packing of the particles, there wiU be a large variation... 

In the model equations, A represents the cross sectional area of reactor, a is the mole fraction of combustor fuel gas, C is the molar concentration of component gas, Cp the heat capacity of insulation and F is the molar flow rate of feed. The AH denotes the heat of reaction, L is the reactor length, P is the reactor pressure, R is the gas constant, T represents the temperature of gas, U is the overall heat transfer coefficient, v represents velocity of gas, W is the reactor width, and z denotes the reactor distance from the inlet. The Greek letters, e is the void fraction of catalyst bed, p the molar density of gas, and rj is the stoichiometric coefficient of reaction. The subscript, c, cat, r, b and a represent the combustor, catalyst, reformer, the insulation, and ambient, respectively. The obtained PDE model is solved using Finite Difference Method (FDM). 

Reaction products were analyzed by on-line gas chromatography with a Shimadzu GC-14A gas chromatograph equipped with a 50 m CP Sil-5 fused silica capfllary column and a flame ionization detector. Reaction intermediates were identified by GC-MS. Samples were taken after 50 h on stream when the activity of the catalyst was stable, with n-nonane and n-dodecane as internal standards. Space time was defined as t = e Voat/vgas, where e is the void fraction of the... 

In order to compare the micro-channel and the fixed-bed reactor, the design and operation parameters should be adjusted in such a way that certain key quantities are the same for both reactors. One of those key quantities is the porosity s, defined as the void fraction in the reactor volume, i.e. the fraction of space which is not occupied by catalyst pellets or channel walls. The second quantity is the specific... 

The porosity of the catalyst pellet (8p) is defined as the void fraction. 

For porous catalyst pellets with practical loadings, this quantity is typically much larger than the pellet void fraction e, indicating that the dynamic behavior of supported catalysts il dominated by the relaxation of surface phenomena (e.g., 35, 36). This implies that a quasi-static approximation for Equation (1) (i.e., e = 0) can often be safely invoked in the transient modeling of porous catalyst pellets. The calculations showed that the quasi-static approximation is indeed valid in our case the model predicted virtually the same step responses, even when the value of tp was reduced by a factor of 10. 

In a contact sulphuric acid plant the secondary converter is a tray type converter, 2.3 m in diameter with the catalyst arranged in three layers, each 0.45 m thick. The catalyst is in the form of cylindrical pellets 9.5 mm in diameter and 9.5 mm long. The void fraction is 0.35. The gas enters the converter at 675 K and leaves at 720 K. Its inlet composition is ... 

The desire to save energy calls for low pressure drop over the catalyst layers because they account for a significant part of the total pressure drop through the sulphuric acid plant. According to simple correlations such as the Ergun equation [12], the pressure drop over a catalyst bed per bed length at a given flow rate and properties of the gas only depends on the bed void fraction e and a characteristic pellet diameter... 

The pressure drop for the produced carrier or catalyst is measured in the setup shown in Fig. 10. An adjustable flow rate of 300-700 Nm3/h ambient air is supplied by a blower and passed downwards through a bed of catalyst in a long tube. The diameter of the bed is 0.39 m, which is well above the minimum of 10 pellet diameters required for satisfactory reproduction of the void fraction observed in a large fixed bed. The catalyst is poured into the tube from the top and the bed may subsequently be settled by applying a reproducible tapping or vibration to the tube. Since the latter reduces the void and increases the pressure drop, it is important that the catalysts are loaded and vibrated in the same way in order to get comparable results. The pressure drop without catalyst should be checked in order not to introduce errors from the support grid or measuring taps. 

The pellets leave a fraction e unoccupied as they pack into the reactor so the fraction 1 — is occupied by the catalyst. The pellet is usually porous, and there is fluid (void space) both between catalyst pellets and within pellets. We measure the rate per unit area of pellet of assumed geometrical volume of pellet so we count only the void fraction external to the pellet. 

The shape of the catalyst pellets. The shape (cylinders, rings, spheres, monoliths) influence the void fraction, the flow and diffusion phenomena and the mechanical strength. 

Note Typically in reformer design, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) is defined as fresh liquid charge volumetric flow rate divided by catalyst volume. Catalyst volume includes the void fraction and is defined by WJpp( — e).]... 

From the limiting value of 55% of the ethanol signal without coating, a void fraction can be estimated. However, this number does not directly correspond to the void fraction. One has to consider the fact that the effective thickness is affected by the presence of the catalyst. Equation (3) shows that the influence is... 

The formation of propene oxide as a side product of the acrolein formation or dimerization reactions is reported by many authors. Daniel et al. [95,96] demonstrated that propene oxide is formed by surface-initiated homogeneous reactions which may involve peroxy radical intermediates. The epoxidation is increased by a large void fraction in the catalyst bed or a large postcatalytic volume. In view of these results, the findings of Centola et al. [84] are understandable, as the wall of the empty reactor may have been sufficiently active to initiate the reaction. 

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