Characteristics of Small Particles and Porous Material

The available surface area of the catalyst gready affects the rate of a hydrogenation reaction. The surface area is dependent on both the amount of catalyst used and the surface characteristics of the catalyst. Generally, a large surface area is desired to minimize the amount of catalyst needed. This can be accomphshed by using either a catalyst with a small particle size or one with a porous surface. Catalysts with a small particle size, however, can be difficult to recover from the material being reduced. Therefore, larger particle size catalyst with a porous surface is often preferred. A common example of such a catalyst is Raney nickel. 

Filter aids as well as flocculants are employed to improve the filtration characteristics of hard-to-filter suspensions. A filter aid is a finely divided solid material, consisting of hard, strong particles that are, en masse, incompressible. The most common filter aids are applied as an admix to the suspension. These include diatomaceous earth, expanded perlite, Solkafloc, fly ash, or carbon. Filter aids build up a porous, permeable, and rigid lattice structure that retains solid particles and allows the liquid to pass through. These materials are applied in small quantities in clarification or in cases where compressible solids have the potential to foul the filter medium. 

The three most important characteristics of an individual particle are its composition, its size and its shape. Composition determines such properties as density and conductivity, provided that the particle is completely uniform. In many cases, however, the particle is porous or it may consist of a continuous matrix in which small particles of a second material are distributed. Particle size is important in that this affects properties such as the surface per unit volume and the rate at which a particle will settle in a fluid. A particle shape may be regular, such as spherical or cubic, or it may be irregular as, for example, with a piece of broken glass. Regular shapes are capable of precise definition by mathematical equations. Irregular shapes are not and the properties of irregular particles are usually expressed in terms of some particular characteristics of a regular shaped particle. 

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