Factors which Affect the Catalyst Performance

Catalysis is a multidisciplinary subject that has a lot of aspects. It is obvious that a good catalyst should possess high activity. A high activity allows relatively small reactor volumes, short reaction times, and operation under mild conditions. High selectivity is often more important than high activity. Furthermore, a catalyst should maintain its activity and selectivity over a period of time, i.e. it should have sufficient stability. In summary, important properties of an industrial catalyst are shown in Fig. 5-34. 

Catalysts are developed for specific processes, e.g. for a specific reaction in a specific reactor under specific reaction conditions. Therefore, there are many requirements for an industrial catalyst  

The catalytic performance can be affected by many influences such as 

For a good imderstanding of catalysis it is crucial to have a good idea of the structure (both chemical and physical) of a catalyst. The properties of a catalyst can be manipulated by any process that alters the properties of its surface, because the nature of the individual sites at the surface is responsible for the activity, selectivity 

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