Inorganic solids, processing

Table 1. Some Large-Scale Industrial Processes Catalyzed by Surfaces of Inorganic Solids ...

These two research areas share the common characteristic of involving inorganic solids in the combustion process. Catalytic combustion research focuses on using the solid to facilitate the oxidation of well-known fuels such as hydrogen and methane. Materials synthesis research focuses on using combustion as a means to react the solids either with each other or a gas, such as nitrogen (which in this case acts as an oxidizer), to make new solid materials. 

This account of the kinetics of reactions between (inorganic) solids commences with a consideration of the reactant mixture (Sect. 1), since composition, particle sizes, method of mixing and other pretreatments exert important influences on rate characteristics. Some comments on experimental methods are included here. Section 2 is concerned with reaction mechanisms formulated to account for observed behaviour, including references to rate processes which involve diffusion across a barrier layer. This section also includes a consideration of the application of mechanistic criteria to the classification of the kinetic characteristics of solid-solid reactions. Section 3 surveys rate processes identified as the decomposition of a solid catalyzed by a solid. Section 4 reviews other types of solid + solid reactions, which may be conveniently subdivided further into the classes... 

The biological treatment process involves the use of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi to convert finely divided colloidal and dissolved carbonaceous organic matter in wastewater into various gases and into cell tissues that are then removed from sedimentation tanks as flocculent settle-able organic and inorganic solids. This process often complements both physical and chemical processes and it is classified as follows. 

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