Pore effectiveness factor influence

From this figure, it can be concluded that the reduction of the effectiveness factor at large values of becomes more pronounced as the Biot number is decreased. This arises from the fact that the reactant concentration at the external pellet surface drops significantly at low Biot numbers. However, a clear effect of interphase diffusion is seen only at Biot numbers below 100. In practice, Bim typically ranges from 100 to 200. Hence, the difference between the overall and pore effectiveness factor is usually small. In other words, the influence of intraparticle diffusion is normally by far more crucial than the influence of interphase diffusion. Thus, in many practical situations the overall catalyst efficiency may be replaced by the pore efficiency, as a good approximation. 

Figure 6.1.6 Influence of temperature and particle size on pore effectiveness factor (a) 30 bar, particle diameter 2.6 mm [data from Bokhoven and Raayen (1954)] (b) 100 bar, 500°C, differential conversion, feed gas with 4% NH3, H2/N2 = 3 [data from Jennings and Ward (1989)].

In industrial reactors, particle diameters in the range 1-10 mm are used (Appl, 1999). Thus, pore diffusion of the reactants and of ammonia may influence the effective rate as discussed by Akehata et al. (1961), Bokhoven and van Raayen (1954), and by Jennings and Ward (1989) [see also Appl (1999) and Nielsen, (1971)]. The ratio of the effective rate to the intrinsic (maximum) rate in the absence of internal mass transport restrictions is characterized by the pore effectiveness factor >jpore (Section 4.5.4). Figure 6.1.6 shows values of >jpore determined in a laboratory reactor at different temperatures and particle sizes. For technically relevant temperatures of 400-500 °C and particles up to 10 mm, rjpore is in a range of 1 down to 0.2. 

Figure 10 shows that Tj is a unique function of the Thiele modulus. When the modulus ( ) is small (- SdSl), the effectiveness factor is unity, which means that there is no effect of mass transport on the rate of the catalytic reaction. When ( ) is greater than about 1, the effectiveness factor is less than unity and the reaction rate is influenced by mass transport in the pores. When the modulus is large (- 10), the effectiveness factor is inversely proportional to the modulus, and the reaction rate (eq. 19) is proportional to k ( ), which, from the definition of ( ), implies that the rate and the observed reaction rate constant are proportional to (1 /R)(f9This result shows that both the rate constant, ie, a measure of the intrinsic activity of the catalyst, and the effective diffusion coefficient, ie, a measure of the resistance to transport of the reactant offered by the pore stmcture, influence the rate. It is not appropriate to say that the reaction is diffusion controlled it depends on both the diffusion and the chemical kinetics. In contrast, as shown by equation 3, a reaction in solution can be diffusion controlled, depending on D but not on k. 

Intraparticle mass transport resistance can lead to disguises in selectivity. If a series reaction A — B — C takes place in a porous catalyst particle with a small effectiveness factor, the observed conversion to the intermediate B is less than what would be observed in the absence of a significant mass transport influence. This happens because as the resistance to transport of B in the pores increases, B is more likely to be converted to C rather than to be transported from the catalyst interior to the external surface. This result has important consequences in processes such as selective oxidations, in which the desired product is an intermediate and not the total oxidation product CO2. 

Rates and selectivities of soHd catalyzed reactions can also be influenced by mass transport resistance in the external fluid phase. Most reactions are not influenced by external-phase transport, but the rates of some very fast reactions, eg, ammonia oxidation, are deterrnined solely by the resistance to this transport. As the resistance to mass transport within the catalyst pores is larger than that in the external fluid phase, the effectiveness factor of a porous catalyst is expected to be less than unity whenever the external-phase mass transport resistance is significant, A practical catalyst that is used under such circumstances is the ammonia oxidation catalyst. It is a nonporous metal and consists of layers of wire woven into a mesh. 

In this exercise we shall estimate the influence of transport limitations when testing an ammonia catalyst such as that described in Exercise 5.1 by estimating the effectiveness factor e. We are aware that the radius of the catalyst particles is essential so the fused and reduced catalyst is crushed into small particles. A fraction with a narrow distribution of = 0.2 mm is used for the experiment. We shall assume that the particles are ideally spherical. The effective diffusion constant is not easily accessible but we assume that it is approximately a factor of 100 lower than the free diffusion, which is in the proximity of 0.4 cm s . A test is then made with a stoichiometric mixture of N2/H2 at 4 bar under the assumption that the process is far from equilibrium and first order in nitrogen. The reaction is planned to run at 600 K, and from fundamental studies on a single crystal the TOP is roughly 0.05 per iron atom in the surface. From Exercise 5.1 we utilize that 1 g of reduced catalyst has a volume of 0.2 cm g , that the pore volume constitutes 0.1 cm g and that the total surface area, which we will assume is the pore area, is 29 m g , and that of this is the 18 m g- is the pure iron Fe(lOO) surface. Note that there is some dispute as to which are the active sites on iron (a dispute that we disregard here). 

This section is concerned with analyses of simultaneous reaction and mass transfer within porous catalysts under isothermal conditions. Several factors that influence the final equation for the catalyst effectiveness factor are discussed in the various subsections. The factors considered include different mathematical models of the catalyst pore structure, the gross catalyst geometry (i.e., its apparent shape), and the rate expression for the surface reaction. 

If the two competing reactions have the same concentration dependence, then the catalyst pore structure does not influence the selectivity because at each point within the pore structure the two reactions will proceed at the same relative rate, independent of the reactant concentration. However, if the two competing reactions differ in the concentration dependence of their rate expressions, the pore structure may have a significant effect on the product distribution. For example, if V is formed by a first-order reaction and IF by a second-order reaction, the observed yield of V will increase as the catalyst effectiveness factor decreases. At low effectiveness factors there will be a significant gradient in the reactant concentration as one moves radially inward. The lower reactant concentration within the pore structure would then... 

The catalyst activity depends not only on the chemical composition but also on the diffusion properties of the catalyst material and on the size and shape of the catalyst pellets because transport limitations through the gas boundary layer around the pellets and through the porous material reduce the overall reaction rate. The influence of gas film restrictions, which depends on the pellet size and gas velocity, is usually low in sulphuric acid converters. The effective diffusivity in the catalyst depends on the porosity, the pore size distribution, and the tortuosity of the pore system. It may be improved in the design of the carrier by e.g. increasing the porosity or the pore size, but usually such improvements will also lead to a reduction of mechanical strength. The effect of transport restrictions is normally expressed as an effectiveness factor q defined as the ratio between observed reaction rate for a catalyst pellet and the intrinsic reaction rate, i.e. the hypothetical reaction rate if bulk or surface conditions (temperature, pressure, concentrations) prevailed throughout the pellet [11], For particles with the same intrinsic reaction rate and the same pore system, the surface effectiveness factor only depends on an equivalent particle diameter given by... 

In addition to catalyst pore structure, catalytic metals content can also influence the distribution of deposited metals. Vanadium radial profile comparisons of aged catalysts demonstrated that a high concentration of Co + Mo increases the reaction rate relative to diffusion, lowering the effectiveness factor and the distribution parameter (Pazos et al., 1983). While minimizing the content of Co and Mo on the catalyst is effective for increasing the effectiveness factor for HDM, it may also reduce the reaction rate for the HDS reactions. Lower space velocity or larger reactors would then be needed to attain the same desulfurization severity. 

Unsteady state diffusion in monodisperse porous solids using a Wicke-Kallenbach cell have shown that non-equimolal diffusion fluxes can induce total pressure gradients which require a non-isobaric model to interpret the data. The values obtained from this analysis are then suitable for use in predicting effectiveness factors. There is evidence that adsorption of the non-tracer component can have a considerable influence on the diffusional flux of the tracer and hence on the estimation of the effective diffusion coefficient. For the simple porous structures used in these tests, it is shown that a consistent definition of the effective diffusion coefficient can be obtained which applies to both the steady and unsteady state and so can be used as a basis of examining the more complex bimodal pore size distributions found in many catalysts. 

Whenever the kinetics of a chemical transformation can be represented by a single reaction, it is sufficient to consider the conversion of just a single reactant. The concentration change of the remaining reactants and products is then related to the conversion of the selected key species by stoichiometry, and the rates of production or consumption of the various species differ only by their stoichiometric coefficients. In this special case, the combined influence of heat and mass transfer on the effective reaction rate can be reduced to a single number, termed the catalyst efficiency or effectiveness factor rj. From the pioneering work of Thiele [98] on this subject, the expressions pore-efficiency concept and Thiele concept have been coined. 

Steps 2 and 6 are both pore diffusion processes with apparent activation energies between 2 and 10 kcal/mol. This apparent activation energy is stated to be about 1/2 that of the chemical rate activation energy. The concentration of reactants decreases from the outer perimeter towards the center of the catalyst particle for Step 2. In this case some of the interior of the catalyst is being utilized but not fully. Therefore the effectiveness factor is greater than zero but considerably less than one. These reactions are moderately influenced by temperature but to a greater extent than bulk mass transfer. 

A loss of water from plant shoots—indeed, sometimes even an uptake — occurs at cell-air interfaces. As we would expect, the chemical potential of water in cells compared with that in the adjacent air determines the direction for net water movement at such locations. Thus we must obtain an expression for the water potential in a vapor phase and then relate this P to for the liquid phases in a cell. We will specifically consider the factors influencing the water potential at the plant cell-air interface, namely, in the cell wall. We will find that vFcel1 wal1 is dominated by a negative hydrostatic pressure resulting from surface tension effects in the cell wall pores. 

When gum formation proceeds, the minimum temperature in the catalyst bed decreases with time. This could be explained by a shift in the reaction mechanism so more endothermic reaction steps are prevailing. The decrease in the bed temperature speeds up the deactivation by gum formation. This aspect of gum formation is also seen on the temperature profiles in Figure 9. Calculations with a heterogenous reactor model have shown that the decreasing minimum catalyst bed temperature could also be explained by a change of the effectiveness factors for the reactions. The radial poisoning profiles in the catalyst pellets influence the complex interaction between pore diffusion and reaction rates and this results in a shift in the overall balance between endothermic and exothermic reactions. 

The ways in which reaction parameters affect a two phase batch reaction are similar to those considered above for the three phase systems. Since there is no gas phase, agitation only serves to keep the catalyst suspended making it more accessible to the dissolved reactants so it only has a secondary effect on mass transfer processes. Substrate concentration and catalyst quantity are the two most important reaction variables in such reactions since both have an influence on the rate of migration of the reactants through the liquid/solid interface. Also of significant importance are the factors involved in minimizing pore diffusion factors the size of the catalyst particles and their pore structure. 

The conditions used for pellet forming can have a major influence on several important catalyst properties, including pore size distribution, pellet strength, and abrasion resistance. Both the size and shape of catalyst pellets affect the pressure drop across a packed bed reactor and also, as indicated earlier, affect the Thiele modulus and thus the effectiveness factor. Recently, monolith catalysts have begun to be used in circumstances where low-pressure drop and/or... 

The equations and plots presented in the foregoing sections largely pertain to the diffusion of a single component followed by reaction. There are several other situations of industrial importance on which considerable information is available. They include biomolecular reactions in which the diffusion-reaction problem must be extended to two molecular species, reactions in the liquid phase, reactions in zeolites, reactions in immobilized catalysts, and extension to complex reactions (see Aris, 1975 Doraiswamy, 2001). Several factors influence the effectiveness factor, such as pore shape and constriction, particle size distribution, micro-macro pore structure, flow regime (bulk or Knudsen), transverse diffusion, gross external surface area of catalyst (as distinct from the total pore area), and volume change upon reaction. Table 11.8 lists the major effects of all these situations and factors. 

After drying and reduction, the Pd-Ag/C catalysts are composed of bimetallic Eilloy nanoparticles ( 3 nm). CO chemisorption coupled to TEM and XRD analysis showed that that, for catalysts 1.5% wt. in each metal, the bulk composition of the alloy is close to 50% in each metal, whereas the surface is 90% in Ag and 10% in Pd [9]. Mass transfer limitations can be detected by testing the same catalyst with various pellet sizes [18]. Indeed, if the reactants diffusion is slow due to small pore sizes, the longer the distance between the pellet surface and the metal particle, the larger the influence of the difiusion rate on the apparent reaction rate. Pd-Ag catalysts with various pellet sizes were thus tested in hydrodechlorination of 1,2-dichloroethane. Results were compared to those obtained with a Pd-Ag/activated charcoal catalyst. Fig. 4 shows the evolution of the effectiveness factor of the catalysts, i.e. the ratio between the apparent reaction rate and the intrinsic reaction rate, as a function of the pellet size. The intrinsic reaction rate was considered equal to the reaction rate obtained with the smallest pellet size. When rf = 1, no diffusional limitations occur, and the catalyst works in chemical regime. When j < 1, the observed reaction rate is lower than the intrinsic reaction rate due to a slow diffusion of the reactants and products and the catalyst works in diffusional regime [18]. 

The influence of the pore diffusion on the effective rate of coke combustion is described by the particle effectiveness factor t and the Thiele-module O (see nomenclature), respectively ... 

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