Reactors for Homogeneously Catalyzed Reactions

Homogeneously catalyzed reactions with dissolved transition metal complexes are generally carried out in the usual two-phase reactors for gas-liquid systems. The standard reactor is the batch or continuous stirred tank. Since diffusion problems are rarely encoimtered in homogeneous catalysis, the reaction engineering is much simpler than for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions. 

Efficient mixing of the two phases is important as this determines the exchange surface area between the gas and the liquid. Modem stirred tanks (Fig. 14-10) are often equipped with gasifying stirrers, in which the gas is drawn in at the top of the drive shaft and then finely dispersed by the stirrer blades. 

Since we have already become familiar with the most important reactors for gas- 

The driving force of a reaction is much smaller in a reactor with backmixing than in a reactor without backmixing. Why  

The kinetics of a second-order heterogeneously catalyzed gas-phase reaction of the type A- R is investigated in a differential circulating reactor. Under isothermal conditions with a reactor feed stream of Uq = 1 L/h and Ca.o = 2 mol/L and a catalyst quantity of 3 g, an outlet concentration of ca = 0.5 mol/L was obtained. 

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