Surface reaction desorption limiting

In many industrial reactions, the overall rate of reaction is limited by the rate of mass transfer of reactants and products between the bulk fluid and the catalytic surface. In the rate laws and cztalytic reaction steps (i.e., dilfusion, adsorption, surface reaction, desorption, and diffusion) presented in Chapter 10, we neglected the effects of mass transfer on the overall rate of reaction. In this chapter and the next we discuss the effects of diffusion (mass transfer) resistance on the overall reaction rate in processes that include both chemical reaction and mass transfer. The two types of diffusion resistance on which we focus attention are (1) external resistance diffusion of the reactants or products between the bulk fluid and the external smface of the catalyst, and (2) internal resistance diffusion of the reactants or products from the external pellet sm-face (pore mouth) to the interior of the pellet. In this chapter we focus on external resistance and in Chapter 12 we describe models for internal diffusional resistance with chemical reaction. After a brief presentation of the fundamentals of diffusion, including Pick s first law, we discuss representative correlations of mass transfer rates in terms of mass transfer coefficients for catalyst beds in which the external resistance is limiting. Qualitative observations will bd made about the effects of fluid flow rate, pellet size, and pressure drop on reactor performance. 

Is the Surface Reaction Rate-Limiting 677 Is the Desorption of Benzene Rate-Limiting 678... 

As with the other surface reactions discussed above, the steps m a catalytic reaction (neglecting diffiision) are as follows the adsorption of reactant molecules or atoms to fomi bound surface species, the reaction of these surface species with gas phase species or other surface species and subsequent product desorption. The global reaction rate is governed by the slowest of these elementary steps, called the rate-detemiming or rate-limiting step. In many cases, it has been found that either the adsorption or desorption steps are rate detemiining. It is not surprising, then, that the surface stmcture of the catalyst, which is a variable that can influence adsorption and desorption rates, can sometimes affect the overall conversion and selectivity. 

A and E refer to the desorption, dissociation, decomposition or other surface reactions by which the reactant or reactants represented by M are converted into products. If [M] is constant within the temperature interval studied, then the values of A and E measured refer to this process. Alternatively, if the effective magnitude of [M] varies with temperature, the apparent Arrhenius parameters do not specifically refer to the product evolution step. This is demonstrated quantitatively by the following example [36]. When E = 100 kJmole-1 andA [M] = 3.2 X 1030 molecules sec-1, then rate coefficients at 400 and 500 K are 2.4 X 1017 and 1.0 X 1020 molecules sec-1, respectively. If, however, E is again 100 kJ mole-1 and A [M] varies between 3.2 X 1030 molecules sec-1 at 500 K and z X 3.2 X 1030 molecules sec-1 at 400 K, the measured values of A and E vary significantly, as shown in Fig. 7, when z ranges from 10-3 to 103. Thus, the measured value of E is not necessarily identifiable with the rate-limiting step if a concentration of a participant is temperature-dependent. This... 

Temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy offers a straightforward way to monitor the kinetics of elementary surface reactions, provided that the desorption itself is not rate limiting. Figure 7.14 shows the the reaction CO -f O CO2 + 2. ... 

A high coverage of toluene implies that the right-hand term in the denominator is substantially larger than unity. In this case the order of reaction in methylcydo-hexane becomes zero. In practice, we could say that the reaction is limited by the desorption of toluene from the surface. 

Applying the concept of the rate-determining step (see Section 5.4.2) one can derive the following kinetic equations for adsorption of A, surface reaction, and desorption of R or S, respectively, as rate-limiting processes ... 

The three remaining steps (chemisorption of reactants, reaction on the surface, and desorption of adsorbed products) are all chemical in nature. It is convenient to employ the concept of a rate limiting step in the treatment of these processes so that the reaction rate becomes equal to that of the slowest step. The other steps are presumed to be sufficiently rapid that quasiequilibrium relations may be used. The overall rate of conversion will then be determined by the interaction of the rate of the process that is rate limiting from a chemical point of view with the rates of the physical mass transfer processes discussed above. 

Category II. The rate of chemical reaction on the surface is so rapid that adsorption equilibrium is not achieved, but a steady-state condition is reached in which the amount of adsorbed material remains constant at some value less than the equilibrium value. This value is presumed to be that corresponding to equilibrium for the surface reaction at the appropriate fractional coverages of the other species involved in the surface reaction. The rate of adsorption or desorption of one species is presumed to be much slower than that of any other species. This step is then the rate limiting step in the overall reaction. 

Kinetic Term The designation kinetic term is something of a misnomer in that it contains both rate constants and adsorption equilibrium constants. For thfe cases where surface reaction controls the overall conversion rate it is the product of the surface reaction rate constant for the forward reaction and the adsorption equilibrium constants for the reactant surface species participating in the reaction. When adsorption or desorption of a reactant or product species is the rate limiting step, it will involve other factors. 

Hougen- Watson Models for Cases where Adsorption and Desorption Processes are the Rate Limiting Steps. When surface reaction processes are very rapid, the overall conversion rate may be limited by the rate at which adsorption of reactants or desorption of products takes place. Usually only one of the many species in a reaction mixture will not be in adsorptive equilibrium. This generalization will be taken as a basis for developing the expressions for overall conversion rates that apply when adsorption or desorption processes are rate limiting. In this treatment we will assume that chemical reaction equilibrium exists between various adsorbed species on the catalyst surface, even though reaction equilibrium will not prevail in the fluid phase. 

Carbon monoxide oxidation is a relatively simple reaction, and generally its structurally insensitive nature makes it an ideal model of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. Each of the important mechanistic steps of this reaction, such as reactant adsorption and desorption, surface reaction, and desorption of products, has been studied extensively using modem surface-science techniques.17 The structure insensitivity of this reaction is illustrated in Figure 10.4. Here, carbon dioxide turnover frequencies over Rh(l 11) and Rh(100) surfaces are compared with supported Rh catalysts.3 As with CO hydrogenation on nickel, it is readily apparent that, not only does the choice of surface plane matters, but also the size of the active species.18-21 Studies of this system also indicated that, under the reaction conditions of Figure 10.4, the rhodium surface was covered with CO. This means that the reaction is limited by the desorption of carbon monoxide and the adsorption of oxygen. 

In the absence of transport limitations, the processes of adsorption, surface diffusion, surface reaction, and desorption can be treated via the transition state theory (Baetzold and Somorjai, 1976 Zhdanov et al, 1988). For example, the application of the TST to a single site adsorption process,... 

A summary of aniline N-methylation mechanistic features on Cui xZnxFe204 ferrospinel catalysts is given in Figure 27. It was possible, due to in-situ IR studies, to observe a dissociative adsorption and possible orientation of reactants on the catalyst surface, their conversion to product at low temperatures, and desorption-limited kinetics, all under conditions that are close to the reaction conditions. Although Cu is the active center for the aniline A-methylation reaction, and IR studies reveal that Zn acts as the main methyl species source. 

Three obvious models which could describe the observed reaction rate are (a) concentration equilibrium between all parts of the intracrystalline pore structure and the exterior gas phase (reaction rate limiting), (b) equilibrium between the gas phase and the surface of the zeolite crystallites but diffusional limitations within the intracrystalline pore structure, and (c) concentration uniformity within the intracrystalline pore structure but a large difference from equilibrium at the interface between the zeolite crystal (pore mouth) and the gas phase (product desorption limitation). Combinations of the above may occur, and all models must include catalyst deactivation. 

For the cases where gas phase cyclohexenes do not appear to be intermediates, the question arises as to the nature of the surface reaction. Thus, does cyclohexane simultaneously lose six hydrogen atoms via the sextet mechanism (T3) originally proposed by Balandin in 1929, or does the reaction take place in a stepwise fashion without desorption of intermediate products According to the sextet theory, the active catalyst unit is an aggregate of metal atoms which must be spaced within certain definite limits consistent with the geometry of the cyclohexane ring. While there... 

The overall chemical rate may be written in terms of the partial pressures of A, B and P by equating the rates 9t, 0iAa and and eliminating the surface concentrations CA, CB and Cr from equations 3.68 (or 3.69 as the case may be), 3.71 and 3.72. The final equation so obtained is cumbersome and unwieldy and contains several constants which, for practical reasons, cannot be determined independently. For this reason it is convenient to consider limiting cases in which one parameter, adsorption surface reaction or desorption is rate determining. 

Now possibilities of the MC simulation allow to consider complex surface processes that include various stages with adsorption and desorption, surface reaction and diffusion, surface reconstruction, and new phase formation, etc. Such investigations become today as natural analysis of the experimental studying. The following papers [282-285] can be referred to as corresponding examples. Authors consider the application of the lattice models to the analysis of oscillatory and autowave processes in the reaction of carbon monoxide oxidation over platinum and palladium surfaces, the turbulent and stripes wave patterns caused by limited COads diffusion during CO oxidation over Pd(110) surface, catalytic processes over supported nanoparticles as well as crystallization during catalytic processes. 

Catalyst selection involves two features productivity and selectivity. The process rate is a subtle combination of four limiting steps adsorption/desorption of reac-tants/product, surface reaction between species, diffusion through pores and diffusion through external film. Pore structure, surface area, nature and distribution of active sites play a crucial role in forming the process rate at the level of catalyst... 

---