Credit to Ms Nor Faeqah Idrus

Reference: Fogler and Levenspiel

TOPIC 9
Solid Catalyzed Reactions
Solid Catalyzed Reaction
Reaction rates are usually expressed in terms of
mass of catalyst loading.


The design equations can be derived in a manner
similar to those for homogeneous reactors - by using
mass (w) instead of volume (V).
Examples of solid catalyzed reactions:
Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) for HYDROGEN production
Conversion of NOx and CO in automobile catalytic converter
Styrene production

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in mol/timemass of catalyst
) (
'
A
r
Reactors for Heterogeneous
Reactions
Packed bed reactor
Fluidized bed (FCC)

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Packed Bed Reactor
Similar to PFR, but reactor is packed with catalyst
Heterogeneous reaction redefine rate of reaction
as Number of moles reacting per unit time per unit
mass of catalyst.
Mole Balance:
[flow in] - [flow out] + [generation] = [accumulation]




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j
j
W
F
F
r
dF
W dW
j
j
'
0
0


Applications of PBR
When is it used?
Heterogeneous reactions
E.g.catalytic converter
Advantages
Easy to maintain (no moving parts)
High conversion per mass of catalyst
Disadvantages
Difficult to control temperature
Can get channeling of packed bed
Catalyst is difficult to replace

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Stirred Batch Reactor
Catalyst dispersed as slurry
There is good contact between the catalysts
and reactants.
However, if the catalyst decays, the activity and
selectivity will vary during the course of data
collection.
Since the system is well mixed, its isothermality
is good.
Sampling can be problematic, because the
catalyst may go along with the sample.

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Differential Reactor

It is a tube containing a small amount of catalyst
arranged in the form of a thin wafer or disk.
Conversion in the reactor is extremely small and
hence, it is called a differential reactor.
The concentration in the reactor is assumed to be
uniform in the catalyst bed.
Heat release per unit volume is low, and hence the
reactor behaves isothermally.
Channeling must be avoided
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F
A0
F
Ae

Catalyst Bed
Inert Filling
Catalyst weight =W
Stirred Contained Solids Reactor
Also called spinning basket reactor
In this reactor, catalyst particles are contained in
paddles that rotate at high speeds to minimize
external mass transfer effects and keep the fluid well
mixed.
Isothermal conditions can be maintained and there is
good contact between the catalyst and fluid.
If the catalyst particle size is small, it is difficult to
contain the particles in the paddles.
Good rating for ease of sampling and analysis of
product composition
Unable to generate useful data when the catalyst
being studied decays.

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Differential Reactor
Mole Balance






For constant volumetric flow rates
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0 ) (
0

W r F F
A Ae A
W
F F
r
Ae A
A

0
) (
W
C v C v
r
Ae A o
A

0
) (
W
F
W
X F
r
p
A
A

0
) (
W
C v
W
C C v
r
p o
Ae A o
A

] [
) (
0
References
Fogler, H.S. (2006). Elements of Chemical Reaction
Engineering, 4
th
Edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Levenspiel, O. (1999). Chemical Reaction
Engineering, 3
rd
Edition, New York: John Wiley.
Schmidt, L.D. (2005). The Engineering of Chemical
Reactions, 2
nd
edition, New York: Oxford University
Press.

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12
General Mole Balance for Packed Bed
Reactors
Input - Output + Gen =
Accumulation
w w+w
0 ) (
'


w r F F
A
w w
A
w
A
) (
'
A
w w
A
w
A
r
w
F F

) (
'
A AO
r
dw
dX
F
w
A
F
w w
A
F

Mass of catalyst = w

X X
X
A
A
r
dX
F w
0
'
0
) (
) (
'
A
A
r
dw
dF