Catalysis Reactors

Abstract

Catalysis reactors can be classified according to their phase conditions. The most important industrial reactor types are two-phase reactors for the system gas/solid and three-phase reactors for the system gas/solid/liquid. The most widely used types of reactor for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions in the chemical and petrochemical industries are fixed-bed and fluidized-bed reactors. The most important reactors for heterogeneously catalyzed reactions are the fixed-bed reactors. The model reactor is the ideal plug flow reactor (PFR). The counterpart of the ideal PFR is the ideal continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) with complete backmixing of the reaction mass. Depending on the arrangement of the catalyst, three-phase reactors can be classified as follows: fixed-bed reactors with a stationary catalyst packing; and suspension reactors in which the catalyst is finely dispersed in the liquid. A comparison of the two most important three-phase reactors, the trickle-bed reactor and the suspension reactor, is provided in this chapter.