Chapter 5 - Catalytic reaction engineering

Abstract

In chemical reaction engineering, one of the main tasks is the designing of chemical reactors. To achieve that, a rate law must be developed based on the analysis of rate data. Formulating rate laws from rate data is somewhat challenging in heterogeneous catalysis, mainly because these rate laws do not usually follow standard power-law models. Viewing trends in rate data and subsequently deducing an appropriate rate law become easier when knowing the different forms a catalytic rate equation can take. After developing the rate law the rate law parameters may be evaluated and a reaction mechanism that is consistent with the rate data may be postulated. Reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis generally consist of an adsorption step, a surface reaction step, and a desorption step, one of which is usually rate-limiting. Finally, a catalytic reactor may be designed using the formulated rate law.