Low Reynolds number isotope transient kinetic modeling in isothermal differential tubular catalytic reactors

A novel method is presented for modeling steady state isotope transient kinetics of heterogeneous catalytic reactions when the flow regime is laminar and conversion is differential. It is based on a factorization theorem which is deduced from the observation that transport functions fluctuate radially in porous beds. Factorization separates the radial from axial and temporal coordinates of the flow rate and concentration functions. It is shown that in transient tracing with a differential conversion, the radial components of the transport functions in the material conservation equations can be integrated into constant parameters to be determined from experimental data. The method is in particular useful as the knowledge of the radial profile of velocity and other transport functions and parameters are not prerequisites for data correlation. The methodology was successfully applied to the adsorption of carbon monoxide in Boudouard reaction on an alumina supported palladium catalyst. (c) 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1317-1329, 2018