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Influence of catalyst particle size on reaction kinetics: Hydrogenation of ethylene on nickel
Author(s) -
Fulton J. W.,
Crosser O. K.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690110328
Subject(s) - catalysis , arrhenius equation , nickel , particle size , reaction rate , ethylene , particle (ecology) , packed bed , kinetics , chemistry , chemical kinetics , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , order of reaction , materials science , activation energy , reaction rate constant , organic chemistry , chromatography , physics , oceanography , quantum mechanics , engineering , geology
The influence of catalyst particle size upon the reaction rate was studied for the hydrogenation of ethylene with nickel‐on‐alumina in a packed‐bed flow reactor. A threefold increase in particle diameter through a critical size range (0.03‐ to 0.09‐cm. diameter, corresponding to a Reynolds number of around 1) produced a thirtyfold increase in reaction rate per unit external surface area. The behavior of the system indicates that this increase was due to the influence of external gas‐solid transport phenomena on the reaction kinetics. j ‐Factor correlations were used to calculate the catalyst surface temperatures and concentrations, which were used to calculate Arrhenius activation energies and reaction rates from available rate expressions.