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The application of theoretical diffusion models in the presence of a catalytic reaction
Author(s) -
Sterrett J. S.,
Brown L. F.
Publication year - 1968
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.690140504
Subject(s) - thermal diffusivity , catalysis , diffusion , work (physics) , chemistry , thermodynamics , mass transport , reaction rate , particle (ecology) , kinetic energy , mass transfer , mass diffusivity , oxide , chromatography , organic chemistry , physics , oceanography , engineering physics , quantum mechanics , geology
The fundamental problem in this work was to determine if methods of predicting mass transport rates in porous catalysts, developed from theory in the absence of chemical reaction, are valid in the presence of reaction. By using the ortho‐para shift of hydrogen over a ferric oxide gel catalyst as the reacting system, the effective diffusivity within the catalyst was determined from kinetic data on five different particle sizes of the catalyst. This effective diffusivity was then compared with that predicted by three different procedures recently published. These procedures predicted diffusivities approximately 40% below the experimentally obtained diffusivity. Although the differences between the experimental and predicted effective diffusivities can be regarded as within the limitations of the accuracy of the predictions, the observed differences may also be caused by some form of surface transport.