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Hydration of isobutene in a trickle‐bed reactor: Wetting efficiency and mass transfer
Author(s) -
Leung P. C.,
Recasens F.,
Smith J. M.
Publication year - 1987
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.690330612
Subject(s) - wetting , mass transfer , chemistry , surface tension , trickle bed reactor , atmospheric pressure , mass transfer coefficient , aqueous solution , kinetics , chemical engineering , thermodynamics , analytical chemistry (journal) , chromatography , catalysis , organic chemistry , meteorology , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Reaction rates for the hydration of isobutene were measured at 323 K and atmospheric pressure in a trickle‐bed reactor over a sixfold range of liquid rates. Three widely different feed conditions were used to vary the effect of mass transfer and wetting efficiency. The effect of wetting efficiency on the rate was analyzed using the additive procedure of Tan and Smith. The results showed that mass transfer from liquid to particle, wetting efficiency, and intraparticle kinetics all influenced the total rate, but that the gas‐to‐liquid mass transfer resistance was unimportant. Most of the resultant values of wetting efficiency and liquid‐to‐mass transfer coefficients were a little lower than literature values. This may be due to the high surface tension of our aqueous system. The derived total rate equations agreed well with the experimental rates, suggesting that the additive procedure is a satisfactory method of accounting for wetting efficiency.