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A lumped parameter approximation to a general model for catalytic reactors
Author(s) -
McGreavy C.,
Cresswell D. L.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450470618
Subject(s) - exothermic reaction , computation , mechanics , mass transfer , heat transfer , pellets , thiele modulus , particle (ecology) , thermodynamics , differential equation , partial differential equation , phase (matter) , materials science , mathematics , control theory (sociology) , computer science , physics , mathematical analysis , control (management) , algorithm , oceanography , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , composite material , geology
Consideration ig given to the solution of the highly exothermic fixed bed catalytic reactor problem taking into account heat and mass transfer resistances inside the catalyst pellets and across the external fluid film, as well as radial temperature and concentration gradients in the fluid phase. Even on large digital computers, the computation time is excessively long if the sets of differential equations are solved simultaneously. By considering the intra‐particle equations in detail, it is shown that they may be reduced to a lumped parameter form which permits rapid evaluation of an effectiveness factor. The functional dependence of this effectiveness factor is determined primarily by the external film resistance. While still retaining the characteristics of the general problem, the lumped parameter approximation may be solved in a substantially shorter time, thus permitting its use in optimization and control studies.