Diffusion, flow, and heterogeneous reaction of ternary mixtures in porous catalytic media

✍ Scribed by Robert L. Wong; Vernon E. Denny

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 718 KB
• Volume: 30
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0009-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/0009-2509(75)85096-2

✦ Synopsis

Unidirectional diffusion and flow of O,-CO-CO, gas mixtures undergoing heterogeneous chemical reaction within a porous CuO-on-alumina plug flow reactor are investigated. Experimental data for spatial distributions of pressure, temperature and composition and for feed-end species fluxes exhibit reasonable agreement with theoretical results drawn from appropriate extensions of the dusty gas model. Calculations for the individual contributions of bulk, Knudsen and thermal diffusion and thermal transpiration to the total species fluxes indicate that bulk diffusion is the major component under purely diffusive conditions; however, Knudsen diffusion assumes greater significance when forced flow is introduced.

The theory indicates that the contributions of thermal diffusion and thermal transpiration to the total species fluxes become more significant as the species molecular weights become more disparate. The effects are demonstrated by means of companion calculations for the O,-Hz-H,0 system.