A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MONOLITHIC REACTOR AND THE TRICKLE-BED REACTOR FOR LIQUID-PHASE HYDROGENATIONS

A comparison is made between the monolithic catalyst reactor and the t rickle-bed reactor for applications in liquid-phase hydrogenations. Th eir relative merits with respect to factors like cost, flow distributi on, pressure drop and scale-up are discussed. Based on a simple mathem atic model, computer simulations have been carried out which illustrat e the relative performance in terms of productivity, selectivity and p ressure drop. A consecutive hydrogenation reaction has been taken as a model reaction.