Investigation of spatially patterned catalytic reactors

The theme of this work is to enhance the performance of a primary reaction system by introducing dual-functionality into a packed-bed reactor via a sp atial pattern. This paper focuses on a generic system in which the primary reaction is equilibrium-limited and an auxiliary reaction is incorporated t o act as a drain-off mechanism alleviating the equilibrium constraint. It i s found that patterns in which the two catalysts are spatially layered (and maintained at different temperatures) or well-mixed (land operated at a co mmon temperature) can both offer significant improvements over an unpattern ed reactor. Operating the well-mixed pattern at high temperature is general ly superior to switching between high- and low-temperature layers in the se gmented configuration. The exception to this rule occurs when the mixed bed is punished for being hot as either the equilibrium ceiling on the primary reaction drops sharply or a competitive reaction dominates at high tempera ture. The extent to which the layered pattern's improvements are compromise d by axial heat dispersion between zones is examined in terms of a backflow mixing cell model. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.