Eurokin - Chemical reaction kinetics in practice

The chemical reactions taking place in the chemical reactor form the heart of any chemical process. Reaction kinetics are the translation of our under standing of the chemical processes into a mathematical rate expression that can be used in reactor design and rating. Because of the importance of cor rect and safe design of chemical reactors, chemical reaction kinetics is a key aspect of research and development in chemical industries, in research institutes, and academic centers, as well as in industrial laboratories. Th ere is, and there will always be, a strung need for knowledge and a skill b ase concerning the determination of reaction kinetics and their application in the form of a kinetic model. This paper is a result of cooperation within Eurokin, a consortium of over 10 European companies and 4 universities. An industrial questionnaire in 19 95 highlighted that industry is not only a little conservative in the metho ds it uses to determine kinetics, but also that there was a wide awareness of the scope for improvement. Eurokin was thus founded in 1998 to try and e stablish the best practices and to facilitate development work in kinetics and associated areas. The paper briefly explains some underlying theory of heterogeneously cataly zed chemical reactions and their kinetics. It deals specifically with the a cquisition of kinetic data, and gives recommendations for the selection of the experimental reactor and conditions. A primary at. m of this paper is d iscuss kinetic experimentation and modeling through a series of case studie s, attempting to illustrate good practice, methods in kinetic modeling, pit falls, and recommendations. The paper closes with some recommendations and a perspective on the future needs of industrial reaction kinetics.