Dynamics of packed‐bed reactors loaded with oxide catalysts

Ernest W. Arnold, Sankaran Sundaresan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The lattice of an oxide catalyst can act as a reservoir for oxygen, storing and releasing it for oxidation reactions at the catalyst surface under appropriate transient conditions. The implication of this oxygen storage property on the dynamic response characteristics of packed‐bed reactors loaded with oxide catalysts has been investigated through an experimental study of 2‐butene oxidation over vanadium oxide. Temperature profiles in a wall‐cooled packed‐bed reactor have been measured at steady state and following step changes in the feed butene concentration and in the feed gas flow rate. Thermal reactor runaway was observed experimentally for large step increases in the feed butene concentration following certain catalyst pretreatments. Gas flow rate step increases and less severe butene step increases resulted in the reactor temperature overshooting its final steady‐state profile. These response characteristics are a direct consequence of the oxygen storage property of the vandaium oxide catalyst.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)746-754
Number of pages9
JournalAIChE Journal
Volume35
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1989

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Biotechnology
  • Environmental Engineering
  • General Chemical Engineering

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