J FEATURE REP()RT

Keepthe catalyst in mind

from the beginning

CATALYTIC
REACTOR
DESIGN
M
ost major processes in the chemical
process industries are built around
heterogeneous chemical reactions. A solid
catalyst is an integral part of almost all
these operations. In new-construction or
retrofit projects for such plants, process engineers must
design and specify not only the reactors but also the cat-
alysts.
Independent design of the two, without concern for
how they will mesh, can mean a more costly design, a low
production rate and more-frequent shutdowns. It may
even cause the catalyst to fail.
Consider, for instance, this debacle at a methanol
plant. A carbon-steel pipe had been installed at the en-
,trance to the methanol reactor. High-pressure carbon
monoxide in the feed stream reacted with the steel to pro-
duce iron carbonyls, which poisoned the catalyst [171.
Remedying the situation cost several million dollars.
With the hope of avoiding such situations, we first
summarize the principles of catalyst and reactor design,
with emphasis on maintaining interdependence between
the two activities. Then we apply the principles to indus-
trial reactors.
The focus is solely on heterogeneous catalysis, in
which the catalyst (virtually always in solid form) is not
in the same phase as the process stream. Even with this
limitation, the technology is far too detailed for full pre-
sentation here. Instead, our aim is to enable readers to
keep the big picture in mind whenever getting immersed
in the specifics of a project.

Calvin H. Bartholomew and William C. Hecker

BrighamYoung University

70 CHEMICAL ENGlNEERlNGiJUNE 1994

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 1 Part 1
t
Catalyst design
H
eterogeneous catalysts come in a
wide variety of forms. Most are
spheres, tablets, rings, pellets of
various shapes, or monolithic honey-
comb structures. Generally,this particle
or structure consists of an active cat-
alytic species impregnated into or de-
posited onto a nominally inert support.
Design involves both the active cata-
lyst and the support. It consists essen-
tially of choosing the right type and
form of catalyst for a given situation,
then specifying its size, porosity, cat-
alytic-species distribution and other
properties.
This design procedure requires the
engineer to deal with the catalytic func-
tions, chemical and physical properties,
and mechanical and flow properties of
the catalyst. These three groupings are
highly interrelated.
For instance, catalytic functions in-
clude activity, selectivity for desired
products, and stability against deacti-
vation; each of these depends on the
chemical and physical makeup of the
catalyst. Mechanical properties, includ-
ing particle strength and attrition re-
sistance, depend on the chemical stabil-
ity and microstructure of the solid and
the presence of binders. And flow prop-
erties, such as flow distribution and
pressure drop, depend on particle
shape and size.
The interrelation often generates a
need for compromises. For instance,
mechanical strength decreases with in-
creasing porosity 151, especially above a
porosity of 50%, whereas activity at
high conversions (entailing conditions
where pore diffusional resistance is
high) rises with increasing porosity. Ac-
cordingly, the degree of porosity must
be a compromise between high activity
and high mechanical strength.
Furthermore, moderately active cat-
alysts tend to be chemically more sta-
ble than those of high activity. And
pressure drop through the system is
lowest for large catalyst particles, at
the expense of higher pore diffusional
resistance and hence lower activity.
An imaginative engineer will be alert
for new approaches or materials that at
least partially circumvent the need for
compromises. For instance, a compara-
Amencan Oil Co
tively new catalyst composed of a ce-
ramic honeycomb monolith with a thin
catalyst wash-coat inside its channels
provides both low pressure drop and
low pore diffusional resistance, i.e.,
high activity.
Eight steps: A stepwise procedure for
catalyst design follows. The appropri-
ate interweaving of this procedure with
reactor design is explained beginning
on the next page.
(1) Spell out the reactants, products
and operating conditions for the
process
(2)Identify and list all possible chemical
reactions (includingundesired ones)and
categorize them according to the type of
bond changes. Examples of reactions in-
clude dehydrogenation, hydrogenation,
oxidation, carbon monoxide insertion,
dehydration, and group addition
(3) Assess the feasibility and energetics
of each reaction in Step 2, by calculat-
ing its enthalpy change, free-energy
change and other relevant thermody-
namic parameters
(4)For the reactions that Step 3 shows
to be significant, visualize the actual
molecular changes, the elementary re-
actions on the catalyst surface, and the
active intermediates. From this, pre-
dict the important reaction paths
(5) Determine what kinds of catalytic
functions or sites (for example, adsorp-
tive, desorptive, hydrogenative, acidic)
will be necessary. For instance, low-
temperature methane combustion calls
for catalytic sites that dissociatively
chemisorb oxygen and methane but
easily desorb water
(6) Seek catalyst materials that offer
the appropriate catalytic functions
(e.g.,platinum or nickcl for hydrogcnn-
tion, and zeolites for cracking),the nec-
essary thermal stability, and resistance
to poisoning or fouling. Look also for a
stable, compatible support material, as
well as promoters to enhance activity
or stability
(7) Specify the catalyst microstructure
in terms of crystallinity, surface area,
porosity and similar parameters that
govern catalyst strength and attrition
resistance. Also, specify catalyst parti-
cle size and shape, and choose binders
to give the particle strength and attri-
tion resistance.
In this step, keep in mind the impor-
tance of minimizing pressure drop.
Apart from the decrease with increas-
ing catalyst-particle size, the pressure
drop per unit height of catalyst bed can
be decreased by factors as high as ten
through careful choice of monoliths or
uniquely lobed or star-shaped pellets.
At a constant particle diameter, pres-
sure drop increases in the following
order: lobes, rings, extrudates, tablets,
spheres
(8) In most cases, Steps 1-7 generate
several potential catalyst candidates.
Test these experimentally for activity,
selectivity and stability
Databases can be valuable at many
points in this eight-step process [lo].In
Steps 3-6, for instance, computerized
data banks containing thermodynamic
data, reaction mechanisms, surface-
chemistry data, and catalyst properties
greatly speed the selection process.
Reactor design
Design of a reactor combines material
balances, energy balances and kinetic
rate expressions to come up with the
optimum reaction conditions and type
and size of reactor (or reactors) for a
given process. Optimum usually
means the minimum vessel volume for
a single-reactionprocess, or the best se-
lectivity or product distribution for a
process with multiple (parallel or se-
ries) reactions.
Material balance: Sometimes called
the species-continuity equation or the
reactor-performance equation, this
tells how any given reaction species is
distributed in space and time. The ma-
terial balance presupposes a particular
reactor type.
Detailed discussion of material bal-
ances (and of energy balances and E-
netic rate expressions) is beyond the
scope of this article. A material balance
may be as complicated as Equation 1in
Table 1, which describes a transient,
two-dimensional reactor in which axial
dispersion is important. Or, it may be
as simple as the performance equation
for the continuous stirred-tank reactor
(CSTR), Equation 2, derived from
Equation 1 by assuming steady-state,
uniform concentration in the radial di-
rection and no axial dispersion. For a
typical one-dimensional reactor, the
material balance predicts conversion as
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/JUNE 1994 71
 TABLE 1.
THREE KEY RELATIONSHIPS FOR REACTOR DESIGN
1. Material Balance - Reactor Performance Equation

3. Rate Expression - Rate Equation

no mass transfer influence :

2. Energy Balance - Conservation of Energy

1 j D-(strong
17 = - eff pore resistance, 1st order) (8)
L k

a function of the distance z into the re- exothermicityand heat losses to the sur- pends on concentrations, temperature,
actor and of the reaction rate ( -rA). roundingsare all important. Conversely, and catalyst properties. The rate expres-
In principle, there is one material- it may be as simple as Equation 4,which sioncanbevery complex;for instance,see
balance equation for each species in the applies to a one-dimensional adiabatic Equation 5 in Table 1,which is for a re-
system. However, reactor. For a typi- versible, temperature-dependent Lang-
for a single reaction NOMENCLATURE cal one-dimen- muir-Hinshelwood-type reaction (see
the species are all A Aconstant I
sional reactor this Folger, H.S., Elements of Chemical Re-
tied together by the Ci Concentration of species i relationship pre- action Engineering, 2nd ed., Prentice
. stoichiometric rela- C, Heat capacity at constant dicts temperature Hall, 1992).For a much less complex ex- ,
tionship (e.g., A t B pressure as a functionof dis- ample, see Equation 6, covering simple
= C + D), and thus, DAB Diffusivity of A into B tance z and reac- first-order irreversible reactions. If the
only one balance is E Energy of activation tion rate -rA. system has a deactivating catalyst, an
needed to fully de- FA,, Inlet molar flowrate of A Since conversion equation for activity as a fundion oftime
scribe the system. AH, Heat of reaction (XA)is also a func- should also be included.
For multiple reac- k Thermal conductivity (Eq.3); tion of these two Whenever internal or external mass-
tions, there must rate constant (Eq. 6,8) variables, under transfer influences affect the reaction
be one additional Ki Constants some circum- rate, it can be adjusted by multiplying
mass balance equa- L Characteristic length of catalyst stances tempera- the intrinsic rate expression by an ef-
tion for each addi- pellet ture becomes a fectiveness factor as shown in Equa-
tional stoichiomet- q Heatrates unique function of tions 7 and 8 for internal influence. The
ric reaction that r Radial distance conversion, as resulting global or observed rate
describes the reac- r, Rate of generation of A shown in Equa- should then be used in material and en-
tion network. t Time tion 4 [121. I ergy balances.
Energy balance: T Temperature The energy bal- For systems with strong internal-
v, Radial velocity ances just dis- pore-diffusion resistances (quite com-
This spells out how
v, Axial velocity clxssed describe mor, ir, industrial catalytic-reactw sys-
temperature varies
V Volume
in space and time macroscopic tem- tems), the effectiveness factor is a
X , Fractional conversion of A
throughout the re- z Axial distance
perature gradi- function of catalyst diameter and cata-
actor. A description 7 Effectiveness factor ents across the lyst pore sizes. The relationship is ex-
of the temperature p$ Term accounting for viscous length and width pressed via the effective diffusivity,
field is important, dissipation of the reactor. One Deff;see Equation 8. This is one of the
because the reac- p . Density must sometimes key links between reactor design and
tion rate is in most carry out addi- catalyst design, as the physical and
instances a strong tional energy bal- chemical properties of the catalyst in-
function of the temperature. ances on singlecatalyst pellets, to deter- fluence the reactor design directly by
The energy balance may be as compli- mine temperature gradients between affecting the rate expression
cated as Equation 3 in Table 1,which de- the gas phase and the catalyst surfaceor
scribes the temperature profile in a tran- within the pellet or both. Catalytic reactor design
sient, two-dimensionalreactor in which Kinetic rate expression:This describes As already emphasized, proper design
axial dispersion, viscous dissipation, how the reaction rate of each species de- of the catalytic reactor must be a care-
72 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/JUNE 1994
 fi
fully arranged marriage of catalyst and
reactor. This interdependence shows
up in several ways.
For example, a more-active catalyst
enables operation at milder conditions
of temperature and pressure; moreover
it minimizes the required reactor vol-
ume and cost. A catalyst whose activity
is very stable (with a life on the order of
months or years) can be matched with a
relatively lower-cost tubular bed reac-
tor rather than a more expensive fluid
bed system, because it need not be re-
placed ofien. High-pressure conditions
are likely to require selection of a ro-
bust packed-bed reactor and a catalyst
in monolith or large-pellet form to min-
imize pressure drop.
A practical sequence to achieve the
optimal combination of catalyst and re-
actor is as follows:
1. For various candidate reactor
types that seem promising, use the pre-
viously outlined reactor-design rela-
tionships to specify the reactor size (in-
cluding the amount of catalyst needed),
the concentrztioii aid temperature
profiles, the quantity of heat that must
be added or removed, and the rate of
deactivation
2. Choose among the candidates,
using these criteria:
(a) Minimize the volume of catalyst,
and therefore reactor size, required.
For instance, in the case of an irre-
versible first-order reaction, a tubular
reactor requires a lesser volume than
does either a slurry reactor or a fluid-
bed reactor
(b) Provide for eficient heat transfer
when dealing with strongly exo- or en-
FEATURE REPORT
dothermic reactions. Slurry or fluid-bed attractive for this; so are monoliths
reactors are attractive in this regard wash-coated with catalyst [B, 111.
(c) Also for strongly exo- or endother- (c) Be compatible with the reactor-
mic reactors, consider reactors or at design needs; for instance, with high
least catalyst trays in series, with in- thermal conductivity for highly en-
terstage heating or cooling [12] dothermic or exothermic reactions, and
(d) In situations in which the catalyst with sufficient mechanical strength so
becomes deactivated rapidly (in sec- that catalyst at the bottom of the reac-
onds to hours), provide for rapid, conve- tor can withstand the full weight of ma-
nient regeneration terial above it
3. Choose the catalyst type and form 4.Choose the reactor-catalyst combi-
that will: nations that will minimize capital cost
(a) Maximize activity, selectivity and and overall production costs. In this
stability connection,be aware that the price of a
(b) Minimize pressure drop and max- catalyst is usually a relatively minor
imize access of reactants to the porous consideration in comparison to its ac-
catalyst interior. Lobed extrudates are tivity, selectivity,and stability 0
n order to use these design princi- Simplicity, giving low cost and mini-
ples effectively, the engineer must mal maintenance
be familiar with the types of reactors Allowance for greater variation in op-
actually available in practice. These erating conditions and contact times,
can be divided into two general classes, and hence in conversion
fixcd-bcd am! hidizec! cr slurry bed. High ratio a cata!yst to rea.cta.nnrs,
giving longer residence time and thus
Fixed vs. fluid more-complete reaction
-~
In fixed-bed reactors, the catalyst re- *Minimal wear on catalyst and equip-
mains essentially stationary until it is ment
to be reactivated or discarded. It may, Practical operation at very high pres-
for instance, be confined within the sures
tubes of a tubular reactor, or it may be Conversely, fluidized-bed and slurry
placed on trays. reactors offer these advantages over
The advantages of fixed-bed reactors, fixed-bed versions:
especially in comparison with fluidized Easier catalyst regeneration and re-
or slurry-bed reactors, include: placement
Approximation of ideal plug-flow Rapid mixing, which facilitates efi-
operation, and thus high conversion ef- cient heat transfer and, thus, isother-
ficiency mal operation (Continues)
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/JUNE 1994 73
 FEATURE REPORT

Low pore-diffusional resistance, due also influence the choice of reactor. For relate mainly to the reactor type cho-
to the small size of catalyst particles example, catalysts used in fixed beds typ- sen; others concern the nature of the
typically used ically must offer a crush strength of at catalyst or the process. Many are ex-
Temperature control in fixed-bed re- least 3 kdparticle (or an axial crush plained best by considering specific ex-
actors can be improved, at additional strength of 50-80 kg/cm2).Otherwise the amples.
cost, through such measures as inter- pellets at the bottomofthereactor may be Fixed-bed reactors: In these, it is par-
stage cooling or heating. Judicious use crushed to fines, causing unacceptably ticularly important to maximize cata-
of competing reactions or partial poi- high pressure drop across the reactor. lyst strength and porosity, minimize
soning of the cata- pressure drop, min-
lyst can serve the imize pore diffu-
same purpose. sional resistance,
For instance, in 1. Catalyst deactivation behavior; 3. Catalyst strength and attrition re- and maximize cata-
the oxidative de- regeneration policy sistance: Fixed-bed catalysts must lyst life. As already
hydrogenation of a. Fixed beds are favored if the be strong enough to avoid being
life of the catalyst is longer than
noted, several of
methanol to for crushed at reactor bottom. Severe
about 3 mo attrition rules out use in a fluid bed these features are
maldehyde, the re- b. Fluidized or slurry beds are obtained at the ex-
action with oxygen favored in process situations that 4. Process economics: pense of each other.
(CH30H + 0.5 0, .= involve rapid deactivation and the a. Capital cost depends on the Consider pellets,
HCHO + H,O) is need to regenerate the catalyst complexity of design, cost of for example. Be-
highly exothermic materials, reactor fabrication, cause pressure
(-156 kJ/mol), 2. Reaction conditions: Fixed beds and catalyst cost drop decreases and
whereas the direct are favored for high pressures; b. Operating cost depends crush strength in-
dehydrogenation fluid or slurry beds are favored mainly on pressure drop, creases with in-
(CH30H= HCHO + for strongly exo- or endothermic maintenance, regeneration
reactions. costs and heat-transfer duty
creasing particle
H,) is quite en- diameter while the
dcthermic (85 kJ/ pore diffusional re-
mole).Accordingly, the reaction temper- In fluidized or slurry bed reactors, at- sistance increases, it makes sense to
ature of the system can be regulated by trition of just a few percent of the total choose lobes or rings, so as to obtain
controlling the oxygen concentration catalyst charge per day leads to uneco- lower pressure drop per given particle
and the oxygen-to-steamratio. nomical loss of catalyst. And in a slurry diameter. Thus, three- and four-lobed
reactor, it upsets the catalyst separa- particles are used in hydrodesulfuriza-
Making the choice tion process. tion to minimize both pressure drop
Long catalyst life (greater than 3 mo) Capital cost is affected by complexity and pore diffusional resistance.
favors fixed bed reactors. On the other of the design. For example, in the In low-temperature methanation or
hand, a rapidly deactivating catalyst highly exothermic Fischer-Tropsch Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, high meso-
that needs frequent replacement or re- syntheses (involving production of liq- porosity is needed to obtain extensive
generation mandates the use of a flu- uid hydrocarbons from carbon monox- metal surface area, and high macrop-
idized or slurry bed reactor, because in ide and hydrogen), a single liquid- orosity is needed for reactant access
such a system the deactivated catalyst phase slurry reactor involves while minimizing pore diffusional re-
can be removed and fresh catalyst substantially less material and fabrica- sistance. But catalyst strength is not a
added during operation. tion costs than a fixed bed reactor con- big issue, because reaction conditions
The next priority in the selec taining hundreds of small diameter, are mild and the catalyst beds are not
process is to consider reaction condi- catalyst filled tubes [MI. Conversely, high. Accordingly these catalysts are
tions, especially catalyst temperature. fluidized beds can incur high capital typically supported on extruded pellets
Been,*"-.
auuc
,ct+ puur tLfi--
U I l,I G
-fir\..
conduct:i;-
Wl.a1114! costs for the equipiileilt associated with Cwab L +
ait: ~ u i i ~ p u s a ~f
^I^ ^^__^^^
i : ii high-s&ice-
ity of a typical ceramic-supportedsolid fluidization. area gamma-alumina of moderate
catalyst, a large fixed bed reactor more Operating cost depends greatly on crush strength and relatively moderate
than a few inches in diameter behaves the pressure drop through the reactor. resistance to hydrothermal sintering.
essentially adiabatically, so control of This dependence also affects capital On the other hand, nickel catalysts
reaction temperature is not possible for cost, because it determines the size of used in high temperature steam re-
a highly exo- or endothermic reaction. the process compressor or pump. forming must be strong and hydrother-
Any resultant overheating can degrade Among the other significant determi- mally stable. Accordingly, relatively
the catalyst or lower its selectivity. On nants of operating cost are mainte- large nickel crystallites are supported
the other hand, the well-mixed behav- nance, catalyst regeneration and heat- on pressed pellets or rings consisting of
ior of fluidized and slurry reactors facil- transfer duty. a low-surface-area calcium or magne-
itates efficient convective heat transfer sium aluminate or alpha alumina, all
and temperature control, as has al- Some pointers three of these offering high strength
ready been noted. The engineer should also keep the fol- and high hydrothermal stability.
Catalyst strength and attrition may lowing practical points in mind. Some Monoliths: For catalytic processes of
74 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/JUNE 1994
 !
,
high gas throughput or space velocity,
monoliths can be employed to great ad-
vantage over pellets because they incur
a lower pressure drop. Both the pres-
sure drop and the geometrical surface
area (GSA) of the monoliths decrease
with an increase in the monolith chan-
nel diameter.
In mass-transfer-controlled reac-
tions, such as CO oxidation on Pt-alu-
mina in automotive converters, GSA
should be maximized; accordingly,
there must be a trade-off between low
AP and high GSA. Because of the inher-
ently low AP of thin-walled ceramic and
metal monoliths, it is possible to design
converters for high GSA (40 cm2/cm3)
with a fine mesh size (93 squares/cm2)
while keeping AP adequately low for ef-
ficient auto exhaust operation. To fur-
ther enhance the access of reactants to
metal crystallites inside the catalyst
pores (in other words, minimize the
pore diffusional resistance or maximize
the catalyst effectiveness), the catalyst
is wash-coated in a thin layer of about
0.01 mm thickness inside the monolith
channels.
By contrast, monoliths used in selec-
tive catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO in
power plants on the hot side of the
boiler are designed with a large mesh
size and low GSA (2-4 squares/cm2and
7-14 cm2/cm3),to prevent plugging with
fly ash. They also have thick catalyst-
containing walls to prevent loss of ac-
tivity due to erosion of the catalyst by
fly ash particulates. For this applica-
tion, wash-coated catalysts would
quickly lose activity as the catalyst
eroded away.
Fluidized or slurry bed reactors:. In
these, the particle size is generally
small (in the range of 30-200 microme-
terra), ani: gwei-iied by the operzting
conditions of the process necessary to
maintain an expanded, fluid bed. With
these reactors, the catalyst design fo-
cuses on maximizing activity, selectiv-
ity, and resistance to attrition and
spalling.
This resistance is achieved by the ap-
propriate combination of catalyst
porosity, support-material type and
particle size, and type of binder (e.g.,
silica or carbon). In developing this
combination, the engineer must design
not only for high strength but also to
avoid any phase changes or reactions
(e.g. carbiding or hydration) that in
themselves would bring about spalling
or particle disintegration.
Catalyst distribution in particles:
As noted near the beginning of this ar-
ticle, a catalyst particle consists of an
active catalytic species and an inert
support. Activity losses due to trans-
port limitations and deactivation can
be minimized by careful specification
of the catalytic-species distribution
throughout the support.
According to Becker and Wei [22],the
optimum catalyst distribution depends
on relative rates of reaction and deacti-
References
1.Catalysts Looks to the Future, National Re-
search Council Panel, National Academy
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Environmental Catalysis, Wilmington, Del.,
Jan. 14-16,1994,
3. Dowden, D.A. Schenll, C.R., and Walker, G.T.,
The Design of Complex Catalysts, Fourth In-
ternational Congress on Catalysis, ed. High-
tower, J.W., Rice University, Houston, 1968, p.
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The authors
Calvin H. Bartholomew,
Jr., is Professor of Chemical
Engneermg at Brigham
Young U ( B W ) , and head of
the B W Catalysis Labora-
tory. He was previously a Se-
nior Chemical Engmeer for
Corning Corp., Corning, N Y
He has conducted research
for 25 years in catalysis and
combustion, with emphasis on
activitv-structure relation-
ships, deactivation, chemisorption, and catalysis
for syngas conversion and for selective reduction
of NOx. Bartholomew has written two books and
over 100 papers, and consulted with over 20
firms. He received the American Chemical Soc.s
Utah Award in 1991. He holds a B.S. in chemical
engineering from BYU, as well as a Ph.D. from
StanFord U.
Part 1
vation. For instance, in the case of fast
reaction and fast poisoning, the opti-
mum distribution (or catalyst profile) is
an active band between a thin inert
outer shell and inert center. This has
been called the middle-egg-white pro-
file. For fast reaction and slow poison-
ing, the optimum profile is a thin outer
coating or shell of active catalyst at the
exterior surface, called the eggshell
profile. The predictions of Becker and
Wei have been borne out experimen-
tally in several catalytic processes [23,
24,251. I
Edited by Nicholas P. Chopey
13. Smith, J.M., Chemical Kinetics, 3rd ed, Mc-
Graw-Hill, 1981.
14. Lee, H.H., Heterogeneous Reactor Design,
Buttenvorth, 1985.
15. Froment, G.F., and Bischoff, K.B., Chemical
Reactor Analysis and Design, 2nd ed, Wiley,
1990.
16. Fogler, H.S., Elements of Chemical Reaction
Engineering, 2nd ed, Prentice Hall, 1992.
17. Collier, C.H., Catalysis in Practice Reinhold,
1957.
18.Bartholomew, C.H., in New Trends in CO Ac-
tivation, Studies in Surface Sei. and Cataly-
sis, 64, ed. L. Guczi, Elsevier, 1991.
19. Reactor Technology, Kirk-Othmer Encyclo-
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Wiley, 1982, pp. 880-914.
20. Boer, F.B., et al, Chem. Tech., 312, May 1990.
21. Bhatt, B.L.,et al, Liquid Phase Fischer-Trop-
sch Synthesis in a Bubble Column, presented
at the DOE Liquefaction Contractors Review
Conference, Pittsburgh, Pa, Sept. 22-24, 1992.
22. Becker, E.R., and Wei, J., J. Catal,. 46, 365,
372 (1977).
23. Hegedus, L.L., and McCabe, R.W., Catalyst
Poisoning, Marcel Dekker, 1984.
24. Oh, S.H., Catalyst Converter Modeling for Au-
tomotive Emission Control, in Becker, E.R.
and Pereira, C.J., eds, Computer-Aided De-
sign of Catalysts, Chap. 8, Marcel Dekker,
1993.
25. Iglesia, E., et al, Reaction-Transport Selectiv-
ity Models and the Design of Fischer-Tropsch
Catalysts, in Becker, E.R., and Pereira, C.J.,
op. at., Chap 7.
William C. Hecker is an As-
sociate Professor of Chemical
Engineering at BYU, Associ-
ate Head of the Catalysis Lab-
oratory and head of the Char
Oxidation Group. Before join-
ing BYU, he was with
Chevron Research Corp. and
Dow Chemical Co. He has
nearly 30 publications and 3
patents, and has been presen-
ter or eo-presenter of 92 tech-
nical papers. Research interests include kinetics,
heterogeneous catalysis, coal char Oxidation, NO
reduction, auto emissions control, and infrared
spectroscopy of surfaces. In 1986, he received an
AIChE national award as outstanding student-
chapter counselor. He holds B.S. and M.S. de-
grees from BYU and a Ph.D. from the U. of Cali-
fornia at Berkeley, all in chemical engineering.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING/JUNE 1994 75
FEATURE REPORT

FIGURE 1. The heart of any static-mixing reactor, such as the one being as-
sembled here, is its array of stationary guiding elements within the vessel
76 CHEMICAL ENGINEERINGNUNE 1994