ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 gave an introduction to some of the types of catalytic reactor used by industry. There are an extremely wide variety of reactor types used, and it would not be possible even to mention them all, let alone discuss the conservation equations that govern their performance. The choice of reactor type depends on many variables, including the reaction rate, the heat effects, the catalyst selectivity, the phase of the process stream, the operating conditions (especially temperature and pressure), the longevity of the catalyst, and so on. It is not possible to give general rules for choosing an appropriate reactor for any given process. Indeed, even for the same reaction, it will be seen that different reactor types are often employed by different companies. In the following sections, the analysis of catalytic reactors will be discussed. We will present the packed-bed reactors in most detail, both because of their importance in industry and their relative ease of analysis. Following this detailed presentation, other types will be introduced at varying levels of complexity. As usual, if more detail is desired on these reactor types, reference books or the open literature should be consulted as necessary.
