ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews some quantitative aspects of the effect of pressure on chemical reaction. The use of high pressure as a means of controlling reaction products has expanded enormously in the last few decades. The chapter considers the equilibrium concentration of physically adsorbed atoms as a function of pressure and temperature. The equilibrium concentration of products and reactants for a chemical reaction can be predicted from thermodynamic reasoning. The use of catalysts to lower the transition state activation energy and greatly increase reaction rates has become widespread in the chemical process industry. The catalytic processes are usually classified as homogeneous and heterogeneous. The chapter outlines the effect of pressure on equilibrium sorption – desorption. The independent effect of pressure on chemical kinetics is to change the activation volume of the individual molecules or atoms and the surrounding solvent during reaction.
