Effectiveness factors for reactions between volatile and non-volatile components in partially wetted catalysts

Summarization: A steady state model is formulated to describe the reactions between one gaseous and two non-volatile components on partially wetted catalysts in a trickle-bed reactor. Unlike previous studies, the model does not assume a gaseous or liquid limiting reactant. The computed results show the effect of intraparticle and interphase mass transfer resistances as well as of wetting efficiency and number and location of wetted zones on catalyst performance. Maximum effectiveness factors are generally obtained with intermediate values of the wetting efficiency. The model is applied to a typical HDS process of heavy gas oil in trickle-bed reactors.Presented on: Chemical Engineering Scienc