Microkinetic modelling of the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene over unpromoted iron oxides

A vast amount of surface science experiments provides a detailed qualitative picture of the mechanisms governing the catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EB) to Styrene (St) over unpromoted iron oxide. Also values of kinetic and energetic parameters for adsorption and desorption are available. We present a methodology of kinetic modelling based upon this knowledge, aiming at an accurate prediction of the behaviour of the technical catalysts including deactivation and regeneration. This paper contains the detailed kinetic model and the procedure followed for determining the kinetic parameters