Modelling and simulation of a single slit micro packed bed reactor for methanol synthesis

A mathematical model for a single slit packed microstructured reactor-heat exchanger in the synthesis of methanol from syngas was developed. The model constitutes a simplified 3D-pseudo homogeneous approach for a reaction slit with integrated pillar geometry. Literature kinetic rate expressions for methanol synthesis over commercial Cu/ZnO/support type catalysts were applied at 80 bar total pressure, temperature range of 473-558 K, and syngas composition of H$_{2}$/CO/CO$_{2}$/N$_{2}$:65/25/ 5/5 mol%. The model is found capable of predicting experimental CO conversion data with acceptable accuracy. Superior thermal stability of the microchannel upon variation of different parameters such as contact time, feed gas temperature and reaction temperature were shown. The simulation results also reveal that the microchannel reactor can operate free of performance loss due to concentrations field that may arise from overlaid temperature fields. Simulations have also been used to calculate the rapid temperature transients at the inlet. The agreement between simulation results and experimental data signifies the applicability of the developed model for further design and performance optimization of microstructured reactors for methanol synthesis and other exothermic processes

Reversed Hysteresis during CO Oxidation over Pd75Ag25(100)

CO oxidation over Pd(100) and Pd75Ag25(100) has been investigated by a combination of near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, quadrupole mass spectrometry, density functional theory calculations, and microkinetic modeling. For both surfaces, hysteresis is observed in the CO2 formation during the heating and cooling cycles. Whereas normal hysteresis with light-off temperature higher than extinction temperature is present for Pd(100), reversed hysteresis is observed for Pd75Ag25(100). The reversed hysteresis can be explained by dynamic changes in the surface composition. At the beginning of the heating ramp, the surface is rich in palladium, which gives a CO coverage that poisons the surface until the desorption rate becomes sufficiently high. The thermodynamic preference for an Ag-rich surface in the absence of adsorbates promotes diffusion of Ag from the bulk to the surface as CO desorbs. During the cooling ramp, an appreciable surface coverage is reached at temperatures too low for efficient diffusion of Ag back into the bulk. The high concentration of Ag in the surface leads to a high extinction temperature and, consequently, the reversed hysteresis

H-2 reduction of surface oxides on Pd-based membrane model systems - The case of Pd(100) and Pd75Ag25(100)

Reduction of the (root 5 x root 5)R27 degrees surface oxide on Pd(1 0 0) and Pd75Ag25(1 0 0) surfaces by H-2 has been studied using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy in situ at H-2 pressures 5 x 10(-9) mbar and 5 x 10(-8) mbar and selected temperatures in the range 30 degrees C to 170 degrees C. The reduction is slower on Pd75Ag25(1 0 0) compared to Pd(1 0 0) for all temperatures and pressures investigated. For Pd(1 0 0), the surface oxide reduction rate is rather independent of temperature, while for Pd75Ag25(1 0 0) a nonmonotonic variation is observed. As indicated by kinetic analysis, the complex reduction behavior is not well described by Avrami kinetics. Oxygen spillover effects contribute to this picture for Pd(1 0 0), while surface compositional effects appear to dominate the performance for Pd75Ag25(1 0 0). These findings may have implications for understanding the oxidation, reduction and hydrogen transport properties of Pd-Ag membranes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Morphology Changes of Co Catalyst Nanoparticles at the Onset of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis

Cobalt nanoparticles play an important role as catalysts for the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, which is an attractive route for production of synthetic fuels. It is of particular interest to understand the varying conversion rate during the first hours after introducing synthesis gas (H2 and CO) to the system. To this end, several in situ characterization studies have previously been done on both idealized model systems and commercially relevant catalyst nanoparticles, using bulk techniques, such as X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Since catalysis takes place at the surface of the cobalt particles, it is important to develop methods to gain surface-specific structural information under realistic processing conditions. We addressed this challenge using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), a technique exploiting the penetrating nature of X-rays to provide information about particle morphology during in situ experiments. Simultaneous wide-angle X-ray scattering was used for monitoring the reduction from oxide to catalytically active metal cobalt, and anomalous SAXS was used for distinguishing the cobalt particles from the other phases present. After introducing the synthesis gas, we found that the slope of the scattered intensity in the Porod region increased significantly, while the scattering invariant remained essentially constant, indicating a change in the shape or surface structure of the particles. Shape- and surface change models are discussed in light of the experimental results, leading to an improved understanding of catalytic nanoparticles