Heterogeneously Catalysed Combustion in a Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor
by
Mark Nelson
University of Canterbury
Coauthors: G.C. Wake, X. Dong Chen

The heterogeneously-catalysed combustion of a gaseous chemical undergoing a single-step thermal degradation reaction is modelled using the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The reaction occurs in a well-mixed continuously stirred tank reactor, with the catalyst dispersed on the walls of the reactor. Low temperataure reaction conditions are assumed, so that the homogeneous reaction can be ignored. The classic S-shaped bifurcation curve, characteristic of the homogeneous reaction, is not exhibited by the purely heterogeneously-catalysed reaction. Instead, under supercritical operating conditions, there are two stable steady-states; one corresponding to no conversion and the other to full conversion of the inflow species. The initial conditions now crucially control which steady-state the system evolves to. The practical implications of this are outlined.

Date received: May 16, 1998

Copyright © 1998 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cabd-10.