Reaction Kinetics of the Oxidation of Alkene Mixtures over a Chromium Oxide Catalyst and Feasibility Study of a Simulated Moving Bed Reactor

摘要

The use of reactor systems with heat or mass transport integration offers potential to improve the performance of chemical plants. A promising approach is the recovery of heat generated in exothermic reactions. The Reverse-Flow-Reactor (RFR) is a well-established concept [1]. However, non-uniform utilization of the catalyst bed and slips of unconverted reactants after switching the flow direction are disadvantages of the RFR. One alternative is the Simulated Moving Bed Reactor (SMBR), in which exothermic reaction fronts move through a reactor cascade in the gas flow direction (Fig. 1). After passing a segment, the feed position is shifted into flow direction. This periodic operation attempts to trap a self-sustained exothermic front and allows an autothermal operation. The concept was realized successfully for processing simple feed gases [2]. However, knowledge regarding processing industrially relevant gas mixtures is insufficient. First experimental results revealed very complex temperature profiles for the oxidation of mixtures of hydrocarbons characterized by different ignition temperatures [2]. To understand the dynamics of such temperature fronts it is first of all essential to quantity the reaction kinetics.