STATISTICAL FLUCTUATIONS OF CONVERSION AND TEMPERATURE IN AN ADIABATIC FIXED-BED REACTOR FOR CO OXIDATION

In the exit section of an adiabatic fixed-bed reactor for catalytic CO oxidation, large irregular fluctuations of conversion and temperatures have been observed. These irregularities are initiated by oscillatory instabilities in the entrance region of the catalyst bed which are disturbed by small variations of the feed parameters. The large fluctuations at the exit are generated by amplification of these instabilities in a process that is typical for the bifurcation region near the transition from monostable to bistable behaviour. That small perturbations are strongly amplified in this region of high sensitivity has been demonstrated by a computer simulation applying a CSTR model.