ANALYSIS OF MASS AND HEAT-TRANSFER IN TRANSIENT EXPERIMENTS OVER HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSTS

This article discusses the effects of extra- and intraparticle mass and heat transfer in transient experiments over heterogeneous catalysts. To this purpose,the time-dependent transport in a catalyst particle when introducing a reactant in an inert gas phase has been analyzed. The analysis has led to one criterion assuring the absence of both extra- and intraparticle mass transfer limitations during steady-state experiments. Furthermore, criteria for the absence of mass and heat transport limitations during transient experiments have been developed by extending the criteria for the absence of mass and heat transport limitations during steady-state experiments. As will be shown, transient kinetics are not affected by heat transfer as long as the steady-state criteria for the absence of mass and heat transport limitations are fulfilled.