Microreactors for measuring catalyst activity and determining reaction kinetics

A silicon packed-bed microreactor that utilizes a novel cross-flow geometry has been fabricated for the testing of supported catalyst particles. The cross-flow design reduces pressure drop and evenly distributes flow across the catalyst bed yielding isobaric reaction conditions. Further, the small length scale reduces transport limitations giving near gradientless conditions desirable for determining reaction kinetics. The performance of the microreactor has been characterized through a combination of modeling and experiments including the extraction of kinetics for the oxidation of carbon monoxide. Reaction experiments have been extended to acetylene hydrogenation, a more complicated chemistry, demonstrating the cross-flow microreactor as a robust laboratory tool for quantitative heterogeneous gas phase catalyst testing.