Investigations of periodically operated trickle-bed reactors

This study concerns experimental investigations of the forced unsteady-state operation of trickle-bed reactors. The hydrogenation of cyclohexene to cyclohexane and a-methylstyrene to cumene on palladium catalysts were taken as model exothermic reactions. Changes in the control variables (e.g. feed composition, food rate, temperature) strongly influence the regime and performance of a trickle-bed reactor. ne aim of the present study of cyclohexene hydrogenation was to seek conditions of periodic operation that would enable higher average inlet concentrations to be used without evaporating the feed mixture. For at-methylstyrene hydrogenation, the aim was to discover periodic operating conditions that would improve the time-average conversion relative to that under steady-state operation.