I J. D. TINKLER and A. B.
METZNER
University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Reaction Rates in . .
Nonisothermal Catalysts
Temperature gradients within a catalyst particle can be important factors
in a chemical reaction. “Effectiveness factors” for nonisothermal catalyst
particles will be useful in achieving optimum reactor design and operation
I N THE DESIGN AND OPERATION Of
chemical reactors using porous catalyst
pellets, rates of both mass transfer and
chemical reaction must be considered.
Because of resistance to mass transfer
within the catalyst structure, diffusion of
reactants and products into and out of
the pellet is often the slow or rate-control-
ling step. As a result, the reaction rate
may be much smaller than it would be
if a diffusional resistance were not
present,
The effectiveness factor, first used by
Thiele (74) in 1939, is defined as the
ratio of actual conversion rate to the
rate which would occur if reactant
concentrations everywhere inside the
pellet were the same as a t the surface.
Equations for the effectiveness factor
have been derived by Thiele and by
Wheeler (77, 78). However, in both
cases it was assumed that the catalyst
particle is isothermal and, therefore,
that the reaction rate constant does not
vary with position.
Prater (10) has pointed out that a
significant temperature difference may
exist between the interior and the
surface of the pellet because of the heat
of reaction. For instance, in dehydro-
genating cyclohexane on a platinum-
alumina reforming catalyst, Prater esti-
mated that the center temperature may
be 53’ C. lower than that of the sur-
rounding fluid. Obviously, the assump-
tion of no temperature gradients within
the pellet is not valid here. Thus,
a theory which accounts for heat as
well as mass transfer is needed. The
nonisothermal effectiveness factor is
defined as the ratio of conversion rate
to the rate which would occur if both
reactant concentrations and temperature
were the same everywhere inside the
pellet as a t the surface.
Schilson ( 7 7 ) calculated the effective-
ness factor, as well as intraparticle
temperature and concentration profiles,
by solving an integral equation by the
method of successive approximations.
This approach clearly illustrates the
magnitude of the effects involved, but
as only a few sample calculations were
made, no general design criteria were
developed. Pigford and Tinkler (9)
considered the case in which the tem-
perature difference across the pellet is
small but not negligible. By means of a
perturbation technique, they developed
a simple extension of Thiele’s result to
account for heat generation in the case of
a first-order, irreversible reaction inside
a spherical pellet.
I n the work reported here the non-
linear differential equations expressing
conservation of mass and energy for
reactions in nonisothermal particles
were considered. Solutions were ob-
tained for first- and second-order ir-
reversible reactions taking place in spheri-
cal catalyst pellets. Calculations were
also made for a first-order reaction tak-
ing place in a “flat-plate,” to obtain
some insight into the effect of particle
geometry. The reader may compare the
present results with those obtained in-
dependently and approximately simul-
taneously by Carberry (6) and Weisz
(76)*
Working Equations
Derivations of the differential equa-
tions are based upon the following as-
sumptions :
0 Catalyst particles have a porous,
homogeneous structure in which
catalytic activity per unit area is
independent of position in the par-
ticle.
0 Surface concentrations of reactants
and surface temperature are known.
If external resistances to mass and
heat transfer exist, the surface con-
ditions may be calculated by means of
transfer coefficient correlations pre-
sented in a variety of standard ref-
erences and recent reports (3,5,8,73).
0 Mass transfer within the pellet
occurs by diffusion only and may be
expressed by means of a constant
diffusion coefficient. I n many com-
mercial silica-alumina catalysts, Knud-
sen diffusion prevails up to gas pres-
sures of about 10 atm. (77) ; as similar
conditions of pore size prevail in most
good catalysts this mechanism is one
of some generality, and it is for this
case that the assumed temperature and
concentration independence of the
diffLisivity is either a good approxirna-
tion or a well established fact, re-
spectively. Transport by thermal dif-
fusion and by surface migration of
physically adsorbed layers is ignored
in this work. The latter may not be
small under low temperature con-
ditions, but as neither its importance
nor mechanism is well defined at
the present time no alternative as-
sumption is possible.
.Heat transfer within the particle
occurs by conduction through the
solid portion of the pellet only.
Simple calculations show that the
additional enthalpy transport of the
gases is negligible unless heat capacities
of reaction products differ enormously
from those of the reactants. This
would require that the heat of reaction
be a much stronger function of tem-
perature than for any catalytic reac-
tion known a t the present time.
.Constant values of the thermal con-
ductivity and heat of reaction are
used. These approximations are ex-
pected to be excellent under the con-
ditions encountered.
.The temperature dependence of the
reaction rate constant is expressed
by the Arrhenius equation.
.Specific reaction rate and stoichio-
metric expressions must be chosen.
The problems analyzed herein are for
the first- and second-order reactions
whose stoichiometry and mechanism
are both given by:
Since the common application of
these equations is in catalysis of gaseous
reactants, concentration terms are ex-
pressed in terms of partial pressures for
convenience of application. However,
no restriction to gaseous reactants or
products is either intended or necessary,
and the results may be directly applied
to liquids by making self-evident and
consistent changes in the concentra-
VOL. 53, NO. a AUGUST 1961 663
tioiis, reaction rate constants. and
diffusion coefficients. The assumption
of a constant diffusjvity is not a particu-
larly good one in this case, however.
Derivation for Spherical Pellets.
T h e conservation of mass and ecergy
equations for a differential spherical
shell of radius r and thickness dr are
( 4 ):
(where f; is the rate of formaiion of
component i caused by reaction per
unit volume and v i is the whole number
stoichiometric coefficient of component
i in the general chemical reaction,
Zv,Mi = 0 ; vi is positive for products,
negative for reactants. The value of
the ratio, fi/vi, is the same for all com-
ponents), The boundary conditions are :
dPi/dr = dT/dr = 0 u-henr
because of symmetry, and:
at r = R T=T,
and Pi = Pi,
Sincefi is a function of both tempera-
ture and partial pressure, the energy
balance and the material balances are
coupled. The equation connecting them
is derived as follows: Multiplication of
Equation 1 by AH/:vi and addition to
Equation 2 eliminate the term contain-
ing fi:
Integration from Y = 0 to r = r gives:
A second integration from 1' = r to
r = R results in an expression relating
partial pressure of component i to tem-
perature and known surface values,
P,, and T,:
Before proceeding further, specific
reaction mechanisms must be chosen.
Considering the stoichiometric and mech-
anistic equation:
nA+B n = l , 2
then fB = k P.kn v.t, = --n vg
Substitution of these relationships
into Equations 2 and 5 gives:
Combination of Equations 8 and 9
664 INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERINGCHEMISTRY
yields an equation containing tempera-
ture as the only dependent variable:
1 (r2 $) - AHk [PI. + particles and is related to the tempera-
nX
( T - T,L]? = 0
DAAH
Introducing the dimensionless variables:
Equation 10 becomes
1 d
where 01 = R2k, P.4z-1/DA, a dimen-
sionless parameter. The ratio of rcac.ion-
rate constants may be expressed as a
function of dimensionless temperature
by means of the Arrhenius equation:
= 0
sionless parameter.
The error introduced by the approxi-
mation in Equation 12 is not particularly
significant in calculating particle effec-
tiveness. LVhile k / k g may be appre-
ciably in error under fairly extreme
reaction conditions. any effect on the
effectivenms factor is an integrated one
and much smaller in magnitude in view
of the small effect which the reaction
conditions in the central part of the
pellet have on over-all rate for the
entire pellet. This is especially true in
(3) the case of the second-order reaction.
Finally, for the first-order reaction :
and for the second-order reaction :
The boundary conditions in dimension-
less form are:
At p = 0 d6/dp = 0
Atp = 1.0 e=o
The dimensionless temperature profile
(6) is a function of only two parameters,
= +1 a and 0. (If the simplifying assumption
employed in Equation 12 were not used,
(7) a third parameter would necessarily
appear.)
The effectiveness factor of the catalyst
particle is given as:
just as in thc isothermal case. However,
the partial pressure gradient (dPA/dr)n
will be different for nonisothermal
ture gradient a t the surface, (dT/dr),.
through Equation 5. Combination of
(10)
Equations 15 and 5 and the introduction
of the dimensionless variables, 0 and p ,
yield the final Lvorking equation:
v = -3(d6jdp),=1.0 (16)
in which (dO,'dp),= 1.0as evaluated from
Equations 13 or 14 will be a function
of cy and p.
(11) The classical result of Thiele ( 7 4 ) is a
special case of these equations cor-
responding to 0 = 0. Thus, for the
first-order case, integration of Equation
13 produces :
e = sinh d i p 1
(17)
ap sinh +
and the effectiveness factor is obtained
from Equations 16 and 17 as:
and 4; reduces to the Thiele modulus,
R \/k,lDa. I t may appear that a
paradox exists, in that Equation 17
may be used to calculate a finite tem-
perature difference whereas Thiele pre-
supposed an isothermal pellet. How-
ever, the same reaction rates are cal-
culated whether ihe particle is isothermal
or whether it is not but the activation
energy is zero (rate constant independ-
ent of temperature). One is somewhat
more internally consistent if one admits
the necessary coexistence of temperature
and concentration gradients, hence the
temperature differences of Equation 17,
and simply lets the rate constant be
non-temperature dependent.
Derivation for the Flat Plate. This
geometry applies to all particle shapes
in the limiting case of very high reaction
rate (low penetration of reactants into
the particle), and comparison with
spherical pellet results also shows the
effect of particle geometry. T h e balances
representing conservation of mass and
energy are derived for a differential
slice of m.idt!i d.x located a t a distance Y
from the mid-plane of the plate and
become analogously to Equations
(73:).
1 and 2 for the case of spherical ge-
ometry :
with the boundary conditions
dPi/dx = d T / d x = 0 at x = 0
Pi = Pia and T = T, at x = L
 N O N IS0 TI4 ERMA L CATALYSTS
10.00 10.00

1.00 I .oo

F F

0 IO 0.10

\I \
EAHPA, DA Y.

1111 I i i I
mTe2X
BROKEN LINES INDICATE
BROKEN LINES LNDICATE EXTRAPOLATED REGION
EXTRAPOLATED REGION
I

0.01
0.2 I .o 10.0

Figure 1. Values of a and E determine magnitude of Figure 2. For a second-order reaction within a spherical
effectiveness factor for first-order reaction within a spherical pellet, the effectiveness factor curves change shape
pellet

iManipulations similar to those used in ever, accuracy must be examined iiide-
the case of spherical geometry give, in pendently because it is a function of the
dimensionless form : type of equation being solved, electronic
circuit used, and transformation scale
factors, as well as being dependent
on the approximation introduced by
Equation 12. Analog computer solu-
tions are compared with the analytic
solutions of Thiele (74) and two numeri-
Again, for the special case /3 = 0 the cal solutions of Schilson ( 7 7) in the table
equations may be solved analytically, for spherical pellets and for first- and
and one obtains Thiele's result: second-order, irreversible reactions.
I n cases 1 through 4, cy values extend
17 =
tanh
~-
l/o( (23)
from the kinetically controlled region, in
6- which the effectiveness factor is approxi-
mately unity, to the diffusion-controlled
Results region, in which the effectiveness factor is
reduced to a small fraction. Throughout
this range analytical and analog solutions
agree very well.
To illustrate his numerical procedure,
Schilson worked several sample hypo-
thetical problems using fictitious nu-
merical values. Only two of his prob-
lems are within the range of variables
likely to be encountered in practice and,
therefore, included in the present cal-
culations. The results are presented
as cases 5 and 6 in the table. For
case 5 , in which Schilson considered
the temperature dependence of the Knud-
sen diffusion coefficient, the coefficient
evaluated at the surface temperature is
used in calculating cy.

Method of Solution, Accuracy. The

equations developed represent nonlinear
boundary value problems in one dimen- Comparison of Computer with Analytical and Numerical Solutions for Reactions
sion. Since partial pressure profiles and within a Spherical Pellet Shows Agreement
effectiveness factor may be calculated Re-
ac- e, 17 -
from temperature distribution, the only
differential equation to be solved is the
tion
Case O r d r a: p %
Calcd.
?
Analog Diff." Crtlcd. Analog Diff.a Ref.
dimensionless energy balance. An ana- 1 1 1.0 0.0 0.149 0.149 0.0 0.939 0.936 0.3 (14)
lytical solution to a nonlinear, ordinary 2 1 9.0 0.0 0.0778 0.0778 0.0 0.672 0.666 0.6 (14)
differential equation of this type is very 3 1 100 0.0 0.0100 0.0100 0.0 0.270 0.272 0.7 (14)
difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. 4 1 900 0.0 0.00111 0.00111 0.0 0.0967 0.0975 0.8 (14)
5 1 18.4 -27.9 0.0531* 0.0540" 1.7 0.709 0.747 5.4 (11,
For this reason the equations were Probl.
solved on an Electronic Associates' 2)
Model 16-31R PACE computer using a 6 2 13.1 -33.5 0.0327d 0.03226 1.5 0,461 0.435 5.6 (11.
programming procedure reported else- Probl.
1)
where (75).
computer result - calculated result
The PACE computer is capable oi a 70Difference = X 100. * T , = 352' C.: T, = 390.4' C .
calculated result
very precise and accurate solutions; T , = 352' C.; T, = 391.0' C. d T , = 327' C . ; To = 370.3' C. e 7'8 327" C ; Tc =
component accuracies arcs on the order 369.6' C .
of *0.01% of full scak value. How-

VOL. 53, NO. 8 0 AUGUST 1961 665

 I0.00
I O 0
F
0 IO
I E-
EAHPAs Dn
I BROKEN L I N E S INDICATE
, 1
0.01
0.2
' E X T R A P O L A T E D REGION
I .o
I I
~ ~
! I l l
Figure 3. Effectiveness factors for first-order reaction
within a "flat plate" differ from those for spherical geom-
etry, except when E lies between - 2 and $2
I n cases 5 and 6, differences between
analog computer solutions and numerical
solutions are due not only to machine
error but also to the approximation
introduced into Equation 12 for the
ratio of rate constants. This approxi-
mation is very good for small activation
energies and/or small temperature dif-
ferences across the pellet, but for the large
differences in temperature combined
with high activation energies as en-
countered in these examples (AT =
40' C., E = 30, and 18 kcal., respec-
tively), the approximation is not partic-
ularly good, and percentage error in
the effectiveness factor exceeds 5%.
However, even this is not excessive in
view of other uncertainties generally
involved in reactor design.
I n general, the present calculations
may be assumed accurate whenever the
effectiveness factor does not exceed that
for isothermal conditions by more than a
factor of about 2.0. At higher values,
the simplifying assumption of Equarion
12 is no longer quantitatively valid
because of the large temperature dif-
ferences in the pellet under these condi-
tions. There is no such limitation on
the present calculations in the endo-
thermic region, as the central portions of
the catalyst contribute negligibly to
over-all reaction rate under conditions
of a large temperature drop.
Ranges Covered. T h e Thiele modu-
lus, which is identical to &, was varied
over a wide range, extending from the
completely kinetically controlled region
well into the diffusion-controlled region.
666 INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY
10.00
aio
0.10
1 I
I ' I
10.0
~
1 1
~
' 1
0.01
0.2
Figure 4. Temperature a t the center of a spherical pellet
for first-order reaction i s determined b y vclucs of Q and e
T h e characteristic dimension in this
modulus was taken as equal to R for
the spherical pellet and as 3L for the
flat plate solution, as suggested by Aris
(2). He noted that in the "isothermal"
case, the effectiveness factor is nearly
independent of particle shape if the
characteristic dimension of the particle is
defined as 3Vp/Sp, where V,, and S,
are volume and external surface area,
respectively, of a single particle.
The introduction of a new parameter
defined as:
is made so that the particle dimension
appears in only one of the two param-
eters required to describe the physical
situation. This parameter may be called
a heat generation parameter, since it
includes the activation energy, heat of
reaction, pellet thermal conductivity,
and surface temperature; it is negative
for exothermic reactions and positive
for endothermk reactions. To deter-
mine the range of parameter values
which should be included in the calcula-
tions to cover essentially all reactions of
practical interest, consider the numeri-
cal values arising in three typical kinds of
reactions.
M'heeler (77) considered a gas-phase
cracking reaction at 500' C. and atmos-
pheric pressure. For a molecule like
cetane (C16H34)and a mean pore radius
of 30 A., the effective Knudsen-diffusion
coefficient is 2 X 10-8 gram mole per
I O IO 0
f i = R T f i
second-cm.-atm. The thermal conduc-
tivity of silica-alumina cracking catalysts,
as determined experimentally by Sehr
(72),is 4 X lop3cal. per second-cm.-' C.
A heat of reaction of +10 kcal. per
gram mole and an activation energy of
40 kcal. per gram mole give E = 0.017.
Love and Emmett (7) studied am-
monia decomposition on an iron am-
monia synthesis catalyst at 387' C.
and atmospheric pressure. For one
catalyst. calculated activation energy
was 31.7 kcal. per gram-mole. Using
a diffusion coefficient of 6.5 X 10-7
gram-mole per second-cm.-atm., a ther-
mal conductivity of cal. per second-
cm.-O C., and heat of reaction of +11
kcal. per gram mole of ammonia one
obtains E = 0.26.
The vapor-phase hydrogenation of
benzene at 112' C. and 1 atm. on an
alumina-supported platinum catalyst was
studied by Amano and Parravano ( 7 )
who found the activation energy to be
12 kcal. per gram-mole. The heat of
reaction, -50 kcal. per gram-mole, is
unusually large. At 112' C. and for a
pore radius of 30 A., the effective
Knudsen-diffusion coefficient of hydro-
gen is 3.1 X 10-7 gram-mole per second-
cm.-atm. Since the catalyst support is
alumina, the value of the thermal
conductivity for silica-alumina cracking
catalysts may be used here. A value of
B = 1.9 results.
I n these three examples, the absolute
value of E changed by two orders of
magnitude. For most practical cases,
the absolute magnitude of E will not

exceed that in the third example be-
cause of the large heat of reaction and
the low temperature level of this reac-
tion. However, to be sure that virtually
all reactions of interest may be included,
E was varied from - 5 to + 5 in this work.
The value of E will probably exceed these
limits only if the larger diffusion co-
efficients of ordinary diffusion, through
large pores, are substituted for the
smaller Knudsen coefficients used in the
present study. The entire validity of
studies like the present rests on the
assumption of constant diffusivities, how-
ever, and this assumption is likely to
be grossly in error under conditions
of ordinary gaseous diffusion. Ob-
viously, there would be no point to
extending the ranges over which E is
varied unless the Stefan-Maxwell equa-
tions for multicomponent diffusion
were employed simultaneously.
Tabulated a n d Graphical Results.
Effectiveness factors are shown graph-
ically in Figures 1-3; curves of the
dimensionless temperature at the center
are plotted in Figures 4-6; several
typical temperature profiles are given
in Figure 7 . More complete profiles, as
well as the tabulated results, are avail-
able elsewhere (75).
Figures 1 and 3 clearly show that for
the case of first-order reactions the
6 = R m
Figure 5. Center temperature and maximum temperature
rise for second-order reaction within a spherical pellet are
obtained from these curves
N ON I S O T H ERMAL CATALYSTS
effectiveness factor may be several times
larger than that calculated by neglecting
heat effects, as the over-all reaction
rate is greatly increased. The tempera-
ture rise increases the reaction rate
constant sufficiently to offset the effect
of decreased partial pressures created by
the diffusional resistance, a t least until
very high values of the Thiele modulus
are reached.
At small values of the Thiele modulus,
the heat generation parameter and the
Thiele modulus have little effect upon
reaction rate. I n this region, the ef-
fectiveness factor approaches unity be-
cause the particle offers negligible resist-
ance to heat and mass transfer.
At intermediate values of the Thiele
modulus in the exothermic region, the
effectiveness factor may pass through a
maximum a t a given value of the heat
generation parameter, as the Thiele
modulus changes. Therefore, for a
given reaction occurring in a specific
catalyst at set operating conditions,
there may be an optimum pellet size.
Pellet size becomes more critical as the
e value increases. Because of the
sharply peaked nature of the maxima,
operation a t this optimum condition
presents difficulties. For example, small
changes in the rate constant caused by
catalyst fouling or changes in fluid tem-
Figure 6. Midplane temperature for first-order reaction
within a “flat plate”
perature may cause great decreases in
over-all reaction rate. Obviously, de-
sign conditions must be well removed
from the regions of these maxima.
Additionally, the large temperature
rises occurring within the pellet under
these conditions may, of course, cause
degradation or undesirable side reac-
tions: if operation under such condi-
tions really was feasible, one would
normally operate with a higher surface
temperature and a more nearly iso-
thermal particle to take advantage of
higher reaction rates everywhere in the
pellet and not just a t its center.
At large values of the Thiele modulus,
the effectiveness factor is inversely pro-
portional to the modulus; thus, the rate
per particle is proportional to external
surface area. In this region, chemical
reaction is confined to a thin shell
a t the pellet surface.
The curves of dimensionless center
temperature bear a striking resemblance
to those of the effectiveness factor.
At small values of the Thiele modulus,
neither the heat generation parameter
nor the Thiele modulus has much effect
upon the dimensionless center tempera-
ture. At intermediate Thiele modulus
values, maxima may appear in the exo-
thermic region; it is here that large
temperature rises may occur within the
VOL. 53, NO. 8 AUGUST 1961 667

0 16
0 14
0 12
0 10
CD
0 08
0 06
0 04
0 02 04 06 08
P = 0. Positive for products,
Figure 7. Typical dimensionless temperature profiles are shown as functions of a:
for first-order reaction within a wherical pellzt when E = - 1 (left) and E = - 3
(right)
pcllct. At large values of the Thiele
modulus, all the curves approach the
curve for E = 0 ; in this region the
central portion of the pellet is isothermal
since the chemical reaction occurs only
near the surface of the particle.
The curves of the effectiveness factor
for a spherical pellet, Figure 1, and
those for a flat plate, Figure 3, qualita-
tively have the same shape. In the endo-
thermic region, the agreement is within
about 7 076 ; however, in the exothermic
region the maxima for the flat plate are
larger, more peaked, and occur at
larger values of the Thiele modulus than
those for the sphere. Thus, particle
shape has little effect only if the heat
generation parameter lies between + 2
and -2, unless ct is very large (values of
the abscissa near 10).
A comparison of Figures 1 and 2 or of
4 and 5 shoivs that reaction order has a
very pronounced influence on both
effectiveness factor and temperature
profile within the particle. For a second-
order reaction, the spread of the curves
is very small, and no maxima occur in
the exothermic region even at the largest
value of E studied. This difference is
due to the fact that the presence of heat
effects is diminished by the quadratic
dependence of the reaction rate on the
partial pressure of the reactant: maxima
would only be expected a t values of the
heat generation parameter well below
- 5.
I n general, heat effects become less
important as reaction order increases;
however, because of the large differences
between the effectiveness factor curves
for first- and second-order reactions, it is
668 INDUSTRIAL AND ENGlNEERlNG CHEMISTRY
P sphere, x / L for flat plate
difficult to interpolate or extrapolate for
fractional-order reactions or to make
predictions for reactions following a
Langmuir type of rate expression.
Figure 7 shows complete dimensionless
temperature profiles (for two values
of the heat generation parameter) for
the case of a first-order reaction in a
sphere.
Acknowledgment
D. E. Lamb provided advice and
assistance pertaining to the programming
and operation of the computer.
Nomenclature
D = effective diffusion coefficient in
pellet, 1b.-mo1ejsec.-atm.-ft.
E = activation energy of reaction,
B.t.u./lb.-mole
f = rate of formation per unit volume,
1b.-mole ’cu. ft.-sec.
AH = heat of reaction, negative for
exothermic reaction, B.t.u. ’1b.-
mole
k = reaction rate constant, 1b.-mole/-
cu. ft.-sec.-atm.”
L = normal distance from mid-plane
to surface of plate, ft.
iM = chemical symbol for component
n = empirical order of reaction
P = partial pressure, atm.
R, = gas constant, B.t.u./lb.-mole-’R.
(indicated as script R o n figures)
R = pellet radius, ft.
r = radial distance from pellet center,
f t.
S, = external surface area of particle,
sq. ft.
T = absolute temperature, R.
V, = volume of catalyst particle, cu. ft.
x = normal distance from mid-plane
of plate, ft.
LY = dimensionless parameter;
= R2k, PAsrL-’/DAfor sphere
= Lzk,PA.n-l/DA for flat plate
@ = dimensionless parameter;
- -E AHR2kaPAan
_ 8, TS2X for sphere
EAHL2k,P,,”
for flat plate
- RgT,2h
_____
E = dimensionless parameter = @,‘a
7 = effectiveness factor
0 = dimensionless temperature
= T, - T for sphere
AHR2k,PA& “/A
T, - T
= __-___ for flax plate
AHL2k,PA,”/ X
A = thermal conductivity of pellet,
B.t.u./(sec.) (ft.) (” F.)
Y = whole number stoichiometric co-
efficient of component in gen-
eral chemical reaction, 2 v L M 2
negative for reactants
p = dimensionless distance = 7, R for
Subscripts
c = evaluated at center or mid-plane
of pellet
i = component
s = evaluated a t pellet surface
Literature Cited
(1) Amano, A , Parravano, G., “Advances
in Catalysis,” Vol. I X , pp. 716-26,
Academic Press, New York, 1951.
(2) Ark, R., Chem. Eng. Sci. 6 , 262 (1957).
(3) Bar-Ilan, M.. Resnick, W., IND.ENG.
CHEM.49, 313 (1957).
(4) Bird, R.B., Stewart, W.E., L,i,ghtfoot,
E. N., “Transport Phenomena, Wiley,
New York, 1960.
(5) Carberry, J. J., A.I.Ch.E. Journal F,
460 (1960).
(6) Ibih., in.press.
(7) Love, E(. S., Emmett, P. H., J . Am.
,-.. .,.
Chem. Soc. 63, 329; 7 (1941).
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RECEIVED
for review hIarch 15! 1961
ACCEPTED June 7,1961
139th Meeting, ACS, St. Louis, M o . ,
March 1961. Work supported by fellow-
ship to J . C. Tinkler from National
Science Foundation.