Automotive Catalytic Reaction Engineering Experiment
Abstract
A unique catalytic oxidation experiment is presented to illustrate basic concepts of chemical reaction engineering. This experiment is appropriate for a traditional chemical reaction engineering course and can be extended to a unit operations laboratory. The experiment demonstrates catalytic reactor performance, reaction rate determination, heat and mass transfer rates, and environmental applicatioon of reactors. A major advantage of this experiment is that it does not have costly product and reactant disposal problems. The reactants are propane and air and the products are primarily carbon dioxide and water. These gases are easily disposed of using a common vent system. This experiment is also cost effective and inexpensive to run, since the primary reactant is propane and air.
