Experimental Setup to Determine Reaction Kinetic Datas of the Partial Oxidation of Propene to Acrolein

Abstract

Improvement of commercial catalysts in a rational way requires precise kinetic data describing the dynamics of interacting consecutive and parallel reactions in or on the catalyst. Such data can only be obtained experimentally through simultaneous observation of several variables of composition, temperature etc. in space and time, in an open system containing the catalyst under consideration. A quantitative approach along these lines was considered not to be feasible in industrial practice, due to the necessity of observing and processing a huge amount of data. This difficulty can be surmounted if data storage and processing is delegated to a microcomputer which at the same time executes control of the state variables of the complex experimental setup. As an example the partial oxidation of propene to acrolein and acrylic acid was investigated on catalysts containing the elements Mo, Bi, Fe, Ni, Zn, K and Si as oxides in various proportions. The objective is to optimize the catalytic system used in industrial practice with respect to selectivity, which means that the raw material consumption in the production of acrylic fibers and coatings should be minimized.