Catalyst effectiveness in low-temperature water—gas shift reaction

A procedure has been developed for a priori prediction of intraparticle diffusion effects in low temperature water—gas shift reaction. Use is made of transport characteristics of the Cu/ZnO/A1₂O₃ pelleted catalyst determined independently by combination of diffusion and permeation results obtained under nonreactive conditions. The porous medium is described by the mean transport pore model and diffusional behaviour of the multicomponent reaction mixture by a modified Stefan-Maxwell equation. Using data from kinetic region obtained at 200°C, it was possible to predict the performance of a bench-scale reactor packed with pelleted catalyst at 200°C and 220°C satisfactorily.