Chemical Reaction Engineering –II (2170501)

Chapter-05: Catalysis

Hemant Kumar Balsora

Chemical Engineering Department,
hemant.balsora@srict.in 1
In many reactions, the rates are affected by materials which are neither reactants
nor products. Such materials called catalysts can speed a reaction by a factor
of a million or much more, or they may slow a reaction (negative catalyst).
There are two broad classes of catalysts:
1. those that operate at close to ambient temperature with biochemical systems,
and
2. the man-made catalysts that operate at high temperature.
The biochemical catalysts, called enzymes, are found everywhere in the
biochemical world and in living creatures,
In addition, in our bodies hundreds of different enzymes and other catalysts are
busily at work all the time, keeping us alive.
 Catalyst Definition

A catalyst is a substance that affects the rate of a reaction but emerges from the
process unchanged.
A catalyst usually changes a reaction rate by promoting a different
molecular path (mechanism ) for the reaction

For example gaseous hydrogen and oxygen are virtually inert at room
temperature , but react rapidly when exposed to platinum
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 Promoter
Promoters are generally defined as substances added during preparation of
catalysts that improve the activity or selectivity or stabilize the catalytic agents.

The promoter is present in a small amount and by itself has little or no activity.

For example, addition of small quantities of alumina to an iron catalyst employed

in ammonia synthesis prevents sintering of the iron crystallites.
Thus, for this catalyst, alumina is a physical promoter.

The addition of K2O to the same catalyst increases the intrinsic activity of the iron
crystallites and therefore acts as a chemical promoter.

The promoter can be added during catalyst preparation or during reaction

 Negative Promoter/Inhibitor

 Inhibitors act opposite to promoters.

 When added in small amounts, these can reduce catalyst activity,
selectivity or stability.
 Inhibitor is particularly useful for reducing the activity of a catalyst for
undesirable side reactions.
 In oxidation of ethylene, ethylene dichloride is added to inhibit CO2
formation thus acting as an inhibitor.

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 Selectivity

 The selectivity of a reaction is the fraction of the starting material that is

converted to the desired product.
 It is expressed by the ratio of the amount of desired product to the reacted
quantity of a reactant and therefore gives information about the course of
the reaction.
 Stability
The chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability of a catalyst determines its
lifetime in industrial reactors.

Catalyst stability is influenced by numerous factors, including decomposition,

coking, and poisoning.

Catalyst deactivation can be followed by measuring activity or selectivity as a

function of time.

Catalysts that lose activity during a process can often be regenerated before they
ultimately have to be replaced.

The total catalyst lifetime is of crucial importance for the economics of a process.
 What is the active site of catalyst?
Active site is a point on the catalyst surface that can form strong
chemical bonds with an adsorbed atom/molecule.
These sites are unsaturated atoms in the solid resulting from:
Surface irregularities, dislocations, edges of crystals and
cracks along grain Boundaries
Classification of catalyst

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 Classification of catalyst
Industrial catalysts can be broadly grouped into three categories:

1. Bulk catalysts : When the entire catalyst consists of the catalytically active
substance ,then the solid catalyst is called a bulk catalyst.
Examples include silica- alumina catalysts for catalytic cracking; iron- molybdate
for oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde; iron doped with alumina and
potassium oxide for the synthesis of ammonia.

2. Supported catalysts: In supported catalysts, the catalytically active materials

are dispersed over the high surface area support material. For example,
hydrodesulphurization is carried out over molybdenum oxide supported on
alumina.
Mixed agglomerates : These catalysts are agglomerated mixture of active
substance and support. These type of catalysts are used less frequently.

Homogeneous catalysis
Catalytic processes that take place in a uniform gas or liquid phase are
classified as homogeneous catalysis. Homogeneous catalysts are
generally well-defined chemical compounds or coordination complexes,
which, together with the reactants, are molecularly dispersed in the
reaction medium. Examples of homogeneous catalysts include mineral
acids and transition metal compounds (e. g., rhodium carbonyl
complexes in oxo synthesis).

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Heterogeneous catalysis

 Heterogeneous catalysis takes place between several phases.

 Generally the catalyst is a solid, and the reactants are gases or liquids.
 Examples of heterogeneous catalysts are Pt/Rh nets for the oxidation of ammonia to
nitrous gases (Ostwald process), supported catalysts such as nickel on kieselguhr for fat
hardening , and amorphous or crystalline aluminosilicates for cracking petroleum
fractions.

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Biocatalysts (enzymes)

Of increasing importance are the so-called biocatalysts (enzymes). Enzymes are protein
molecules of colloidal size [e. g., poly(amino acids)]. Some of them act in dissolved form
in cells, while others are chemically bound to cell membranes or on surfaces.

Enzymes can be classified somewhere between molecular homogeneous catalysts and

macroscopic heterogeneous catalysts.

Enzymes are the driving force for biological reactions . They exhibit remarkable activities
and selectivities.

For example, the enzyme catalase decomposes hydrogen peroxide 109 times faster than
inorganic catalysts

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 Preparation of solid catalyst
The catalyst preparation methods can broadly categorized as follows :
1. Bulk preparation process:
Bulk catalysts and supports are prepared by this method. Bulk preparation is
mainly done by the following methods :

a. Precipitation process
b. Sol gel process
2. Impregnation process:

Supports are first prepared by bulk preparation methods and then impregnated
with the catalytically active material.

The active materials can be deposited on the supports by various methods.

Most of the methods involve aqueous solutions and liquid solid interface.

In some cases, deposition is done from the gas phase and involves gas- solid
interface

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3. Physical mixing :
Mixed agglomerated catalysts are prepared by this method.

These catalysts are prepared by physically mixing the active substances with a
powdered support or precursors of support in ball mill.

The final mixture is then agglomerated and activated.

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 Catalyst preparation

Fig: Basic unit operations in solid catalyst preparation

 Precipitation and co-precipitation

1. In this process, the desired component is precipitated from the solution.

2. Co - precipitation is used for simultaneous precipitation of more than one

component.

3. Catalysts based on more than one component can be prepared easily by co

precipitation.

4. The precipitation process is used for preparation of bulk catalysts and support
material such as Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2, ZrO2 etc
 Process
 In general, the metal hydroxides are precipitated from their precursor salt
solution because of their low solubility.
 The precipitation of hydroxides can be performed either by starting from an
alkaline solution which is acidified or from acidic solution by raising the pH.

 However, most hydroxides for technical application are precipitated from an

acidic solution by the addition of an alkaline precipitating agent.
 Usually, ammonia or sodium bicarbonate is used as the precipitating agent.

 Highly soluble inorganic salts such as nitrates, carbonates or chlorides are

generally used as metal precursors.
 For example, preparation of alumina is done by precipitating aluminium
hydroxide from aluminium nitrate solution by addition of ammonium
hydroxide.
During precipitation, several processes occur and the major steps are :
 Liquid mixing / super saturation
 Nucleation
 Crystal growth to form primary products
 Aggregation of the primary particles
Initial mixing or interdispersing of components in the solution has a significant
effect on the precipitation.
Good mixing result in a more homogeneous product particularly in case of co-
precipitation.
Rate of stirring primarily affects the nucleation whereas growth rate is much less
influenced by this factor.
Stirring rate also affect the aggregation. Aggregate size can be influenced by
changing the stirring rate and the manner of mixing
Overview of catalyst preparation…
 Sol gel method
 In the sol gel process, initially a stable colloidal solution called sol is formed.

 The sol is a liquid suspension of solid particles ranging in size from 1 nm to 1

micron. It can be obtained by hydrolysis and partial condensation of
precursors such as an inorganic salt or a metal alkoxide.
 The further condensation of sol particles into a three dimensional network
produces a gel material.

 The gel is a diphasic material in which the solids encapsulate the solvent. The
molecular weight of the oxide species produced continuously increases.
 The materials are referred to as aqua sol or aqua gels when water is used as
a solvent and aquosol or alcogel when alcohol is used.

 The general scheme of preparation by sol gel method is shown in Fig. 1

 Fig. 1. General scheme of preparation by sol gel method

The encapsulated liquid can be removed from a gel by either evaporative drying or with supercritical drying /extraction.
The resulting solid products are known as xerogel and aerogel, respectively.
When gels are dried by evaporation, the dried product is called xerogel.
When the gels are dried by supercritical drying, the dried gel is called aerogels.
The aerogel retains high porosity and has very high pore volume.
The sol gel method is distinguished from other routes of material preparation from
solutions or melts such as precipitation and crystallization by two main
characteristics:

1. Formation of clear colloidal solution due to primary condensation of dissolved

molecular precursors.
2. These colloidal particles merge during subsequent gelation stage into polymeric
chains by chemical bonding between local reactive groups at their surface.

Both stages are controlled by condensation chemistry that can include as a first step,
hydrolysis of hydrated metal ions or metal alkoxides molecules. The condensation
chemistry in this case is based on olation/oxolation reactions between hydroxylated
species. Olation is a condensation process in which a hydroxyl bridge “–OH--” bridge is
formed between two metal centers.

the oxolation is a condensation reaction in which an oxo bridge “-O-” is formed between
two metal centers.
The steps in sol gel processing are shown in Fig. 2 and discussed below.
Activation and polycondensation :

Metal alkoxides are used as precursors in sol-gel operation. Metal alkoxides are most extensively used as these
are commercially available in high purity and their solution chemistry is well documented.

For preparation of alumina and zirconia, aluminium propoxide and zirconium propoxide are used respectively as
precursors.

The metal alkoxides are hydrolysed in alcohol solution containing a controlled amount of water. The sol gel chemistry can
be represented by following two reactions

Parameters affecting any of the two reactions will affect the properties of the final product.
Two of the main parameters that affect are :

(1) amount and rate of water addition and (2) pH of the solution.
Gelation :

After a period of time the sol experiences a transition from

liquid solution to a cross-linked gel state where it can support
an elastic stress.

This period of time is known as gel time or gelation time, and

during this time the viscosity of the solution undergoes a
rapid increase corresponding to the transition from a viscous
fluid to an elastic gel.

At the end of gelation there is a continuous phase containing

a structure that reflects formation and branching of particles
under specific growth conditions.

The formation of a network results in entrapping of the

solution.

The gel structure is determined by the ionic character of the

M-O bond and the relationship between the hydrolysis and
condensation rate.
 Aging :

After visible formation of gel, processing proceeds to the aging step

where the structure and the properties of the formed network
continue to change up to the point that yields the target density.

It represents the time between the formation of the gel and the
removal of solvent. As long as the pore liquid remains in the matrix, a
gel is not static and can undergo many transformations.

This step includes four processes : polycondensation , syneresis,

coarsening , and phase transformation

Polycondensation between surface functional groups continues to

occur after the gel point. This process is actually desirable as it leads to
a more cross-linked network that is mechanically stronger and
consequently easier to handle.
However, extensive condensation can lead to shrinking of the gel to such an extent that the
solvent is actually expelled in a phenomenon called syneresis. Parameters that affect this
process include temperature, time, and pH of the pore liquid. However, studies off theses
effects are still very qualitative.
After the aging process, material is goes for treatment (washing , drying,
heat treatment to get desired catalyst partical.
Characterization of catalyst

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 Characterization of catalyst
Characterization of heterogeneous catalyst refers to the determination of its physical
and chemical characteristics, which are responsible for its performance in a
reaction. Characteristics of catalysts include:
 Chemical composition of the bulk and surface of the solids
 Surface area and porosity ( micro, meso and macro)
 Bulk solid structure, phase composition, crystallite size
 Surface morphology
Surface chemical properties such as:
1. location and oxidation state of active metals
2. acid-base property
3. reducible – oxidizable property

 Aggregate properties such as aggregate or particle size, density, mechanical

strength and attrition resistance
 Catalytic properties : activity , selectivity, stability
 BET theory/Method - Determination of surface area
Principle of the method
The BET (Brunauer, Emmet and Teller ) method involves the determination of the amount of
the adsorbate or adsorptive gas required to cover the external and the accessible internal
pore surfaces of a solid with a complete monolayer of adsorbate.
This monolayer capacity can be calculated from the adsorption isotherm by means of the BET
equation.
The gases used as adsorptives have to be only physically adsorbed by weak bonds at the
surface of the solid (van der-Waals forces) and can be desorbed by a decrease of pressure at
the same temperature.

The most common gas is nitrogen at its boiling temperature (77.3 K).
In the case of a very small surface area (below 1 m2 /g), the sensitivity of the instruments
using nitrogen is insufficient and krypton at 77.3 K should be used.
In order to determine the adsorption isotherm volumetrically, known amounts of
adsorptive are admitted stepwise into the sample cell containing the sample
previously dried and outgassed by heating under vacuum

BET theory / Method

Determination of surface area using BET Equation
The BET (Brunauer, Emmet and Teller) equation describes the relationship between volume
adsorbed at a given partial pressure and the volume adsorbed at monolayer coverage. BET
equation can be written in the form :

p = partial pressure ; po =saturation pressure at the experimental temperature ; v =

volume adsorbed at p; = vm volume adsorbed at monolayer coverage ;
c = constant
“GTU- Q-paper –
1. Discuss about “Determination of Surface area for catalysts”
2. Write a short note on “Determination of Surface area for catalysts
 Catalyst Deactivation –(fogler-712)
A catalyst can be deactivated in three ways
I. Poisoning : chemisorptions of reactants or products or feed
impurities on the active sites of the catalyst surface

II. Fouling : deposition of coke material on active sites

Iii. Sintering or phase transformation: because of local high

temperature, support of catalysts or catalyst itself may undergo
structural modification
Nature or characteristics of catalysed reaction

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Mechanism of solid catalysed reaction
1. External diffusion of reactant
2. Internal Diffusion of reactant
3. Adsorption of reactant A
4. Reaction on the surface of
the catalyst AB

5. Desorption of the
products from the surface
6. Internal diffusion of
products
7. External diffusion of
products
 Mechanism of solid catalysed reaction
1. Mass transfer (diffusion) of the reactant(s) from
the bulk fluid to the external surface of the catalyst
Pellet
2. Diffusion of the reactant from the pore mouth
through the catalyst pores to the immediate
vicinity of the internal catalytic surface
3. Adsorption of reactant A onto the catalyst surface
4. Reaction on the surface of the catalyst AB
5. Desorption of the products from the surface
Step 1,2.6 & 7 are diffusion steps
6. Diffusion of the products from the interior of the
pellet to the pore mouth at the external surface Steps : 3 4 &5 are reaction steps
7. Mass Transfer of the products from the external
pellet surface to the bulk fluid
The overall rate of reaction is equal to the slowest step in the mechanisms
 Chapter 06
Solid catalyzed reaction : kinetics

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 Adsorption

Adsorption may be defined as the selective concentration or

retention of one or more components of a mixture on a solid
surface. The solid that adsorbs a component is called the
adsorbent and the component adsorbed is called adsorbate.

The adsorption process is a result of interaction between the

adsorbate molecules and the surface of the adsorbent.
Type of Adsorption
 Adsorption isotherms

Figure: vacant and occupied sites

Let, S represent active site, & A species to be adsorbed

Further more
S = vacant site,
A.S = A is adsorbed on the site S.
Species A can be an atom, molecule, or some other atomic combination. Depending
on the circumstances.
 Adsorption isotherm
The adsorption of A on a site S is represented by

The total molar concentration of active sites per unit mass of catalyst is
labeled Ct, (mol/g.cat).
Pi , partial pressure of species i in the gas phase. atm or kPa ,

Ci.S , surface concentration of sites occupied by species i, mol/g cat

Total concentration of sites is Ct = Cv +CA.S +CB.S

This equation is referred to as site balance
 Adsorption Models
1. Molecular or nondissociared adsorprion (e.g., CO) and
2. Dissociative adsorption (e.g., C and O).

Molecular or nondissociared
adsorprion
 Adsorption Models

2. Dissociative adsorption (e.g., C and O).

Dissociative adsorption
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