CLL 222 2019 Assignment 2 Due date 23/08/19

1. The adsorption of CO on activated carbon was followed experimentally at 10ºC. At the given
pressures, the following quantities of adsorbed gas were measured (corrected to a standard
pressure of 1 bar):
p [mbar] 133 267 400 533 667 800 933

V [cm3] 20.3 39.3 57.3 64.1 80.0 95.5 102.0

Determine whether the measurements conform to the Langmuir isotherm and calculate
a) the constant KA and
b) the volume corresponding to complete coverage.
2. A methanation reaction was investigated on a commercial supported catalyst 0.8 % Rh/Al2O3:
CO + 3 H2 CH4 + H2O
The degree of dispersion D of the the catalyst was found to be 25 % by means of chemisorption
measurements with H2. At 20 bar and 350ºC a catalyst turnover number of 0.56 s-1 was
determined for methane. Calculate the rate of formation of methane rCH4 in mol s-1g(cat.)-1 (metal
+ support).

3.  A boron-doped carbon was prepared by adding 0.5 wt % B to a graphitized carbon black and then heat
treating this material, designated BC-1, at 2773 K under Ar . Its surface area was determined by
measuring N2 adsorption at 77 K and using the BET equation. The equilibrium N2 uptakes versus the
pressure are listed in the table below. What is the surface area of this carbon? The P0 value for N2 at the
actual temperature measured was P0 = 732 Torr (760 Torr = 1 atm).
N2 physisorption on activated charcoal

p [mbar] 26.8 86.2 140.7 190 232 288

V [Uptake,  n   1160 1206 1305 1501 1606 1703

(mmole N2
g_-1]

4. . Fluid cracking crackers (FCC). FCC reactors are among the largest processing units used in the
petroleum industry. A typical unit is 4-10 m ID and 10-20 m high and contains about 50 tons of ρ = 800
kg/m3 porous catalyst. It is fed about 38000 barrels of crude oil per day (6000 m3/day at a density p = 900
kg/m3), and it cracks these long chain hydrocarbons into shorter molecules. To get an idea of the rate of
reaction in these giant units, let us simplify and suppose that the feed consists of pure C20H42
hydrocarbon, and cracks as per the following:
C20H42 --------à C3 H6 + C3 H8 + C5 H10 +C8 H18 + C (Solid)

(i) If 60% of the vaporized feed is cracked in the unit, what is the rate of reaction, expressed as r’ (mols
reacted / kg cat. s) and as r"' (mols reacted/ m3 cat. s)?
(ii) Calculate the volume of the reaction mixture at a conversion of 60% of the feed.