INFLUENCE OF CATALYST PORE-SIZE ON DEMETALLATION RATE

A model is developed for predicting the influence of pore size on the rate of demetallation which accounts for the influence of the restricted diffusion of the large reactant species in the pores. Numerical calculations indicate that the demetallation activity decays with time in an almost linear fashion. Simple algebraic expressions are derived for predicting the pore size yielding either the optimal initial activity or the optimal lifetime activity. It is proven that among all catalysts with the same surface area and porosity, the largest initial activity is attained for pellets with a uniform pore size. © 1979, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.