Plate reactor for testing catalysts in the form of thin films

A new reactor design is presented to test catalysts in the form of thin films. Catalyst powders can be studied in the form of a film after deposition by electrophoresis on the surface of stainless steel plates. An experimental set-up is described for the preparation by this method of homogeneous layers of catalysts deposited on the two sides of a desired number of plates. The reactor and thin film preparation procedure were proved to be very useful for testing catalysts deposited on the surface of metal plates. Cu/ZrO2 catalysts, as powder or as electrophoretically deposited films, have been tested for selective reduction of NO with CH4 in the presence of oxygen. Similar conversions have been obtained either by using the new plate reactor or the classical u-shaped tubular reactor, containing the catalyst in the form of a powder. Low pressure drop, long residence times and the possibility of testing successive series of different catalysts without any mixing between them are some of the advantages of the proposed reactor design. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. all rights reserved.