Controlling Homogeneous Chemistry in Homogeneous—Heterogeneous Reactors: Application to Propane Combustion

Operation strategies for controlling the extent of homogeneous chemistry in homogeneous−heterogeneous (HH) reactors were developed for a catalytic plate microreactor using a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model for propane combustion on Pt as our prototype system. The effect of the reactor gap size (distance between plates) was analyzed. We found that homogeneous chemistry is sustained for gaps well below the quenching diameter as a result of enhanced catalyst-induced heating. This finding has important ramifications for catalyst lifetime and safety and could be used to produce chemicals, for example, in oxidative dehydrogenation and oxidative coupling reactions. The homogeneous chemistry contribution decreases with decreasing gap size. Catalytic chemistry alone can occur under suitable flow rates, compositions, and heat loss/heat exchange rates. The synergism or competition between homogeneous and catalytic chemistries is delineated.