Annular flow in a catalytic monolith reactor: the significance of centreline probe temperatures : Chemical Reaction Engineering

The influence on the flow and temperature distribution of a coaxial thermocouple probe inserted in a single channel catalytic monolith reactor is investigated. Both the case of an insulated reactor and a reactor installed in a furnace are studied. It is shown that for a moderate to high wall temperature (700-1000 K) the influence of radiation on the measured temperature is significant. For laminar flow in a relatively large diameter reactor, significant radial temperature gradients can develop. The reaction in such a case has a strong tendency to become mass transfer controlled