A diffusion approach to discriminate the kinetic models: Case study of methanol conversion over H-ZSM-5 zeolite

The intrinsic kinetics of the methanol conversion over H-ZSM-5 zeolite are described by a set of rate equations based on either association or dissociation mechanisms with no possibility of further discrimination of a particular kinetic model. In this study, we apply an internal diffusion approach to select between the plausible kinetic models. For this purpose, we investigate the kinetics of the process under internal diffusion limitations. The experimental data are treated using the reaction-diffusion models. The analysis of the effectiveness factor demonstrates that the associative mechanism is insufficient in the experimental scenario. Conducting the catalytic experiment under reaction-rate control and internal diffusion control allows one to exclude inappropriate kinetic models from consideration.