Modelling of butene‐1 dehydrogenation in a fixed bed reactor — bed and pellet profiles

A homogeneous model incorporating the Dumez & Froment kinetics has been proposed for the butene‐1 dehydrogenation reaction over a commercial chromia‐alumina catalyst. The model predicts bed and pellet concentration and temperature profiles. While the temperature profiles obtained suggest a temperature minimum in the reactor, the pellet remains nearly isothermal. Under the condition used in this study, a series type of coke deposition is obtained. A comparison between experimental results obtained using the neutron attenuation technique and theoretical coke profiles reveals excellent agreement and confirms the validity of the model and the kinetics employed.