Kinetic modelling of industrial catalytic processes based upon fundamental elementary kinetics under ultra high vacuum

The developing discipline of surface science affords the means of measuring the kinetics of the elementary catalytic reactions adsorption, desorption and surface reaction at a fundamental level. These kinetics, however, are measured under conditions of ultra high vacuum (∼10−12 bar) and generally with a single adsorbates while industrial catalysis is carried out at high pressure (> 1 bar) high temperature (> 500 K) and in multicomponent gas mixtures. It is possible, however, to use the fundamental kinetics to model catalytic reactions by incorporating them into a computer program which iteratively solves the complete set of Arrhenius parameterised elementary reactions of which the overall reaction is composed at high temperatures and pressures. The methodology involved is described in detail in this paper.