Influence of Reaction Reversibility on the Interpretation of Delplots of the Parallel-Series Reaction Network

The use of the Delplot analysis to interpret the experimental results from the parallel-series reaction network A→k1B→k3C; A→k2D under the influence of reaction reversibility was examined. A reactor model was used to test two experimental feeds, one with zero product species concentrations and the other with non-zero product species concentrations. The equilibrium constants K1, K2, and K3 were varied between 0.2 and 1.5 for each reaction in the network. When CA0 = 2.0 M and CB0 = CC0 = CD0 = 0 M, it was found that reversibility did not change the analysis provided by the first-rank Delplots; i.e., species “B” and “D” are primary, while species “C” is non-primary. When CA0 = 2.0 M and CB0 = CC0 = CD0 = 0.5 M, it was found that the effect of the reversibility altered the information provided by Delplot analysis. For instance, the first-rank Delplot classified species “B” as a primary product when K1 ≥ 0.5 but non-primary when K1 = 0.2. A similar conclusion was also obtained for species D; i.e., species “D” ...