Low‐temperature oxidation of ammonia in fixed and fluidized beds

Abstract

Abstract The oxidation of ammonia in the presence of manganous oxide‐bismuth oxide catalyst supported on small alumina spheres was studied in both fixed and fluidized beds in the temperature range from 205° to 250°C. The column used was 4½ in. in diameter and 43 in. high. The experiments were made so that the transport effects in the fluidized bed might be separated from the chemical kinetic effects. In accordance with the theory of two‐phase fluidization proposed in a previous paper, comparison is made between the reaction rate associated with the discontinuous phase and that associated with the continuous phase as estimated from the results in the fixed bed. The over‐all reaction‐rate constants in the fluidized bed can be related to those in the fixed bed by an exponential term in the superficial gas velocity, V n ; n is a constant which depends on the reaction system and the size and type of the reactor.