1

Test 1
CEB2093 Reaction Engineering 2

Date, Time : 11th July 2020, 10am-1pm

Mode : Online via Ulearn, Open book/ Open note
Submission : Upload a single PDF file answer Via Ulearn

General instructions
• This test paper consists of two parts: Part A (3 questions) and Part B (3
questions)
• You are only required to answer ONE QUESTION from part A and
ONE QUESTION from part B.
• If you pick more that two questions, the mark will be taken from the lowest two.
• The answer must be handwritten and if necessary, the scale paper can be used
and attached in the answer script. In case of utilizing excel software for solving
the problem, the calculation results can be appended in the answer script.
• The MAXIMUM file size for your Test 1 submission to be uploaded to ULearn
is 20MB.
• Please make sure your answer in the PDF file is clear and readable and
name your file as follows: "your name_your ID_TEST 1 Answer"
• Please write the following on top of your answer booklet:

“I hereby certify that all answers submitted for this Online Test is my own
original work.”
Question Number
Part A
Part B
 2

Part A Question A1
A surface area analyzer was used to determine the surface area and porosity of a
commercial Raney-Nickel (Ni) catalyst. This was done by purging liquid nitrogen
(N2) onto the catalyst at 77 K after degassing the sample overnight. The adsorption
and desorption data of N2 were recorded as in Table QA1 below where the volume
of N2 adsorbed, v was recorded at STP at respected relative pressure, P/P.

Table QA1: N2 adsorption-desorption data of Raney-Ni catalyst

Adsorption Desorption
3
v (cm /g) P/P 3
v (cm /g) P/P
0 0 84.27 0.989
5 0.01 79.66 0.910
10 0.05 78.25 0.825
13 0.07 77.01 0.750
16.98 0.107 75.98 0.717
18.13 0.141 72.62 0.677
19 0.167 70.81 0.660
19.4 0.223 66.01 0.637
19.8 0.244 64.36 0.625
19.99 0.268 55.67 0.588
20.2 0.322 51.40 0.573
21.2 0.404 44.30 0.542
25 0.47 35.05 0.490
35.5 0.555 30.33 0.458
50.28 0.637 25.80 0.417
55.86 0.667 22.09 0.4
61.49 0.694 21.5 0.325
65.67 0.724 20.5 0.27
70.65 0.756 20 0.24
74.76 0.781 19.5 0.22
78.07 0.825
79.38 0.883
79.84 0.939
81.43 0.971
84.14 0.99
87.35 0.999
91.84 1
96.35 1
 3

Given that the BET equation as:

x 1 c −1
= + x
v(1 − x) vm c vm c

BET surface area, S is defined as:

vm
S= N A Am  10 − 20
22414
= 4.35vm
where x = relative pressure (P/P), c = constant, S = specific surface area [m2/g],
NA = the Avogadro number, vm = the amount of adsorbate required to form
monolayer over the entire adsorbent surface [cm3/g], AM = the surface area
occupied by one molecule [Å2], 16.2 for N2

A. By plotting the N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm curve, determine the

type of isotherm and discuss the isotherm behavior from P/P=0 until
P/P=1. Why we need to run N2 adsorption up to saturated pressure?
[10 marks]

B. By using the BET equation, determine the BET surface area of the catalyst.
[10 marks]
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Part A Question A2

A. Elaborate the role of the three major constituents of catalyst: catalytic

species, support and promoter and provide examples.
[10 marks]

B. In catalyst preparation by the impregnation method, the three successive

sub-processes, drying, calcination and reduction are conducted after
impregnation. Specify the sub-process having the highest risk to result in
re-distribution of intra-particle active species profile from the three above.
And justify the selection.
[10 marks]
 5

Part A Question A3
A metal-based catalyst M/Support is used to catalyze the following reaction A→3R.
Hydrogen adsorption test is conducted to determine the external surface area of
the catalyst in which 1.0 x10-5 mol hydrogen gas is adsorbed per gram. The
experiment was done by loading 1.0 g of the catalyst in a plug flow reactor. The
reactor is fed with pure reactant A at a rate of 5.0x10 -6 mol/s and at atmospheric
condition (P=105 Pa and T=298K).

A. Calculate the dispersion of the M in the catalyst.

[5 marks]

B. If the conversion of A is 10%, calculate the turnover frequency of the

reaction.
[5 marks]

C. Calculate the initial feed concentration of a (CA,0) and express the rate of
reaction as function of CA if the reaction follows the first order (n=1).
[10 marks]
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Part B Question B1
A laboratory investigation on the isomerization reaction of A→B was conducted,
and the results are in Table QB1.

Table QB1: Experimental results

Experimental Partial pressure Partial pressure Rate (-rA x 106
Run A (PA, atm) B (PB, atm) mol/(kg-cat.s)
1 1 0.5 52.0
2 1 1 40.0
3 1 5 13.2
4 1 10 7.1
5 1 15 4.9
6 1 20 3.9
7 0.5 0 57.0
8 1 0 80.4
9 5 0 117.5
10 10 0 125.2
11 15 0 127.8
12 20 0 129.1

A. Show that based on the experimental data, the reaction rate follows
𝑘𝑃𝐴
−𝑟𝐴 =
1+𝐾𝐴 𝑃𝐴 +𝐾𝐵 𝑃𝐵
[Marks 10]

B. Validate the rate equation by finding an appropriate reaction mechanism.

[Marks 10]

C. Find all the constants in the rate equation and write the rate law as a
function of the partial pressure.
[Marks 10]
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Part B Question B2
Table QB2 shows Ni(II) ion adsorption data on a porous Al2O3 at 300 K. When 15
g of the Al2O3 is placed in 120 mL of 0.10 mol/L Ni(NO3)2 solution and the mixture
reaches the adsorption equilibrium finally.

Table QB2 Adsorption data on a porous Al2O3 at 300 K

Ni(NO3)2
concentration in
solution, C 0.0012 0.0023 0.0038 0.0125 0.0234 0.0300 0.0512 0.1123
(mol/L)
Amount of Ni(II)
ion on Al2O3, nads 2.32 3.53 3.93 5.20 5.45 5.60 5.70 5.90
(mol/g x10-4 x10-4 x10-4 x10-4 x10-4 x10-4 x10-4 x10-4

A. Shows that the data fits the Langmuir Isotherm: nads=nsKC/(1+KC), where
ns is amount of adsorbate on the catalyst surface and K is equilibrium
constant for the process.
[10 marks]

B. Draw the adsorption equilibrium line and the operation line.

[10 marks]

C. By using two lines above, evaluate the final concentration of Ni(II) ion in
mol/L, and the adsorbed amount of Ni(II) ion on Al2O3 in mol/g.
[5 marks]

D. After the adsorption experiment above, the entire solvent in the vessel and
the pores was evaporated. And the dried support containing Ni(NO 3)2
underwent activation and reduction. Evaluate the final nickel content of this
catalyst in wt%, given the atomic weight of nickel is 58.69.
[5 marks]
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APPENDIX Question B2

When m (g) of adsorbent is placed in solution containing adsorbate of C1 (mol/L)

and the concentration becomes C2 (mol/L) after a certain period of time, the
amount of the adsorbate adsorbed on the adsorbent, nads (mol/g), is expressed by
the following equation. V (L) represents the volume of the solution.
dx

𝐶1 −𝐶2
𝑛𝑎𝑑𝑠 = 𝑚
𝑉 and = log e x + C
x
 9

Part B Question B3
A Raney-Ni catalyst was synthesized and characterized using several analytical
equipment including Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) where the result of
SEM images can be seen in Figure A. The developed catalyst was tested in
hydrogen production via dehydrogenation of cyclohexane. After several runs, the
catalyst performance was decreasing due to catalyst deactivation. The deactivated
Raney-Ni catalyst could be regenerated by coke elimination with water and
recovered its activity. The mechanism of carbon deposits elimination by water is
put forward as follows where ‘S’ is the active site of the Ni surface.
H2O (l) + S  H2O•S
H2O•S + S  H•S + OH•S
2OH•S + C•S  2H•S + CO2•S
CO2•S  CO2 (g) + S
2H•S  H2 (g) + 2S

Figure A: Highly crystallized Raney-Ni catalyst structure

A. Justify the need of using SEM in catalyst characterization. From Figure A,

the developed catalyst was found to be highly crystallized. Suggest
another method to support the crystallinity of the catalyst. Justify your
answer with an aid of illustration.
[10 marks]
B. Discuss a method to prove that the catalyst can withstand at a certain limit
of temperature.
[5 marks]
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C. Describe each step of the above mechanism by indicating adsorption,

surface reaction and desorption steps. Also, express the net rate of surface
reaction of hydroxide and carbon. Is possible for the surface reaction
mechanism to undergo Eley-Rideal mechanism? Justify your answer.
[15 marks]

-END OF PAPER-