Reactor design methods of performing catalytically promoted gas-phase reactions

Combustion, with rare exceptions, is a complex chemical process involving many steps that depend on the properties of the combustible substance. It is initiated by external factors such as heat, light, and sparks. The reaction sets in as the mixture of combustibles attains the ignition temperature. The combustion spreads from the ignition source to the adjacent layer of gas mixture; in turn, each point of the burning layer serves as an ignition source for the next adjacent layer, and so on. Combustion terminates when equilibrium is achieved between the total heat energies of the reactants and the total heat energies of the products. Most reactions terminate when what is called thermal equilibrium has been attained, namely when the energy of the reactants equals the energy of the products. A relationship exists between the ignition temperature and the pressure of the mixture under specific conditions. There is a relationship for a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. Only one temperature corresponds to a given pressure, whereas one or three pressures, called the explosion limits, may correspond to one temperature. The mechanism of the reaction determines the explosion limits: the reaction can proceed only when the steps in the sequence of reactions occur faster than the terminal steps. Thus, for combustion to be initiated with light or with a spark, the light intensity or the spark energy must exceed certain minimal values.