Patent ID: 7619011

Claim:
A method of determining an optimum catalyst diameter from a plurality of potential catalyst diameters for use in a reactor facilitating contact between reactants in a bulk medium and catalyst particles for the production of reaction products, where the bulk medium is one of a gas, a liquid, or a gas-liquid and where the bulk medium transfers kinetic energy to the catalyst particles and the reactor maintains reaction promoting conditions, comprising the steps of: expressing one or more mass transfer coefficients describing one or more mass transfers of the reactants from the bulk medium to the catalyst particles using, k L = D L ⁢ ⊖ 1 / 4 ( vd p ) 1 / 2 ⁢ Sc 1 / 3 where: k L =one of the one or more mass transfer coefficients, D L =diffusivity coefficient of the one or more mass transfers from the bulk medium to the catalyst particles, v=kinematic viscosity of the bulk medium and the catalyst particles, θ=catalyst particle granular temperature, Sc=Schmidt number, v/D L , d p =dimension of the each potential catalyst diameter; determining a plurality of potential catalyst diameters over a desired range; determining a reactor production rate of reaction products based on the one or more mass transfer coefficients for each potential catalyst diameter in the plurality of potential catalyst diameters, by utilizing a hydrodynamic model of the reactor, the bulk medium, and the catalyst particle, where the hydrodynamic model determines a catalyst particle granular temperature and the hydrodynamic model determines the reactor production rate based on the one or more mass transfer coefficients; and selecting an optimum diameter, where the optimum diameter is the one of the each potential catalyst diameter from the plurality of potential catalyst diameters that produces the maximum reactor production rate of reaction products.