Fixed Bed Gas Solid Catalytic Reaction Educational Pilot Plant

Introduction

The Fixed-Bed Gas-Solid Catalytic Reaction Educational Unit Operations Pilot Plant is a bench-scale learning platform designed for chemical engineering and reaction engineering laboratories. This unit allows undergraduate and graduate students to investigate the fundamentals of heterogeneous catalysis, gas-solid reaction kinetics, catalyst evaluation, and reactor dynamics. By utilizing a split-type programmable furnace and an integrated industrial workstation, the system bridges theoretical textbook concepts with practical, industry-standard operation and data acquisition.

To accommodate different laboratory spaces, syllabus requirements, and research focuses, this pilot plant features a flexible design. Both the hardware configurations—including reactor dimensions, flow ranges, and sensor types—and the software control interfaces can be customized to match your institution's specific educational objectives.

Key Teaching Functions and Advantages

• Hands-On Reactor Operations: Students gain practical experience in assembling, loading, and operating a tubular fixed-bed reactor, helping them understand gas-solid contact patterns and flow characteristics.
• Catalyst Evaluation & Regeneration: The system supports multi-step experimental workflows, allowing students to evaluate catalytic activity, assess deactivation over time, and perform in-situ catalyst regeneration processes.
• Industrial-Grade Process Control: Equipped with an industrial touch-screen panel PC, the unit introduces students to real-world industrial control interfaces, data logging, and automated PID loop tuning.
• Advanced Safety Features: The system includes automated, hardware-linked over-temperature and over-pressure alarms with safety interlocks to maintain a secure learning environment in busy student laboratories.
• Convenient Split-Furnace Design: The heating furnace features a split-open configuration, allowing safe, rapid cooling and simple access for reactor tube installation or catalyst replacement.

Technical Specifications and Experimental Modules

Academic Alignment and Curriculum Integration

This educational pilot plant is designed to support core laboratory courses within Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Applied Chemistry, and Industrial Chemistry programs. By transitioning abstract mathematical models into physical phenomena, the unit helps students visualize and analyze complex reaction behaviors.

The experimental modules and operational parameters of this system directly correspond to the foundational concepts detailed in classic engineering textbooks:

• Heterogeneous Catalysis and Reactor Design: The unit provides practical validation for topics covered in Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, such as catalyst deactivation kinetics, external diffusion limitations, effectiveness factors, and the design equations for packed-bed reactors.
• Transport Phenomena in Packed Beds: Students can study heat and mass transfer limitations within porous catalyst pellets and across the gas-solid boundary layer, aligning with theories presented in Transport Processes and Unit Operations.
• Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Unit Operations: The pressure drop across the catalyst bed and the thermal profiles within the furnace directly demonstrate the fluid mechanics of packed columns and heat transfer mechanisms discussed in Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering.
• Process Control and System Synthesis: The integration of sensors, control loops, and safety interlocks allows instructors to reference practical design and safety principles highlighted in Chemical Engineering Design.

To ensure the equipment integrates smoothly with your existing laboratory curriculum and infrastructure, LABPARK provides comprehensive support for both hardware and software customization. Whether modifying feed configurations for specific gas mixtures or adapting control software interfaces to match particular instruction styles, the platform can be configured to meet your department's exact needs.

About LABPARK

LABPARK has dedicated over 20 years to serving higher education, delivering robust, high-quality laboratory equipment designed to prepare the next generation of engineers and researchers. We focus on providing advanced educational pilot plants and experimental apparatus across six primary fields: chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, food engineering, pharmaceuticals, and environmental engineering.

Backed by a state-of-the-art 49,000 square meter production and R&D base, our team continuously innovates to meet evolving educational standards, holding 209 technical patents. To date, LABPARK has established successful collaborations with over 289 universities and colleges worldwide, helping institutions build safer, more effective, and curriculum-aligned engineering laboratories.

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