Lydia | UiTM SA | CPE666 EH2207G

Type of
Catalyst Sintering/Thermal Degradation Poisoning Fouling/Coking
Deactivations
Type Thermal Chemical Mechanical or Chemical
Dependency Independent of fluid phase composition. Dependent on concentration of reactant/ product/impurities.
- Gradual change in structure due to
- In reversible poisoning, the strength
high temperature. - Caused by physical deposition of
of adsorption bond is not great and
- Loss of catalytic activity due to loss of substance on the active sites of
activity is regained when the poison is
active surface area (due to high gas- catalysts (carbonaceous
removed from the feed.
phase temp) deposition/coke).
- In Irreversible poisoning, the
- 2 types - It is common to reactions involving
adsorbed material is tightly held on
o Crystal agglomeration & hydrocarbons.
the active sites and poisoning is
Mechanism growth of the metals - Carbon covers the active site of the
permanent. In this case, it is called
deposited on the support catalysts and may also partially plug
irreversible chemisorption.
o Loss of activity by the pore entrance.
- Reduces the number of sites
narrowing/closing of the pores - Partially reversible and regeneration
available for the main reaction
inside the catalyst pellet can be done by burning in air.
- Due to impurities such as sulphur,
- Sintering is usually negligible at - Fouled catalyst is called spent
lead, and other components that are
temperatures below 40% of the catalyst.
costly to remove.
melting temperature of the solid.