(270e) Steady-State Multiplicity, Stability and Pattern Formation in Autothermal Reactors for Oxidative Coupling of Methane

A noted contribution of Professor Dan Luss and his students/collaborators in the area of chemical reactors is on the topics of multiple steady-states (MSS), reactor stability (transient behavior), and pattern formation. These topics were considered to be of “academic interest only” during the 1970s and 80s when most of this work was done. Most current text books in reaction engineering do not cover these topics in any depth. The main purpose of this talk is to show that an understanding of these concepts is absolutely essential in the design and scale-up of autothermal reactors for high temperature catalytic partial oxidations (CPO) and oxidative dehydrogenations (ODH). The Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) is used as an example to illustrate how the MSS, stability/transient behavior and pattern formation concepts determine the scale-up and economic viability of the CPO/ODH processes.