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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Reactions and Reactors

Catalyst

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

/ˈkætəlɪst/nounCore term

In chemical engineering, catalyst means: A substance that makes a reaction go faster, or more selectively, without being used up itself. In industry it is often a solid in pellets placed in a reactor bed.

In Turkish: katalizör

How it is used

Used in refining, petrochemicals, ammonia, polymers and pharmaceuticals. Catalysts are loaded, activated, poisoned, deactivated, regenerated and replaced. 'Catalyst life' and 'catalyst change-out' are common in planning meetings.

Example sentences

  1. Sulfur in the feed is poisoning the catalyst, so conversion has dropped by 5%.

  2. The catalyst change-out is planned for the next turnaround.

Common collocations

  • catalyst bed
  • catalyst activity
  • catalyst poisoning
  • regenerate the catalyst
  • catalyst change-out
  • reactorA vessel or piece of equipment where a chemical reaction is carried out under controlled temperature, pressure and mixing.
  • selectivityHow much of the reacted feed turns into the desired product rather than into unwanted by-products, usually given as a percentage.
  • activation energyThe minimum energy that reacting molecules need for a reaction to happen. A high value means the rate is very sensitive to temperature; a catalyst lowers it.
  • conversionThe fraction of a reactant that has reacted, usually given as a percentage of the amount fed to the reactor.
  • reaction rateHow fast reactants are used up or products are formed, usually given as moles per unit volume per unit time. It depends on temperature, concentration and catalyst.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Reactions and Reactors

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