Optimization of experimental procedure and statistical data treatment for kinetics of ethylene hydrogenation on a copper-magnesia catalyst

This study is an example of practical application of kinetic data treatment for simultaneous model discrimination and parameter estimation. The study is applied to the hydrogenation of ethylene on a copper-magnesia catalyst and brings a deepened analysis about the experimental strategy by comparing several alternative strategies using a priori and sequential experimental designs. The best model corresponds to a Langmuir–Hinshelwood mechanism with non-competing adsorption of hydrogen and ethylene and where the rate-determining step is either the addition of molecularly adsorbed hydrogen or the addition of the second atom of hydrogen adsorbed dissociatively. Furthermore, the important question of knowing in practice how many designs and how many measurements per design are actually necessary to determine accurate kinetic and physico-chemical parameters, is addressed. A data correction procedure is also presented that takes catalyst deactivation into account.