Preferential CO oxidation in a two-stage packed-bed reactor: Optimization of oxygen split ratio and evaluation of system robustness

This study investigates the performance of a preferential CO oxidation reactor operating in two modes – single and two-stage. Preferential CO oxidation in excess H2 was carried out on a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst in a packed-bed microreactor system consisting of two cascaded stages. Oxygen split ratio between the two stages was optimized to obtain best performance. The optimal split ratio was observed to be around 60:40. System robustness was evaluated by analyzing the system’s response to step changes in inlet conditions. The two-stage mode operating with a 60:40 oxygen split ratio was more robust in handling step changes than the single-stage mode.