A random pore model for fluid‐solid reactions: I. Isothermal, kinetic control

Abstract For fluid‐solid reactions, a random pore model is developed which allows for arbitrary pore size distributions in the reacting solid. The model can represent the behavior of a system that shows a maximum in reaction rate as well as one that does not, and it identifies an optimal pore structure for either of such systems. It is demonstrated that the new model subsumes several earlier treatments as special cases. By comparison with the grain model, a relationship is derived between the effective grain shape factor and a pore structure parameter defined here. When the variance of the pore size distribution is effectively zero, the new results approach those predicted by the Petersen (1957) model over a large range of conversions. The char gasification data of Hashimoto et al. (1979) are shown to produce correlations consistent with the expectations of the new model.