CaRMeN: An Improved Computer-Aided Method for Developing Catalytic Reaction Mechanisms

Abstract

The software tool CaRMeN (Catalytic Reaction Mechanism Network) was exemplarily used to analyze several surface reaction mechanisms for the combustion of H2, CO, and CH4 over Rh. This tool provides a way to archive and combine experimental and modeling information as well as computer simulations from a wide variety of sources. The tool facilitates rapid analysis of experiments, chemical models, and computer codes for reactor simulations, helping to support the development of chemical kinetic models and the analysis of experimental data. In a comparative study, experimental data from different reactor configurations (channel, annular, and stagnation flow reactors) were modeled and numerically simulated using four different catalytic reaction mechanisms from the literature. It is shown that the software greatly enhanced productivity.

Keywords

• catalytic combustion
• automation
• digitalization
• mechanism analysis
• rhodium
• methane