A simple and scaleable method is proposed for suppressing internal porosity in various porous particles that
are widely applied in packed-bed catalytic systems. The method is based on a complete filling of the pores
by a cross-linked organic polymer. The particles were first loaded with the volume of organic monomer and
cross-linker needed to achieve complete blockage of the porosity, and subsequently, in situ radical
polymerization was performed with heating under reduced atmosphere. The method is shown to be adaptable
for particles of various shapes, sizes, and porous structures. Selective and complete pore filling has been
confirmed by nitrogen physisorption measurements, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron
microscopy. The different analyses confirm uniform pore blocking. The difference in contact angle before
and after polymer impregnation was found to be negligible. The system is especially suitable for packed-bed
hydrodynamic studies to disentangle extragranular hydrodynamic effects (such as axial dispersion) from
intraparticle mass transfer effects, which are key to scaling down/up trickle-bed reactors. The liquid holdup
and Péclet number for a trickle-bed reactor packed with polymer-impregnated spherical particles and glass
beads, respectively, were compared for the compatibility of the method. For given superficial liquid and gas
velocities corresponding to the pulsing flow regime, the external liquid holdup and Péclet number were found
to be correspondingly close for both particles.
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