The most important features of the

monoliths are:
• very low pressure drop in single-
and two-phase flow, one to two
orders of magnitude lower than that
of conventional packed-bed systems;
• high geometrical areas per reactor
volume, typically 1.5–4 times
more than in the reactors with particulate
catalysts;
• high catalytic efficiency, practically
100%, due to very short diffusion
paths in the thin washcoat layer;
and
• exceptionally good performance
in processes in which selectivity
is hampered by mass-transfer
resistances.
Monolithic catalysts also can be
installed in-line, like static mixing elements,
using the latter as gas/liquid
dispersing devices. The in-line units
offer additional advantages:
• low investment costs, because
in-line monolithic reactors are readyto-
use modules that are installed as
part of the pipelines;
• compact plant layout (in-line
monolith reactors can even be placed
underground, say, in cement ducts —
see Figure 5);
• ability to meet much higher
safety and environmental standards
than conventional reactors (such as,
for instance, by placing the reactor
unit beneath ground level);
• very easy and quick replacement
(e.g., in case of catalyst deactivation)
simply by swapping a piece of
pipeline, instead of having to unload
old and load new catalyst;
• the possibility of distributing
multiple feed points along the reactor;
and
• easy attainment of a near-toplug-
flow regime.
In a modeling study of an industrial
gas/liquid process, Stankiewicz