Today's frustrations and anxieties resulting from two energy crises in only one decade, show us the problems and fragility of a world built on high energy consumption, accustomed to the use of cheap non-renewable energy and to the acceptance of eXisting imbalances between the resources and demands of countries. Despite all these stressing factors, our world is still hesitatins about the urgency of undertaking new and decisive research that could stabilize our future, Could this trend change in the near future? In our view, two different scenarios are possible. A renewed energy tension could take place with an unpredictable timing mostly related to political and economic factors, This could bring again scientists and technologists to a new state of shock and awaken our talents, A second interesting and beneficial scenario could result from the positive influence of a new generation of researchers that with or without immediate crisis, acting both in industry and academia, will face the challenge of developing technologies and processes to pave the way to a less vulnerable society, Because Chemical Reactor Design and Technology activities are at the heart of these required new technologies the timeliness of the NATO-Advanced Study Institute at the University of Western Ontario, London, was very appropriate.

Inhalt

Transport Processes in Catalyst Pellets.- Transport Restrictions in Catalyst Particles with Several Chemical Reactions.- Catalyst Technology for Reactors used to Hydrocrack Petroleum Residua.- Kinetic Data Analysis and Parameter Estimation.- Tracer Methods in Chemical Reactors. Techniques and Applications.- Macro and Micromixing Phenomena in Chemical Reactors.- Modelling and Simulation of Two-Phase Fluidized Bed Reactors.- A Stochastic Model of the Bubble Population in a Fluidized Bed.- Design Aspects of Industrial Fluidized Bed Reactors.- Three-Phase Fluidized Bed Reactors.- Liquid Phase Mass Transfer Coefficients and Interfacial Area in Three-Phase Fluidization.- Design and Simulation of Bubble Column Reactors.- Slurry Reactors, Fundamentals and Applications.- Hydrodynamics of Trickle-Beds. The Percolation Theory.- Engineering Aspects of Trickle Bed Reactors.- Modelling of Trickle Bed Reactors.- Heat Transfer in Packed Bed Reactors.- The Measurement of Void Fraction Profiles in Packed Beds.- Converting Methanol into Gasoline in a Novel Pseudoadiabatic Catalytic Fixed Bed Reactor.- Maldistribution in the Radial-Flow Fixed Bed Reactor.- Mathematical Modelling and Sensitivity Analysis of High Pressure Polyethylene Reactors.- Dynamic Analysis of an Ethane Cracking Reactor.- Design of Ammonia and Methanol Synthesis Reactors.- Lectures, Participants, Local Organizing Committee.