Model reductions and identifications for multiphase phenomena

In the paper the question of applicability of the boundary function method for asymptotical analysis of three-phase surface reactions is addressed. In a stirred tank a chemical reaction takes place on a catalyst surface in addition to a number of molar exchanges between gas, liquid, and solid phases. These effects are all interdependent. A mathematical model of the reactor in terms of coupled ordinary and partial differential equations is given by knowledge of mass balances and empirical laws governing the processes in question. Limiting cases of this general model are derived for particular extreme parameter regimes using the boundary function method. We also discuss how the simplified models obtained by asymptotic analysis can be used to identify the key controlling factors of the process.