CATLAB-PCS

Product Overview

The CATLAB-PCS is an integrated laboratory-scale microreactor and quadrupole mass spectrometer system for catalyst characterisation, screening and reaction testing. It combines controlled gas delivery, temperature programming, close-coupled gas analysis and CATLAB software. Researchers can expose a catalyst or solid sample to defined gas mixtures and temperature profiles while monitoring reactants, products and evolved species at the reactor outlet. Coordinated control, acquisition and analysis support reproducible experiments within one workflow.

Precise Temperature Control

A fast-response, low thermal mass furnace with integrated air cooling provides heating rates from 1 to 20 °C/min and a maximum stated furnace temperature of 1000 °C. An in-bed Type K thermocouple measures catalyst-bed temperature directly, with stated accuracy of ±1 °C, helping researchers relate gas changes to the conditions experienced by the sample. The interchangeable Catalyst Cartridge System supports efficient sample changes and flexible reactor configurations. These features provide controlled conditions for temperature-programmed desorption, reduction and oxidation, as well as isothermal and transient reaction studies.

Rapid Online Gas Analysis

A close-coupled quadrupole mass spectrometer samples the reactor outlet through a hot-zone evolved-species probe and direct quartz inlet capillary. The stated response of the inlet and analyser is below 500 ms, helping to capture rapid gas-composition changes while minimising transfer delay. The system provides online, time-resolved monitoring of multiple selected reactants, products and evolved species. Heated sampling supports suitable gases and vapours, including condensable components. CATLAB software can provide quantitative output in ppm or percent following appropriate calibration, while mass spectral overlap handling supports evaluation of defined mixtures.

Flexible Gas Handling and Integrated Software

The CATLAB-PCS supports automatic multi-stream gas handling with independent mass flow control. Two- to four-stream arrangements are available, with an optional eight-stream configuration and combined gas-and-vapour manifolds. Vapour generation, trace heating, thermostatic control, corrosion-resistant manifolds and shut-off or bypass arrangements can be specified for different experimental requirements.

CATLAB software coordinates mass spectrometry acquisition with furnace temperature, mass flow controllers, switching valves and pulse injection. Researchers can run user-controlled experiments or template-driven recipes, monitor data through the redesigned interface and use integrated tools for reaction evaluation. Improved furnace PID control supports temperature-dependent experiments, while coordinated data collection helps compare catalyst behaviour under consistent conditions.

Applications

- TPD, TPR, TPO and temperature-programmed reaction studies

- Catalyst screening and comparative reaction testing

- Pulse chemisorption, dispersion and accessible surface-area studies

- Adsorption-isotherm and pulse-calibration experiments

- Isothermal, transient, oxidation, hydrogenation and reforming studies

- Hydrogen, syngas, automotive and plasma-catalysis research