In each of the cases below, (a) through (e), you will need to explain why you chose the answer you did. The elementary isomerization exothermic reaction A ⇄ catB is carried out isothermally at 400 K in a PBR in which pressure drop plays a role, with α = 0.001 kg–1. Currently, 50% conversion is achieved. The equilibrium constant at this temperature is 3.0.
a. For a fixed mass flow rate m˙, if the reactor diameter is increased by a factor of 4, the conversion will 

(1) X > 0.5

(2) X < 0.5

(3) X = 0.5

(4) insufficient information to tell
b. For a fixed mass flow rate m˙, the equilibrium conversion is
(1) Xe = 0.5

(2) Xe = 0.667

(3) Xe = 0.75

(4) insufficient information to tell
c. For a fixed mass flow rate m˙, if the reactor diameter is increased by a factor of 2, the equilibrium conversion X_e will
(1) increase

(2) decrease

(3) remain the same

(4) insufficient information to tell
d. For a fixed mass flow rate m˙, if the particle size is increased, the equilibrium conversion will
(1) increase

(2) decrease

(3) remain the same

(4) insufficient information to tell
e. For a fixed mass flow rate m˙, if the particle size is increased, the conversion will
(1) increase

(2) decrease

(3) remain the same

(4) insufficient information to tell