Application of Logistic Regression Analysis to Combustion of Toluene over γ-Alumina-supported Platinum Catalyst

Catalytic combustion of an organic compound is characterized by an S-shaped curve for the temperature dependence of the reaction. Expression of this S-shaped curve with a mathematical function would allow highly accurate analysis based on a small number of data points. This study used toluene combustion over a gamma-alumina-supported platinum catalyst as an example of a catalytic combustion reaction, and investigated whether the temperature dependence of the toluene conversion could be expressed by a logistic function. The parameters were obtained from the reaction data using a single regression analysis. The logistic function well represented the experimental data using the linear relationship as the function of temperature. Furthermore, the temperature at which the toluene conversion reaches 50 % can be objectively determined.