Lecture 6 Differential Reactors for Kinetics Determination Differential flow reactors are typically used for the determination

n of the kinetics of catalytic reactions. The reactor is operated as a differential reactor, that is, a reactor with very small volume and low conversion. The rate of reaction is obtained from the equation:
rA = FA0 FA v 0 (C A0 C A ) = dV dV

where dV is the reactor volume. (Rate can also be expressed in terms of the mass of the catalyst dW). The differential reactor is assumed to be gradientless, that is, having a uniform concentration throughout the reactor, and hence the observed rate is that corresponding the concentration CA0. Concentration-rate data (CA0 vs. rA) are obtained by varying the inlet concentration, and analyzed according to the integral or differential methods described above. Analysis of Multiple Reactions

Multiple reactions occur in a chemical reactor, which result in formation of undesirable species along with the desirable product. These reactions may occur in parallel (A Desired, A Undesired), in series or consecutively (A Desired Undesired), independently (A Desired, B Undesired) or in a combination of series/parallel reactions (complex). The selectivity of the desired product is defined as the ratio of the rates of formation (or quantities) of the desired product to undesired species. The yield of the desired product is defined as the ratio of the rate of formation of the desired product to the rate of reaction of the reactant from which it is formed. The yield and selectivity can have instantaneous values, based on the rates at any particular instant or overall values, based on the reactor performance. The selectivity of the desired product can be improved by manipulating the operational parameters reactor configurations, concentrations and temperature. For example, the process should be carried out at higher temperatures if the desired reaction has higher activation energy than the undesired reaction. If the desired reaction is favored at lower concentrations, then a CSTR is a better choice than the other types of reactors.