Previous Lecture

Review examples on stoichiometry table

for flow system
Irreversible reaction

Reversible reaction
Todays Lecture
Design structure for isothermal reactors
(algorithm)
Design of CSTRs
Design of PFRs
Pressure drop in reactors
Design equations
Batch:
The conversion is a function of the time the
reactants spend in the reactor.
We are interested in determining how long to
leave the reactants in the reactor to achieve a
certain conversion X.

dX
N A0 rAV
dt ?
?
Design equations
CSTR:
We are interested in determining the size of
the reactor to achieve a certain conversion X.

X
FA0 rA
V ? -1/rA
?

X
 Design equations
PFR:
We are interested in determining the size of
the reactor to achieve a certain conversion X.
dX
FA0 rA
dV ?
?

-1/rA

PBR

X dX
FA0 rA
Generally, the isothermal tubular reactor volume dW
is smaller than the CSTR for the same conversion
Pillars of chemical reaction engineering
Reaction Engineering

Mole Balance Rate Laws Stoichiometry

These topics build upon one another

Stoichiometry

Rate Laws

Mole Balance
Isothermal reactor design
Design procedure
mole balance
rate laws
stoichiometry
combination of the above three procedures
and solve ODE
Obtain the volume/reaction time for the
reactor
Do not forget to add some other time required!
General Algorithm for Solving Isothermal Reactor
Problems

1. General Mole Balance Equation (GMBE)

2. Rate Laws
Write down rate law in terms of limiting reactant
3. Stoichiometry
relate concentration to volume and number of moles (for batch
reactors) or to volumetric flow rate and molar flow rate (for flow
reactor)
Relate volume or volumetric flow rate to conversion (X), pressure
and temperature
4. Combine
Substitute rate law and stoichiometry in to the GMBE
 Algorithm for Isothermal Reactor
Design
1. Mole balance and Design equation
2. Rate Law
3. Stoichiometry
4. Combine
Evaluate
Graphically
Numerically
Analytically
Software packages
Example, const.-V, batch, 2nd order
irreversible rxn, isothermal

mole balance dX
N A0 rAV
dt
rate laws rA kCA2
Stoichiometry C A C A0 (1 X )
combination
kCA0 1 X
dX 2

dt
t 1 X dX 1 X
0 dt kCA0 1 X 2 t
kCA0 1 X
0

+ some additional time for filling, heating, etc.

Damkohler Number (Da)
Da is a dimensionless number that can provide a quick
estimate of the degree of conversion in CSTR reactors.
rA0V rate of reaction at entrance " A reaction rate"
Da
FA0 entering flow rate of A " A convection rate"

First-order reaction Second-order reaction

r V V (kCAO ) rAO V V (kCAO
2
)
Da AO k Da k C AO
FAO vOC AO FAO vOC AO

ratio of the rate of reaction of A to the rate of convective transport

of A at the entrance to the reactor
estimation of the degree of conversion in a continuous reactor
Da 0.1 usually results in conversion less than 10%
Da 10 usually results in conversion greater than 90%
 CSTR in series
CAO
X=0
v0 CA2
CA1
X=X2
X=X1
V1 ; k1 V2 ; k2

Liquid-phase (v = v0), first-order reaction

Mole Balance on CSTR-1 Mole Balance on CSTR-2
FA0 FA v [C C A1 ] FA1 FA2 v [C C A2 ]
V1 0 A0 V2 0 A1
(rA ) at X X1 k1C A1 (rA ) at X X 2 k 2C A 2
[C A1 C A2 ] C A1
[C A0 C A1 ] C A0 2 k2 1
1k1 1 C A2 C A2
C A1 C A1
C A1
C A0 C A2
C A1 1 2 k2
1 1k1
C A0
C A2
[1 1k1 ][1 2 k2 ]
 n-Equal Sized CSTR in series
CAO
X=0
v0 CAn
CA n-1
X=Xn
V V V V X=Xn-1 V

V
All CSTRs are operated at same temperature
v0 [ k is same in all reactors]

C A0 C A1 C A2 C An 1
C A1 C A2 C A3 C An
1 k 1 k 1 k 1 k

C A0
C An
[1 k ]n
n-Equal Sized CSTR in series
n-Equal Sized CSTR in Parallel
vo/n
C1
X=X1
V
vo/n

CAO CA2
X=0 X=X2
V
v0 vo/n
CA3 X = Xmix
V X=X3

What is the
vo/n
CAn conversion of the
X=Xn
V mixed stream ?
Example 4-1
It is desired to design a CSTR to produce 200 million pounds of ethylene
glycol per year by hydrolyzing ethylene oxide. However, before the design
can be carried out, it is necessary to perform and analyze a batch reactor
experiment to determine the specific reaction rate constant, k. Because
the reaction will be carried out isothermally, the specific reaction rate
will need to be determined only at the reaction temperature of the CSTR.
At high temperature there is a significant by-product formation, while at
temperature below 40C the reaction does not proceed at a significant
rate; consequently, a temperature of 55C has been chosen. Because the
water is usually present in excess, its concentration may be considered
constant during the course of the reaction. In the laboratory experiment,
500 ml of a 2 M solution of ethylene oxide in water was mixed with 500
ml of water containing 0.9 wt% sulfuric acid, which is a catalyst. The
temperature was maintained at 55C. The concentration of ethylene
glycol was recorded as a function of time, determine the specific reaction
rate at 55C.
 A B catalyst
C
Because water is present in such excess, the concentration of water at any time t
is virtually the same as the initial concentration and the rate law is independent of
the concentration of H2O. (CBCB0)

The reaction is first-order in ethylene

oxide:
 Batch design equation:

Rate law:

Stoichiometry no volume change, V=V0

Combination
 ?

A B catalyst
C

slope = -k = -0.311 min-1