edited by W. C.

FERNELIUS

real world of Kent State Univemity

Kent. OH 44242
HAROLD WITTCOFF
K W Chemicals Ltd.
Beer-Sheva, Israel
P.O.B. 60

Chemical Processing-Batch or Continuous

Part l
S. M. Englund
800 Building, Dow Chemical, Michigan Division, Midland, MI 48640

For years many chemical engineers have accepted the Reactants

added
guiding principle that chemical processes should he contin- contlnu~usly
uous if ~ossihle.In continuous processes reactants and other
components are added continumsly and the product is con-
tinuously removed from the reactor. The continuous reactor
may consist of pipe coils or combinations of pipes and tanks
in series, or even a single tank provided with a means for
Healing w
continuous withdrawal of the product. Tanka may he agitated cooling
(stirred) or nonagitated. Batch processes, in which the in-
gredients are brought together and reacted in an agitated tank,
had the stigma of "pots and pans" chemistry-unsophisti-
cated processes that hadn't been "engineered." We all knew
that as soon as a good chemical engineer became involved the
batch process would give way to a continuous one.
Those familiar with the petroleum and petrochemical in-
dustries know that batch processing in those industries is rare.
' In hoth, giant continuous plants with enormous capacities are
almost the rule. However, there is a large segment of the
chemical industry in which hatch processing is still "king" and
probably will be for a long time. Poly(viny1 chloride), for ex-
ample, popularly known as PVC or "vinyl," is manufactured
in billion-pound quantities, almost all by batch processes
known as suspension polymerization.
Suspension polymerization as well as emulsion polymer-
ization are used in the hatch production of other lesser volume
plastics. In emulsion polymerization, very small droplets of
a material are held dispersed in water by use of an emulsifying
agent, such as soap, which keeps the particles from coalescing.
The product is called a latex. Suspension polymerization is
similar, hut the drodets are laraer and are stahilized with
protective colloids such as meth;lcellulose. Although most
synthetic rubber is made hv continuous emulsion polvmer-
iiation, a large amount of emulsion polymerized latex is
C
manufactured by hatch processing. Figure 1. Continuous processes that attempt to duplicate batch processes. A,
Continuous Processing stirred tank: B, pipe reactor; C, m i l reactor.

The obvious advantage of continuous chemical processing

is elimination of the "dead time" lost in the repeated starting
and stopping of most hatch processes. Continuous processes
are also usually easier to control and often facilitate the
manufacture of uniform products. I t is often more difficult
than it might first appear to convert a batch process to a
continuous process that will yield the same end product.
Figures IA, 1B, and 1C are three methods of continuous
processing which are sometimes considered as equivalent
replacements for a batch process. However, these continuous
processes are not equivalent to batch processes because new
reactants are continuously being mixed into the reaction
products. The reactor therefore contains a mixture of un-
reacted ingredients and of product with varying reactor time
history. This history is not the same as that produced in a
batch reactor.
"Back-mixing," the mixing of reactants with product, is the
culprit that causes the continuous processes shown in Figure
1not to be equivalent to batch processes. I t is obvious that the
process in 1A and 1C have hack-mixing. The process shown
in 1B also has back-mixing because wall drag produces a
nonuniform flow. If one could develop a "plug flow" reactor,
such as is shown in an idealized way in Figure 2, there would

766 Journal of Chemical Education

 / Psosbnh m w l W g h n o c l a w
',.b9,' w i t h , Dock mixing
0
Figure 2. Idealized "plug flow" continuous reactor.
Figure 3. Continuous processes that are nearly equivalent to a batch process.
A. stirred tanks in series; B, baffled continuous stined tank. (Mixing Equipmew
Co., Rochester. New York).
he no hack-mixing, and the product ohtained with this hy-
pothetical reactor would he the same as one produced in a
batch reactor.
'I'hese results can he arhieved, at least approximately, by
such methods as those shown in Figure 3. Several stages are
required, sometimes as many as 10 or 20.
The total reactor volume of an "ideal" continuous reactor
process with "plug flow" is the same as the volume of a hatch
reactor for the same process. A "real" continuous process will
not be perfectly "plug flow" and will have somewhat larger
total reactor volume than an "ideal" continuous reactor.
Continuous processes of the type shown in Figure 3 are best
suited for making products at fairly high rates where one or
at most a few different products are required. Usually, for
small-volume products, a single batch reactor will he simpler
and less expensive than a series-type continuous reaction
system.
In continuous nrocesses changing . products
. is time-con-
suming and ran produce large amounts of off-gradematerial.
For t h ~ reason.
s . lona- .i~rodurtionruns of one r~roducrare de-
sirahle. On the other hand, development andscale-up of new
products may he more time-consuming with continuous
processes than with batch processes. This is the result of the
sienificant time required in both lahoratory-scale and pro-
diction-scale contikous process to reach a steady state where
reliable operating.data and product samples can he oh-
tained.
For example, a.liquid-phase continuous process with an
average residence time of 4 hr may require 10-16 hr to reach
steady state where reliable operating data may be ohtained.
In comparison, in a hatch process with a reaction time of 4 hr
reaction data and the final product will he available in 4 hr.
Continuous
- ~ nrocesses are not well suited for products that
tend to build u i on reactor surfaces, since it may be necessary
to shut the reactor down periodicdlv and drain it for cleanout.
~~ ~
In batch processes the reactor is emptied after each run and
the reactor can he cleaned each time to avoid excessive
buildup. The cleaning process may he fully automated.
k i e m e d ot
end of mocflon
ROdycf
Figure 4. Conventional batch process-manual operation.
10 20
Time IMm)
Figure 5. Reactor and jacket temperature in conventional batch Process-
maximum rate of reaction with goad temperature control.
Conventional Batch Technology
In conventional hatch processes the ingredients are usually
added manually to an agitated vessel and the temperature is
raised to the required level by heating the reactor jacket or
coils in the reactor. When the exothermic reaction begins, the
vessel is cooled by circulating coolant in the jacket or coils as
shown in Figure 4. Automatic temperature control to a fixed
temperature set point is usually provided. This process creates
many problems which are discussed in the sections below.
Safety
Chemical reactions are usually exothermic (heat producing)
and the reaction rate increases exponentially with tempera-
ture. Loss of temoerature control of the reactor can result from
~~ ~ ~
lass of cooling or agitation, or from errors in loading which can
easilv occur when loadine" is done manuallv. This can result
in high pressure in the reactor which can cause some or most
of the contents to he lost through the emergency pressure
relief system. In extreme cases the reactor can blow up. I t is
- - pressure
usuallv more difficult to design a suitable emergencv -
relief system for a conventional batch process than a contin-
uous process.
Heat Transfer
Heat transfer means the removal or addition of heat, usually
by conduction through the metal wall of a tank or pipe. The
term "heat transfer coefficient" is a measure of the resistance
to the flow of heat across the tank or pipe wall. If the heat
transfer coefficient hetween the reactor contents and the
jacket fluid is constant, the maximum rate of heat transfer
availahle
~~ -~~~~~~is ohtained when the temoerature difference he-
~ ~ ~ ~
tween the reactor contents and the jacket fluid is maximum.
However, there can be a significant change in the character-
istics of the reactants during reaction, such as an increase in
apparent viscosity that can greatly affect heat transfer char-
acteristics. Assuming that the heat transfer coefficient does
not vary significantly while the hatch is in the reactor, the
maximum capability for transferring heat occurs when the
cooling fluid in the jacket is at the temperature of the available
cooling fluid. In many cases, particularly in polymerization
reactions, the temperature profile shown in Figure 5 results.
Volume 59 Number 9 September 1982 767

nm I h l
Figure 6. Reactor and jacket temperature in conventional batch process-
reaction rate too fast-poor temperature conbol.
This is a simplified temperature chart of an actual hatch re-
action.
The maximum reaction rate consistent with good temper-
ature control is that rate which will cause the jacket temper-
ature to fall to the available cooling fluid temperature (in this
case 20C). We usually call the time when this rate occurs the
"hot spot" of the reaction, since this is the time in the reaction
when heat is produced at the highest rate. I t is also the time
when the product is being produced at the highest rate pos-
sible in this equipment. At no other time is the equipment
producing its theoretical maximum. If we alter the chemistry
of the process by adding more initiator, for example, or by
increasing the ratio of reactants to nonreactants (such as the
768 Journal of Chemical Education
ratio of monomer to water in a suspension or emulsion poly-
merization), temperature control may be lost, as shown in
Figure 6. In this case when the "hot spot" is reached the re-
actor temperature rises instead of staying constant. This can
result in poor quality products or a runaway reaction which
can exert too much pressure on the vessel.
Productivity
The process described in Figure 4 has poor productivity for
two reasons:
(1) Manual addition and process control is slow and is dependent on
the performance of each task at the right time by the operator.
In other words, the process can be "person limited," not equip-
ment limited.
(2) The maximum heat transfer capacity of the reactor is used for
onlv a short time durine each batch and oroduct is oroduced at
the reactor's theoretical maximum rate for only that short pe-
riod.
Energy
Even though the process shown in Figure 4 is exothermic,
energy is required for heating the reactor to reaction tem-
perature, and electrical energy is needed for a long time during
each hatch for pumping cooling fluid. None of the reaction
heat is used or recovered.
Part I1 in the next issue will discuss recent developments
in improved technology that may make batch processhg more
attractive than continuous processing for certain applica-
tions.