Intro to REEN 2001

Goals
• Introduce course
• Remind you of previous knowledge that you will need for the course
• Learn about the different types of reactors and how they work
 Hippo Digestion (Ch. 2)

Chemical Plant for Ethylene Glycol (Ch. 5)

 What is Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) ?
Understanding how chemical reactors work lies at the heart of
almost every chemical processing operation.

Raw Separation Chemical Separation Products

material Process process Process By-products

Design of the reactor is no routine matter, and many alternatives

can be proposed for a process. Reactor design uses information,
knowledge and experience from a variety of areas ‐
thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass
transfer, and economics.

CRE is the synthesis of all these factors with the aim of properly
designing and understanding the chemical reactor.
How do we design a chemical reactor?

Type & size

Maximize the space‐time yield of the desired product (productivity

lb/hr/ft3)

Stoichiometry
Kinetics
Basic molar balances Reactor volume
Fluid dynamics

Use a lab‐scale reactor to determine the kinetics!

Reactor Design

Reaction
Stoichiometry
Kinetics: elementary vs non‐elementary
Single vs multiple reactions

Reactor
Isothermal vs non‐isothermal
Ideal vs nonideal
Steady‐state vs nonsteady‐state
 What type of reactor(s) to use?
in
Continuously Stirred
Tank Reactor (CSTR)

out

Plug flow reactor (PFR)

Well‐mixed batch reactor
 What size reactor(s) to use?
Answers to this questions are based on the desired conversion,
selectivity and kinetics

Kinetics
Reactor type & Conversion
size &
Material & selectivity
energy
balances
Reactor Types and Considerations
Batch Reactors
• Video examples:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIMXE5FeAy0
• Or
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEDgEWGQrbM
Batch Reactors Properties
• Reactants are placed in the reactor, and
the reaction is allowed to proceed for
some amount of time
• Closed system‐ no addition of reactants
or removal of products during the
reaction
• Unsteady‐state conditions‐ the
composition changes with time
• Ideal batch reactor‐ vessel is perfectly
mixed
• Concentration and temperature are
spatially constant, but NOT constant in
TIME
Examples of Batch Reactor
Lab‐Scale Batch
Typical Commercial Batch
Reactor
Reactor

Motor for agitation

CSTR examples
• Video examples:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtP‐AJukhVM
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
Properties • Continuously add reactants and remove
products (open system)
• Inlet stream instantaneously mixes with
bulk of reactor volume
• Ideal batch reactor‐ assume perfect
mixing occurs in vessel
• Temperature and concentration are
uniform throughout space
• Composition of the exit stream is the
same as that inside reactor (CA,outlet =
CA, tank)
• Steady‐state conditions‐ the reaction rate
is the same at every point and does not
change with time
Examples of CSTRs

Laboratory‐Scale Bioreactor

Pfaudler Inc.
Examples of PFRs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQPISvVjvQk
Plugged Flow Reactor (PFR) Properties
• Also called a tubular reactor
• Cylindrical pipe with openings at
both ends
• Steady movement of material down
length of reactor
• Reactants are consumed as they flow
down the length of the reactor
• Operated at steady state:
• No radial variation in
temperature, concentration, or
reaction rate
• All fluid/gas elements have the
same residence time
Industrial PFRs

Polyethylene reactor:
• 16 inch inner diameter
• Operates at 35,000 psi & 600 °F
• Has a vertical orientation when in use
Courtesy of Autoclave Engineers of Snap‐tite, Inc.
Examples of PBRs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkj05DXt8iY
Packed Bed Reactors (PBR)
• Cylindrical shell, vertically oriented
• Often gravity‐driven flow
• Heterogeneous reaction: fixed bed of catalyst
inside
• Reactants enter top and flow through the
packed bed of catalyst
• Concentration gradient of reactant and
product down the length of the reactor
• Reaction occurs on the surface of the catalyst
pellets
• Reaction rate is based on the mass of the
solid catalyst, W, not reactor volume V
Selection
Batch
of Reactors
• small scale
• production of expensive products (e.g. pharmacy)
• high labor costs per batch
• difficult for large‐scale production
CSTR: most homogeneous liquid‐phase flow reactors
• when intense agitation is required
• relatively easy to maintain good temperature control
• the conversion of reactant per volume of reactor is the smallest of the
flow reactors ‐ very large reactors are necessary to obtain high
conversions
PFR: most homogeneous gas‐phase flow reactors
• relatively easy to maintain
• usually produces the highest conversion per reactor volume (weight of
catalyst if it is a packed‐bed catalyze gas reaction) of any of the flow
reactors
• difficult to control temperature within the reactor
• hot spots can occur
Uses for Various Reactors
• Noncatalytic homogeneous gas • Ethylene polymerization
reactor
(high pressure)
• Homogeneous liquid reactor • Mass polymerization of styrene
• Liquid‐liquid reactor
• Saponification of fats
• Gas‐liquid reactor • Nitric acid production
• Non‐catalytic gas‐solid reactor
• Iron production
• Fixed bed
• Chlorination of metals
• Fluidized bed
• Ammonia synthesis
• Fixed bed catalytic reactor
• Catalytic cracking (petroleum)
• Fluid bed catalytic reactor
• Hydrodesulphurization of oils
• Gas‐liquid‐solid reactor
References
• Kraft, ML, Chemical and Biomolecular Eng Department, U of Il –
Urbana‐Champaign
• Fogler, HS, Chemical Eng, U of MI – Ann Arbor
• Fogler, HS. Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, 4th edition