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For Gas Phase Reactions, Pressure Drop May Be Very Important and The Concentration of The Reacting Species Is Proportional To The Total Pressure

The document discusses pressure drop in packed bed reactors (PBRs). It presents equations to model pressure drop as a function of catalyst weight or conversion for isothermal operations. The equations form a system of coupled differential equations that can be solved numerically or analytically if pressure effects are neglected. An example problem calculates conversion of a reactant A in a PBR based on given rate constants, pressures, flows and initial concentrations.

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Hashem Homady
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42 views6 pages

For Gas Phase Reactions, Pressure Drop May Be Very Important and The Concentration of The Reacting Species Is Proportional To The Total Pressure

The document discusses pressure drop in packed bed reactors (PBRs). It presents equations to model pressure drop as a function of catalyst weight or conversion for isothermal operations. The equations form a system of coupled differential equations that can be solved numerically or analytically if pressure effects are neglected. An example problem calculates conversion of a reactant A in a PBR based on given rate constants, pressures, flows and initial concentrations.

Uploaded by

Hashem Homady
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture 6

# Pressure Drop in PBR

For gas phase reactions, pressure drop may be very important and the

concentration of the reacting species is proportional to the total pressure.

1
(1)

Using the relationship between z and W (equation 1), we can change our
variables to express the Ergun equation in terms of catalyst weight:
dP β0 P0 T F T
=− ( )
dW Ac (1−ϕ)ρc P T0 FT0

For single reactions in packed-bed reactors, it is more convenient to


express the Ergun equation in terms of the conversion X. since:

2
Then :
dP α T P0
=− (1 + εX) (2)
dW 2 T0 P/P0

For isothermal operation, Equation 2 is only a function of conversion and


pressure:

(3)

Also from design equation of PBR:

(4)

We see that we have two coupled first-order differential equations, 3 and


4, that must be solved simultaneously. A variety of software packages
and integration schemes are available for this purpose.

Analytical Solution: If ε = 0, or if we can neglect (εX) with respect to


1.0 (i.e., 1>> εX), we can obtain an analytical solution to equation 2 for
isothermal operation (i.e., T=To). For isothermal operation with ε = 0,
equation 2 becomes:

(5)

Assume y = P/P0

Equation 5 becomes:
dy α
=−
dW 2y

Integrating with W = 0 and y = 1 gives:


𝑦 2 = (1 − 𝛼𝑊)

𝑦 = (1 − 𝛼𝑊)1⁄2

3
𝑃
= (1 − 𝛼𝑊)1⁄2
𝑃0

Example 1

Solution

𝐺= ̇
𝑚
𝐴

4
Example 2

Gas phase reaction was carried out using packed bed reactor with
equimolar feed of A and B:

A+B 2C

Find the conversion of A if the weight of catalyst was 100 kg. given that :

kA = 1.5 dm6 /mol/kg/ min

α = 0.0099 kg-1

P0 = 10 atm

5
FA0 = 2 mol/min

CA0 = 0.2 mol/dm3

Solution

1. Mole balance (design equation)

2. Rate law

3. Stoichiometry

And

4. Combine equations :

B.C.

X = 0.6 ( with pressure drop)


X = 0.75 ( without pressure drop, i.e. α = 0)

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