Chapter 4 - Design For Single Reactions
Chapter 4 - Design For Single Reactions
The reactor system selected will influence the economics of the process by
dictating the size of the units needed and by fixing the ratio of products (product
distribution) formed.
For single reactions, product distribution is fixed; hence, the important factor in
comparing designs is the reactor size.
(4.1)
(4.2)
(4.3)
(4.4)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
(4.5)
or
Equations 4.4 and 4.5 are displayed in graphical form in Fig. 4.1 to provide a
quick comparison of the performance of plug flow with mixed flow reactors.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
Figure 4.1
Comparison of
performance of
single mixed flow
and plug flow
reactors for the nth-
order reactions
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
1. For any particular duty and for all positive reaction orders the mixed reactor
is always larger than the plug flow reactor. The ratio of volumes increases with
reaction order.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
When a large excess of reactant B is used then its concentration does not change
appreciably (CB ~ CBO) and the reaction approaches first-order behavior with
respect to the limiting component A, or
Thus in Fig. 4.1, and in terms of the limiting component A, the size ratio of
mixed to plug flow reactors is represented by the region between the first-order
and the second-order curves.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
2. Multiple-reactor systems
2.1. Plug flow reactors in series and/or in parallel
• Consider N plug flow reactors connected in series,
• X1, X2, . . . , XN is the fractional conversion of component A leaving reactor 1, 2, .
. . , N.
Basing the material balance on the feed rate of A to the first reactor, we find for
the ith reactor from Eq. 3.15
(4.6)
(4.7)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
Hence, N plug flow reactors in series with a total volume V gives the same
conversion as a single plug flow reactor of volume V.
This stepwise drop in concentration, illustrated in Fig. 4.2, suggests that the larger
the number of units in series, the closer should the behavior of the system
approach plug flow.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
First-Order Reactions:
For component A about vessel i, it can be written:
(4.8)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
(4.9)
Or
(4.10)
The space-time r (or mean residence time t) is the same in all the equal-size
reactors of volume Vi. Therefore,
(4.11)
(4.12)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
(4.13)
With Eqs. 4.12 and 4.13 we can compare performance of N reactors in series with
a plug flow reactor or with a single mixed flow reactor. This comparison is shown
in Fig. 4.4 for first-order reactions in which density variations are negligible.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
Second-Order Reactions
Consider reaction:
N reactors in series:
(4.14)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
15
Example
A+H2O → B
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
(4.16)
or
(4.17)
(4.18)
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
4.18)
4.18)
Suppose we want to find the minimum size of two mixed flow reactors in series to
achieve a specified conversion of feed which reacts with arbitrary but known
kinetics. It can be written for component A in the first and second reactor:
and (4.19)
These relationships are displayed in Fig. 4.8 for two alternative reactor
arrangements, both giving the same final conversion X2. Figure 4.8 shows that the
total reactor volume is as small as possible (total shaded area is minimized) when
the rectangle KLMN is as large as possible.
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Chapter 4. Design for Single Reactions
Figure 4.8 Graphical representation of the variables for two mixed flow reactors in
series.
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