Reaction Engineering

Course No. ChE 3105

Course Code: Reaction Engineering
Lecture No. 01

Maisa Rahman
Lecturer
Department of Chemical Engineering
Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology
Email: [email protected]
Contact No. 01926997916
Reference Book:
• Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering,
Fourth Edition, by H. Scott Fogler
• Drive link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lHsgzFxl9O_f
ZsB2H2FUltzgkeDQnjgc/view?usp=sharing

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Course Content

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What is CRE?
• Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) is the field that studies the
rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions and the design of the
reactors in which they take place.
• Chemical reaction engineering is at the heart of virtually
every chemical process. It separates the chemical engineer
from other engineers.
• Industries that Draw Heavily on Chemical Reaction Engineering
(CRE) are:
CPI (Chemical Process Industries)
Examples like BCIC, KAFCO, Chevron, etc.

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 Chevron Phillips Chemical Cedar Bayou Facility, situated in Baytown,
Texas, USA, on 2,100 acres of land

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Goal of the Course- ChE involves 6 fundamental pillars,
which are the foundation holding up
• To develop a fundamental the applications of ChE, such are-
understanding of reaction
engineering • Mole balance
• To develop logical • Rate laws
reasoning and creative • Stoichiometry
thinking skills to design a • Energy balance
system.
• Diffusion
• Contacting

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CRE Depends on 3 fundamentals-
• Mole balance
• Rate laws
• Stoichiometry
• Energy balance
• Combine
Mole balance + Rate laws + Stoichiometry + Energy balance + Combine
Then finally develops reaction kinetics and design parameters for
designing reactors.

Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET

What is Chemical Reaction?
• A chemical reaction is a process in which one or more substances,
also called reactants, are converted to one or more different
substances, known as products.
• A chemical species is said to have reacted when it has lost its
chemical identity.
• There are three ways for a species to loose its identity:
1. Decomposition CH3CH3 → H2 + H2C=CH2
2. Combination N2 + O2 → 2 NO
3. Isomerization C2H5CH=CH2 → CH2=C(CH3)2

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Chapter 1 (Mole Balances)
• Chemical kinetics is the study of chemical reaction rates and reaction
mechanisms.
• The study of chemical reaction engineering (CRE) combines the study of
chemical kinetics with the reactors in which the reactions occur.
• Chemical kinetics and reactor design are at the heart of producing almost
all industrial chemicals such as the manufacture.
• It is primarily a knowledge of chemical kinetics and reactor design that
distinguishes the chemical engineer from other engineers.
• The selection of a reaction system that operates in the safest and most
efficient manner can be the key to the economic success or failure of n
chemical plant.
• For example, if a reaction system produces n large amount of undesirable
product, subsequent purification and separation if the desired product
could make the entire process economically unfeasible.

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Reaction Rates
• The rate of reaction tells us how fast a number of moles of one chemical
species are being consumed to form another chemical species. The term
chemical species refers to any chemical component or element with a
given identity.
• The identity of a chemical species is determined by the kind, number; and
configuration of that species’ atoms on a molecular level.
• Even though two chemically identical compounds have exactly the same
number of atoms of each element, they could still be different species
because of different configurations.

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Reaction Rates
• The reaction rate is the rate at which a species looses its chemical identity
per unit volume.
• The rate of a reaction (mol/dm3/s) can be expressed as either:
➢The rate of Disappearance of reactant: -rA or as
➢The rate of Formation (Generation) of product: rP
Consider the isomerization,
A→B
rA = the rate of formation of species A per unit volume
-rA = the rate of a disappearance of species A per unit volume
rB = the rate of formation of species B per unit volume

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Reaction Rates, -rA
EXAMPLE: A→B
If Species B is being formed at a rate of 0.2 moles per decimeter cubed
per second, i.e.,
rB = 0.2 mole/dm3/s
Then A is disappearing at the same rate:
-rA= 0.2 mole/dm3/s

For a catalytic reaction we refer to –rA’ , which is the rate of disappearance

of species A on a per mass of catalyst basis. (mol/gcat/s)

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Reaction Rates
Consider species j:
1. rj is the rate of formation of species j per unit For homogeneous
volume [e.g. mol/dm3s] reactions, the rate depends
2. rj is a function of concentration, temperature, on reactor volume,
pressure, and the type of catalyst (if any) -rA = mol A reacted/dm3/s
3. rj is independent of the type of reaction
system (batch, plug flow, etc.) For heterogeneous
4. rj is an algebraic equation, not a differential reactions, the rate depends
equation on reactor volume,
2 or 𝑘1𝐶𝐴 -r’A = mol A reacted/
(e.g. -rA = kCA or -rA = kCA -rA= ) s.g catalyst
1+𝑘2𝐶𝐴

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Reaction Rates for heterogeneous reactions, -r’A
• Heterogeneous reactions involve more than one phase.
• In heterogeneous reaction systems, the rate of reaction is usually
expressed in measures other than volume, such as reaction surface
area or catalyst weight.
• For a gas-solid catalytic reaction, the gas molecules must interact with
the solid catalyst surface for the reaction to take place.
• The dimensions of this heterogeneous reaction rate, r; (prime) (-r’A )
are the number of moles of A reacting per time per unit mass of
catalyst (mol/s. g catalyst).

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General Mole Balance Equation
System
Volume, V

Fj0 Gj Fj

 Molar Flow  Molar Flow   Molar Rate   Molar Rate 

 Rate of  −  Rate of  + Generation  =  Accumulation
       
 Species j in   Species j out of Species j  of Species j 
dN j
Fj 0 − Fj + Gj =
dt
 mole   mole   mole   mole 
  −   +   =  
 time   time   time   time 

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Types of Reactors
There are two basic types of
reactors- What is steady state condition?
❖ Batch Reactor (BR)
❖ Continuous Reactors (CR) • A steady-state system is an
idealized system which does
These three types of continuous not change over time and the net
reactors are most commonly rate remains constant.
used- • d/dt = 0
➢ Continuously Stirred Tank • Unsteady-state systems changes
Reactor (CSTR) over time.
➢ Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) • d/dt ≠ 0
➢ Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)

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Batch Reactors (BR)
• A batch reactor is the simplest type of reactor and operates at
unsteady state conditions.
• Batch reactor is used for small-scale operation.
• For example, testing new processes that have not been fully
developed, for the manufacture of expensive products, and for
processes that are difficult to convert to continuous operations.
• The reactor can be charged (i.e., filled) through the holes at the top.
• The batch reactor has the advantage of high conversions that can be
obtained by leaving the reactant in the reactor for long periods of
time.
• However, it also has the disadvantages of high labor costs-per batch,
the variability of products from batch to batch and the difficulty of
large-scale production.

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Continuous Flow Reactors
• Continuous flow reactors are almost always operated at steady state
conditions.

Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)

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Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
• A type of reactor used commonly in industrial
processing is the stirred tank operated
continuously.
• CSTR is also called vat, or backmix reactor; which
is primarily used for liquid phase reactions.
• It is normally operated at steady state and is
assumed to be perfectly mixed.
• There is no time dependence or position
dependence of the temperature, the
concentration, or the reaction rate inside the Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)

CSTR and same at the exit point.

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Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
• Tubular reactors are the most common type of reactor
used in industries. It consists of a cylindrical pipe and is
normally operated at steady state.
• Tubular reactors are used most often for gas-phase
reactions.
• In the tubular reactor, the reactants are continually
consumed as they flow down the length of the reactor.
• In modelling the tubular reactor, we assume that the
concentration varies continuously in the axial direction
through the reactor.
• There is no radial variation in reaction rate and the
reactor is referred to as a plug-flow reactor (PFR).
Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)

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Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)
• This type of reactor is used for heterogeneous
reactions.
• The reaction takes place on the surface of the
catalyst.
• The reaction rate is based on mass of solid catalyst.
W, rather than on reactor volume, V.
• The mass of solid catalyst is used because the amount
of the catalyst is what is important to the rate of
product formation. The reactor volume that contains
the catalyst is of secondary significance.
• For a fluid-solid heterogeneous system, the rate of Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)
reaction of a substance A is defined as,
-r’A = mol A reacted/s.g catalyst
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Batch vs Continuous Reactors
Batch Reactors CSTRs Tubular Reactors
The extent of reaction (conversion), Temperature and compositions Steady-state, so temperature and
temperature, & composition are uniform throughout. compositions are uniform throughout.
change with time. However, there is no mixing in the
direction of flow, complete mixing in the
radial direction.
Unsteady-state operations Steady-state operations Steady-state operations
Used for small scale operations. Used for large scale operations. Used for large scale operations.
Used for liquid phase reactions. Used for liquid phase reactions. Used for gas phase reactions.
Simple in construction and have Complex in construction and has Complex in construction. It has no agitator
agitator for uniform mixing. agitator for uniform mixing. and mixing occurs due to reactant flow.
Used for new or expensive Cannot be used for reactions Can be used for reactions with high heat
processes. with high heat of reaction. of reaction

Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET

General Mole Balance Equation
System
Volume, V

Fj0 Gj Fj

 Molar Flow  Molar Flow   Molar Rate   Molar Rate 

 Rate of  −  Rate of  + Generation  =  Accumulation
       
 Species j in   Species j out of Species j  of Species j 
dN j
Fj 0 − Fj + Gj =
dt
 mole   mole   mole   mole 
  −   +   =  
 time   time   time   time 

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General Mole Balance Equation
If spatially uniform:
G j = r jV
If NOT spatially uniform:

 V1
V2
r j1
rj 2
G j1 = r j1V1
G j 2 = r j 2 V2

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General Mole Balance Equation
n
G j =  rji Vi
i =1

Take limit
n

Gj =  rjiVi =  r dV
j
i=1 lim V → 0 n → 

Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET

General Mole Balance Equation
System
Volume, V

FA0 GA FA

General Mole Balance on System Volume V

In − Out + Generation = Accumulation

dNA
FA 0 − FA +  r dV
A =
dt
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Batch Reactor - Mole Balances
For Batch Reactor

dN A
FA0 − FA +  rA dV =
As unsteady-state, dt
in = out = 0 FA0 = FA = 0

Well-Mixed  r dV = r V
A A

dNA
= rAV
Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET dt
Batch Reactor - Mole Balances
dNA
Integrating dt =
rAV

t = 0 N A = N A0 Here,
when NA = Final desired number
t = t NA = NA NAo = Initial number of moles

NA
dN A
t= 
N A0
− rAV

Time necessary to reduce the number of moles of A from NA0 to NA.

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Batch Reactor - Mole Balances
For a reaction, A → B
NA
dN A
t=
N A0
 − rAV

NA

t
Fig. Mole-time trajectories
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Batch Reactor - Mole Balances
NA
dN A
t= 
N A0
− rAV

• This equation is the integral form of the mole

balance on a batch reactor.
• It gives the time, t, necessary to reduce the
number of moles from NAo to NA1, and also
to form NB1 moles of B.

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CSTR - Mole Balances

CSTR

dNA
FA 0 − FA +  rA dV =
dt

dN A
Steady State =0 Accumulation = 0
 dt
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CSTR - Mole Balances
Perfectly Mixed  r dV = r V
A A

FA0 − FA + rAV = 0

FA 0 − FA
V=
 −rA
CSTR volume is necessary to reduce the molar
flow rate from FA0 to FA.

Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET 

CSTR - Mole Balances
• The CSTR design equation gives the reactor volume V necessary
to reduce the entering flow rate of species j, from Fjo, to the exit
flow rate Fj, when species j is disappearing at a rate of –rj.
• The molar flow rate 6 is just the product of the concentration of
species j and the volumetric flow rate v :

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Maisa Rahman, ChE, RUET