REACTION KINETIC

AND REACTOR
DESIGN (CH-322)
By H. Scott Fogler 1
Fifth Edition
 TEXTBOOKS
H. Scott Fogler “Elements of
Chemical Reaction Engineering”
5th Edition 2016, Prentice Hall,
ISBN: 978-0-13-388751-8

08/16/2023 2
CHAPTER. 1
MOLE BALANCES
By H. Scott Fogler 3
Fifth Edition
 INTRODUCTION
“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.

4
 INTRODUCTION
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 a chemical plant.
For example, if a reaction system produces a large
amount of undesirable product, subsequent purification
and separation of the desired product could make the
entire process economically unfeasible.

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1.1
RATE OF REACTION
By H. Scott Fogler 6
Fifth Edition
1.1: THE RATE OF REACTION:
 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.
Kind of atoms in that species
Identity Number of atoms in that species
Configuration of atoms in that species

 For example: 7
1.1: THE RATE OF REACTION:
We say that a chemical reaction has taken place when a
detectable number of molecules of one or more species have
lost their identity and assumed a new form by a change in
the kind or number of atoms in the compound and/or by a
change in structure or configuration of these atoms.

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1.1: HOW TO LOSE SPECIES’
IDENTITY?...?
Decomposition
Combination
Isomerization

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 1.1: RATE OF REACTION
We can say four things about the reaction rate . The reaction rate law
for is

• The rate of formation of species j (mole/time/volume)

• An algebraic equation
• Independent of the type of reactor (e.g., batch or continuous flow)
in which the reaction is carried out
• Solely a function of the properties of the reacting materials and reaction
conditions (e.g., species concentration, temperature, pressure, or type of
catalyst, if any) at a point in the system
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1.1: RATE OF REACTION
The chemical reaction rate law is essentially an algebraic equation
involving concentration.

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 DO YOU KNOW?
 What is the difference between reaction kinetics and thermodynamics?

 Is the rate of reaction an extensive or intensive quantity?

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1.2
GENERAL MOLE
BALANCE
By H. Scott Fogler 13
Fifth Edition
1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
EQUATION:
 To perform a mole balance on any system, the system boundaries must
first be specified.
 The volume enclosed by the boundaries is referred to as the “system
volume”.
 Performing mole balance on species ‘j’ in a system volume(e.g: it may be
water or NaOH or any particular species of interest).

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1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
EQUATION:

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1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
EQUATION:
(GENERAL CONDITION):

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1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE EQUATION:
(GENERAL CONDITION):
 If the rate of formation of species ‘j’ varies
with the position in the system volume.
 Suppose, the rate of formation of species ‘j’
has a value at location ‘1’, which is
surrounded by a small volume, , within which
the rate is uniform.
 Similarly, the reaction rate has a value, at the
location ‘2’, and an associated volume, .

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1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE EQUATION:
(GENERAL CONDITION):

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 1.2: THE GENERAL MOLE BALANCE EQUATION:
(GENERAL CONDITION):

This is a General mole

balance equation, that
can develop the design
equations for the various
type of industrial
reactors.
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1.3
BATCH REACTORS (BRs):

By H. Scott Fogler 20
Fifth Edition
1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
A batch reactor is used for,
1. Small-scale operation
2. Testing new processes that have not been fully developed
3. Manufacture of expensive products
4. For processes that are difficult to convert to continuous operation
5. High conversion can be obtained by leaving the reactants in the reactor for a longer
period of time.
The batch reactor may have the disadvantage of,
6. High labor cost per batch
7. Variability of products from batch to batch
8. Difficulty of large-scale production
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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs):

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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
The assumptions made in deriving the design
equation of a batch reactor are:
1. Closed system: no streams carrying mass enter
or leave the system.
2. Well mixed, no spatial variation in system
properties
3. Constant Volume or constant pressure.

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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
(MODIFICATIONS IN GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
(MODIFICATIONS IN GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
(MODIFICATIONS IN GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.3: BATCH REACTORS (BRs): :
(MODIFICATIONS IN GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4
CONTINUOUS FLOW
REACTORS
By H. Scott Fogler 28
Fifth Edition
1.4: CONTINUOUS FLOW REACTORS:
 Continuous flow reactors almost always operated at steady state.
There are major three types of continuous flow reactors,
1. Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
2. Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
3. Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)

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1.4.1
CONTINUOUS
STIRRED TANK
REACTOR By H. Scott Fogler 30
Fifth Edition
1.4.1: CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR:
Most used reactor in industry
Also known as Vat, or back-mix reactor
Primarily for liquid phase reactions
Operated at steady state
Assumptions for
Perfectly mixed design equation

(so that there is no time dependence or position dependence

of the temperature and concentration or the reaction rate
inside the CSTR, i.e.: every variable is the same at every
point inside the reactor)
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1.4.1: CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR:
 Temperature and concentration in the exit stream are modeled as being the
same as inside the reactor.

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1.4.1: CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4.1: CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

 CSTR design equation gives us the reactor volume ‘V’ necessary to

reduce the entering flow rate of species ‘j’, from to the exit flowrate ,
when species ‘j’ are disappearing at the rate of -.
 We note that CSTR is modeled such that the conditions in the exit stream
(e.g: concentration, temperature) are identical to those in the tank.
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1.4.1: CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)
 The molar flowrate is just the product of the concentration of the species
‘j’ and the volumetric flow rate υ:

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1.4.2
TUBULAR REACTOR
By H. Scott Fogler 36
Fifth Edition
1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
It consists of a cylindrical pipe and normally operated at
steady state, as in CSTR.
Tubular reactors are mostly used for gas-phase reactions.
In tubular reactor, the reactants are continuously 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.

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
The rate of the reaction which is the function of
concentration of the reactants will vary axially.
But, on the other hand, there will be no radial variation in
velocity, concentration, temperature or reaction rate.

Assumptions

 Operated at steady state

 No Radial variation

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

Picasso’s
Reactor

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:
The conclusion drawn from the application of the design equation to
Picasso’s reactor is an important one: the degree of completion of a
reaction achieved in an ideal plug-flow reactor (PFR) does not depend on
its shape, only on its total volume.

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1.4.2: PLUG FLOW REACTOR:

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1.4.3
PACKED BED
REACTOR
By H. Scott Fogler 46
Fifth Edition
1.4.23: PACKED BED REACTOR:
The principal difference between reactor design
calculations involving homogeneous reactions and those
involving fluid-solid heterogeneous reactions is that
heterogeneous reactions normally take place on the surface
of the catalyst.
Therefore, in this case, the rate of the reaction is based upon
the mass of solid catalyst, ‘W’, rather than the reaction
volume, ‘V’.
For fluid-solid heterogeneous system, the rate of reaction of
substance ‘A’ is defined as:
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1.4.23: PACKED BED REACTOR:
The mass of the 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
importance.

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1.4.23: PACKED BED REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)
 The derivation of design equation for packed-bed catalytic reactor (PBR)
will be carried out in a manner analogous to the development of the tubular
design equation.
 To accomplish this derivation for PBR, we simply replace the volume
coordinates in PFR’s general equation with the catalyst weight coordinates,
‘W’.
Assumptions

 Operated at steady state

 No Radial variation

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1.4.23: PACKED BED REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)

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1.4.23: PACKED BED REACTOR:
(APPLICATION OF GENERAL MOLE BALANCE)
 After dividing or general equation with ∆W, and taking the limit as ∆W  0,
we arrive at the differential form of the mole balance for a packed bed
reactor:

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SUMMARY
By H. Scott Fogler 52
Fifth Edition
53
EXAMPLE 1.2
By H. Scott Fogler 54
Fifth Edition
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TO FIND:

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5
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1.5:
INDUSTRIAL
REACTORS
By H. Scott Fogler 61
Fifth Edition