UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN KIMIA

NAME : NOOR NISHA BINTI SHARIF (2016239072)

GROUP : EH2205G
EXPERIMENT : CSTR IN SERIES
DATE PERFORMED : 25 SEPTEMBER 2018
SEMESTER :5
PROGRAMME / CODE : EH220/CHE506
SUBMIT TO : DR FARID MAULANA

No. Title Allocated Marks Marks

(%)
1 Abstract/Summary 5
2 Introduction 5
3 Aims 5
4 Theory 5
5 Apparatus 5
6 Methodology/Procedure 10
7 Results 10
8 Calculations 10
9 Discussion 20
10 Conclusion 10
11 Recommendations 5
12 Reference 5
13 Appendix 5
TOTAL MARKS 100

Remarks:

Checked by:

Date:
ABSTRACT

This experiment involves a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) in series. It consists of 3
agitated, glass reactor vessels in series. Although the concentration is uniform for each
reactor but there is a change in concentration as fluids move over from reactor to reactor.
This experiment is carried out to determine the effect of step change input and also to
determine the effect of residence time of the response curve. First the deionized water are
filled in the both tank one. Then the deionized water from the two tank will fill up to the three
reactors. The flow rate of the deionized water were set up to 150ml/min to prevent overflow
of the deionized water in the reactors. After 10 minutes, the initial readings of the
conductivity were taken after the conductivity were stable enough where the readings of the
conductivity are quite similar from one to another. After that, the readings were taken
continuously every 3 minutes until the point of the conductivity values for the three reactors
are closed to each other. The results obtained at the 120 minutes are, at QT1 is 16.24, QT2 is
16.13 and QT3 is 16.02. The concentration of solution in the reactor will increase in a period
until it reached a constant concentration. Based on the result obtained, the graph has been
μS
plotted between conductivity, Q ((mS) against time, t (min).

AIM

To study the effect of step change input to the concentration

INTRODUCTION

In the industrial chemical process, a reactor seems to be the most important equipment in
which raw materials undergo a chemical change to form a desired product. The design and
operation of chemical reactors are essential criteria responsible to the whole success of the
industrial operation. The stirred tank reactor in the form of either single tank, or more often a
series of tanks, particularly suitable for liquid phases reactions and widely used in chemical
continuous process, giving consistent product quality, easy to control automatically and low
man power requirement.
The mode of operation of reactors may be batch flow or continuous flow. In a batch reactor,
the reactor is charge with reactant, the content are well mixed and left to react and then the
mixture will be discharged. A continuous flow reactor, the feed to the reactor and the
discharge from it are continuous. The three types of continuous flow reactor are plug flow
reactor, the dispersed plug flow reactor, and completely mixed or continuously stirred tank
reactor (CSTRs). CSTR consists of a stirred tank that has a feed stream and discharge stream.
Frequently, several CSTRs in series are operating to improve their conversion and
performance (Reynolds and Richards 1996)

Complete mixing in a CSTR reactor produces the traces concentration throughout the reactor
to be the same as the effluent concentration. In other words, in an ideal CSTR, at any travel
time, the concentration down the reactor is identical to the composition within the CSTR
(Hoboken et al, 1005). It is also important to notice that the mixing degree In a CSTR is an
extremely important factor (Choelette, Blanchet et al 1960), and it is assumed that the fluid in
the reactor is perfectly mixed in the case, that is, the contents are uniform throughout the
reactor volume. In practice, an ideal mixing would be obtained if the mixing is sufficient and
the liquid is not too viscous. If the mixing is inadequate, there will be a bulk streaming
between the inlet and the outlet, and the composition of the reactor contents will not be
uniform. If the liquid is too viscous, dispersion phenomena will occur and this fact will affect
the mixing extent.

THEORY

The continuous flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), often refers to a model used to estimate the
key unit operation variables when using a continuous agitated tank reactor to reach a
specified output. The mathematical model works for all fluids liquids, gases and slurries.

The behavior of a CSTR is often approximated or modeled by that of a Continuous Ideally

Stirred tank reactor (CISTS). All calculations performed with CISTRs assume perfect
mixing. In a perfectly mixed reactor, the output composition is identical to composition of the
material inside the reactor, which is a function of residence time and rate of reaction. If the
residence time is 5 to 10 times the mixing time, this approximation is valid for engineering
purposes.
General Mole Balance Equation

Assumptions

𝑑𝑁𝐴
1) Steady state therefore =0
𝑑𝑡

2) Well mixed therefore rA is the same throughout the reactor

Rearranging the generation

In terms of conversion

Reactor in Series
Given −rA = f(X), one can also design any sequence of reactors in series provided there are
no side streams by defining the overall conversion at any point
Mole balance on Reactor 1;

Mole balance on Reactor 2;

Given −rA = f(X) the Levenspiel Plot can be used to find the reactor volume
For a PFR between two CSTRs

APPARATUS
 1. Distillation water
2. Sodium chloride
3. Continuous reactor in series
4. Stirrer system
5. Feed tanks
6. Waste tank
7. Dead time coil
8. Computerize system
9. Stop watch

PROCEDURE

EXPERIMENT 1 : THE EFFECT OF STEP CHANGE INPUT

1. The general start up procedure was performed by following the instruction of the
manual given at the instrument.
2. The tank 1 and tank 2 was filled up with 20L feeds of deionized water.
3. In tank 1, 300g of sodium chloride is dissolved until the salt dissolve entirely and the
solution is homogeneous.
4. Three-way valve (V3) was set to position 2 to allow the deionized water from tank 2
to flow into the reactor.
5. To fill up all three reactors with deionized water, pump 2 is switched on.
6. The flow rate (F11) was set to 150ml/min by adjusting the needle valve (V4). Do not
use too high flow rate to avoid the over flow rate and make sure no air bubbles
trapped in the pipping.
7. Stirrers 1, 2 and 3 were switched on. The deionized water was continued pumped for
about 3 minutes until the conductivity readings for all three reactors were stable at
low values.
8. The conductivity values were recorded at t 0
9. The pump 2 was switched off after 3 minutes. The valve (V3) was switched to
position 1 and the pump 1 was switched on. The timer was started.
10. The conductivity values were recorded every 3 minutes for every reactor.
 11. The conductivity values were continued recorded until the reading for reactor 3 closed
to reactor 1.
12. Pump 2 was switched off and the valve (V4) was closed.
13. All liquids in the reactors were drained by opening valves V5 and V6.

RESULTS
FT = 150ml/min
Time (min) μS μS μS
QT1 ( ) QT2 ( ) QT3 ( )
mS mS mS
0 91.1 μS 206 μS 203 μS
3 1370 μS 240 μS 261 μS
6 3.30 mS 563 μS 275 μS
9 5.45 mS 970 μS 353 μS
12 6.28 mS 1382 μS 409 μS
15 6.73 mS 1737 μS 480 μS
18 6.88 mS 2.09 mS 531 μS
21 7.07 mS 2.18 mS 566 μS
24 7.51 mS 2.27 mS 625 μS
27 7.88 mS 2.50 mS 673 μS
30 7.97 mS 2.61 mS 730 μS
33 8.02 mS 2.74 mS 796 μS
36 8.37 mS 2.94 mS 831 μS
39 8.51 mS 3.11 mS 847 μS
42 9.00 mS 3.14 mS 932 μS
45 9.18 mS 3.56 mS 1063 μS
48 9.77 mS 3.90 mS 1118 μS
51 9.97 mS 4.20 mS 1237 μS
54 10.20 mS 4.56 mS 1421 μS
57 10.91 mS 4.98 mS 1559 μS
60 11.01 mS 5.32 mS 1729 μS
63 11.89 mS 5.79 mS 2.10 mS
66 11.90 mS 5.99 mS 2,19 mS
69 11.91 mS 6.27 mS 2.44 mS
72 12.15 mS 6.61 mS 2.63 mS
75 13.29 mS 7.90 mS 3.32 mS
78 14.19 mS 9.42 mS 4.59 mS
81 15.12 mS 11.33 mS 6.65 mS
84 15.48 mS 12.32 mS 8.05 mS
87 15.74 mS 13.12 mS 9.33 mS
90 15.88 mS 13.75 mS 10.24 mS
93 15.96 mS 14.34 mS 11.52 mS
96 16.07 mS 14.69 mS 12.26 mS
99 16.13 mS 15.05 mS 12.94 mS
102 16.19 mS 15.44 mS 13.57 mS
105 16.21 mS 15.55 mS 14.10 mS
108 16.22 mS 15.67 mS 14.50 mS
111 16.22 mS 15.80 mS 14.85 mS
114 16.23 mS 15.91 mS 15.10 mS
117 16.23 mS 15.96 mS 15.35 mS
120 16.24 mS 16.13 mS 16.02 mS
 CONDUCTIVITY CHANGE IN TIME FOR EACH
REACTOR IN PULSE CHANGE
18

16

14

12
CONDUCTIVITY (MS)

10
REACTOR 1
8 REACTOR 2
REACTOR 3
6

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
TIME (MIN)

CALCULATION

Vi = FAO (XAi − XAi−1 )/(−rA )

Where Vi = Volume of reactor i

FAi = Molal flow rate of a into the first reactor
XAi = Fractional conversion of A in the reactor i
XAi−1 = Fractional conversion of A in the reactor i-1

For the first order reaction, −rA = kCA1 = kCA0 (1 − XAi )

V = volumetric flow rate of A

V = 150 ml/min
V = 0.15 liter/min

For the first reactor; (V=20L)

(−rA )1 = (kCA1 )1 = kCA1 = kCA0 (1 − XAi )

CA0 = FA0 /v
XAi+1 = XA0 = 0

Therefore,

Tank 1;
Vi = FAO (XAi − XAi−1 )/(−rA )
20 = 0.15(XA1 − 0)/(0.15(1 − XA1 ))
XA1 = 0.95

Tank 2;
Vi = FAO (XAi − XAi−1 )/(−rA )
20 = 0.15(XA2 − 0.95)/(0.15(1 − XA2 ))
XA2 = 0.998

Tank 3;
Vi = FAO (XAi − XAi−1 )/(−rA )
20 = 0.15(XA3 − 0.998)/(0.15(1 − XA3 ))
XA3 = 1

DISCUSSION

In this experiment, we carried out an experimental procedure to determine the effect of step
change input on the concentration of the salt solution used in the experiment which is sodium
chloride, NaCl. The first step in the experiment was filling the reactor tanks with the 20L of
deionized water. In the experiment of CSTR in series, there are two main objectives to
observe; first is the effect of step-change input and second is the effect of pulse input. But in
this experiment we only focus on the effect of the step change input.
The step-change input means we are continuously feeding the salt solution NaCl into the
reactor throughout the experiment and through the time the salt solution will fill all three
reactors until the first reactor and third reactor will have an equal value of conductivity. As
for the effect of pulse input, we feed the reactor with 3 minutes worth of salt solution and
then continuing the experiment feeding the reactors with deionized water spreading the salt
solution equally through all three reactors.

The feed is flowed through the reactors at roughly 150ml/min and the system is running
isothermally with each reactor’s temperature at around 29℃. In this experiment we took
readings of the conductivity of each reactor every 3 minutes. The experiment ends when the
conductivity of the first reactor and the third reactor are equal and constant for the few last
readings. The first reading of the reactors are as follows; QT1 is 0.091, QT2 is 0.206 and QT3
is 0.203 mS/min. The result can be observed in the results section of the report. As observed
from the results of the experiment, the conductivity of the mixture increases as time passes on
as more and more salt solution is fed into the reactors. And at the 120 minutes we can see the
conductivity of the reactor are starting to get equal, and the value; QT1 is 16.24, QT2 is 16.13
and QT3 is 16.02 mS/min.

In a scientific research, there are always unknown variables that could disrupt us from
obtaining the best results possible. During the recording of the data, we just realized that the
flow rate was accidently set at 95ml/min. Because of the data was not very accurate, the
plotting of the graph was affected and not very smooth.

CONCLUSION

Based on the results that we have obtained, it can be concluded that the experiment was
successful. The first objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of the pulse
input to the concentration. Graph 1 was plotted to show the effect of the pulse input. The
second objective was to determine the effect residence time on the response curve. Every
reactor has its own concentration, because of that we conclude that the residence time for
each reactor is different. So, the experiment was considered successful.
RECOMMENDATION

There are several recommendations must be performed to decrease the percentage of the error
in order to increase the accuracy of the results such as ;

i. The general start-up procedures need to be performed before starting each of the
experiment. This is to ensure all the components of the unit are in good conditions
and working smoothly. It will affect the reading of the experiment and reduce the
performances of the unit if the components are not in satisfied conditions.
ii. To get more accurate reading, the experiment must be repeated at least 3 times by
calculating the average reading. This will reduce the deviation from the theoretical
data.
iii. The reactor needs to be ensured that no leakage at the valve on the unit. The
leakage will cause the result to tremendously change which in turns alter the
results for this experiment.
iv. Set an alarm for every 3 minutes so that we do not missed the time to record the
result.

REFERENCES

I. Perry, R.H. and D. Green, Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s Handbook, 6th edition,
McGraw-Hill, Japan, 1984.

II. Elementary Fluid Mechanics 7th Edition, Robert L.Street, Gary Z. Watters, John K.
Vennard, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
III. Smith, J.M, Chemical Engineering Kinetics, McGraw Hill, 1981.

IV. McCabe, W. L. and J. C. Smith, Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 2nd

edition, McGraw-Hill, 1967.

APPENDIX