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Coal combustion
C (s) + O2 (g) CO2 (g)
SO3(for sulphuric acid production)
SO2 (g) + 1/2 O2 (g) SO2 (g) Vanadium catalyst (s)
Reversible and Irreversible Reactions
Irreversible Reactions: Reactions that proceed uni-
directionally under the conditions of interest
H2S⇄ H2 + 1/xSx
Form of Mole Balance Equation
Output Rate
Input Rate
= Rate of ACCUMULATION
Before we get into the details of the mole balance equation, we must introduce
definition for reaction rate as well as associated notation.
Notation: Reaction Rate for Homogeneous Reactions
Units of (-rA')
•mol per unit time per mass of catalyst
•mol/s-g or kmol/hr-kg catalyst
Rate of reaction has units of dCA/dt.
Does the relationship: (-rA) = dCA/dt always hold true?
Let us consider the following example of a flow reactor and
evaluate if dCA/dt is equal to (-rA).
Ethylene Oxide
CAO CAO CA
10:00 am 50.0 10.0
CA 12:00 pm 50.0 10.0
3:00 pm 50.0 10.0
5:00 pm 50.0 10.0
Rate Law
• Rate law is an algebraic equation (constitutive relationship) that relates reaction
rate to species concentrations via a constant (?) that depends on temperature.
• Rate law is independent of reactor type
dN A
FAO - FA + GA =
dt
FA
FAO
Control Volume = V
GA = (rate of formation of A) · V
= (rA)·V
Could you write the GMBE in terms of consumption and NOT generation
of a species ?
Common Reactor Types
• Batch Reactor
• Flow Reactor
– Continuous-Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
– Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
– Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)
Key Characteristics
• unsteady-state operation (by definition)
• no spatial variation of concentration or temperature, i.e.
lumped parameter system (well-mixed)
• mainly used for small scale operation
• suitable for slow reactions
• mainly (not exclusively) used for liquid-phase reaction
• charge-in/clean-up times can be large
General Mole Balance for a Batch Reactor
Reaction: A Products
in integral form as
Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
Key Characteristics
• Steady-state operation
• Spatial variation in axial direction but not in radial
direction + no temporal variation, i.e. distributed system
• suitable for fast reaction mainly used for gas phase
reaction
• temperature control may be difficult
• there are no moving parts
General Mole Balance for PFR
Reaction: A Products
FA0
FA
FA
Reaction: A Products
FAo - FA
V=
- ( rA )
Picture Source: http://www-micrbiol.sci.kun.nl/galleries/two.html
Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)
FA0 FA
Key Characteristics
• Similar to PFR. Can be thought of as PFR packed with solid
particles, which are almost always catalysts.
• Steady-state operation
• Spatial variation but no temporal variation
• Mainly used for gas phase catalytic reaction although examples
for liquid-phase reaction are also known.
• temperature control may be difficult
• There are no moving parts
• Pressure drop across the packed bed is an important consideration
Mole Balance for PBR
FA0 FA
Reaction: A Products
Fj
dF j Concentration and hence
PFR dF j
= rj
V=
F jO
(rj )
reaction rates vary
spatially.
dV
Class Problem #1
Food
Small Intestine
Mouth Large
Intestine
Stomach
What reactor type can we represent the various body parts with?
Single-Reaction Systems
Conversion (X)
• Quantification of how far a reaction has progressed
• Batch Reactors
N IO - N I
X=
N IO
• Limiting reactant..
X
dX
BATCH N AO
dX
= (-rA )V t = N AO
dt 0
- rAV
FAO ( X )
V=
CSTR (-rA ) Exit
X
dX dX
PFR FAO = (- rA ) V = FAO
dV 0
- rA
Levenspiel Plots:
Illustration of Reactor Sizing for
Single-Reaction Systems
Octave Levenspiel
SOURCE: http://engr.oregonstate.edu/oregonstater/fame/1998/che/octavelevenspiel.html
Levenspiel Plots
Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
FA0 x = xPFR
FA0
(-rA ) VPFR =
x =0
- rA
dX
X XPFR
FA0 FA0
(-rA ) VCSTR =[ ] [ X CSTR ]
(-rA )
Evaluated at X=XCSTR
X XPFR
Class Problem #2
AB
FAO
-rA
X
For a given conversion, can the CSTR
volume be equal to PFR volume?
FAO
-rA
X
Reactors in Series
PFR in Series
FAO FA1
FA2
X=0
X=X2
X=X1 FA3; X=X3
X
CSTR in Series
Compare volume for the following 2
cases
FAO
(i) A single reactor achieving X3
X=0 (ii) 3 reactors in series achieving X3
FA1
X=X1 FA2 How is the total volume of 3 reactors in
FA3; X=X3 series related to single reactor ??
X=X2
FAO
-rA
The two reactors, vastly different in scale, and with different feed concentrations
yield similar conversion. Why?
Time is of Essence
Space Velocity: SV =
v
V
•LHSV - Liquid Hourly Space Velocity
•GHSV - Gas Hourly Space Velocity
Actual Residence Time: The time actually spent by fluid inside the
reactor.
Illustration of difference between
space time () and residence time (tres)
The Pop Corn Example
aA + bB cC + dD