REACTOR

DESIGN
undamentals of Reactor Design
Chemical Reaction Engineering
 A specialty in chemical
engineering or industrial chemistry
dealing with chemical reactors.
• Chemical Reaction • Heat Transfer
• Chemical • Mass Balance
Energetics • Economics
• Chemical Kinetics
• Thermodynamics
• Fluid Mechanics
 Chemical REACTION
 Brief representation of the
chemical change in terms of
symbols and formulas of the
reactants called chemical equation
Example:
Zn + HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
Dalton’s Atomic Theory
 atoms are neither created nor
destroyed
Skeleton Equations
 chemical equation which no
attempt has been made to
equalize the number of atoms
of various elements
Balancing Chemical Equation
 to equitize the number of
atoms of various elements
Balanced Chemical Equation
 a chemical equation in which
the number of atoms of each
element in the reactant side is
equal to the product side
Example:
Zn + 2 HCl → ZnCl2 + H2
Conditions:
a. It should represent a true chemical
change.
b. It should be balanced.
c. It should be molecular.

Significance:
o Qualitative Significance
o Quantitative Significance
Qualitative Significance
 A chemical equation shows
the various names of
reactants and products.

Example:
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
Quantitative significance
It expresses:
• The relative number of molecules
of the reactants and products
• The relative number of moles of
reactants and products
• The relative volumes of gaseous
reactants and products
Example:
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
o Two molecules of hydrogen react with one
molecule of oxygen to form two molecules
of water.
o Two moles of hydrogen react with one mole
of oxygen to form two moles of water.
o Two volumes of hydrogen react with one
volume of oxygen to form two volumes of
water vapor.
o 4g of hydrogen with 32g of oxygen to form
36g of water.
Atomic Mass:
H2 = 1 g
O2 = 16 g

2H2 (4)(1g) = 4g
O2 (2)(16g) = 32g
2H2O = 36g
the Chemical Equation More Informative:
• The physical states of reactants and products
can be indicated by using the abbreviations
Zn(s) + 2HCl(aq)ZnCl2 + H2
(aq) (g)

• In order to indicate the strength of acid or

base, dil for dilute or conc for concentration
is written before the formula of acid or base.
Zn(s) + 2 dil HCl(aq)ZnCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
• The reaction conditions such as presence of
catalyst, temperature, pressure, etc., may be
written above the arrow between the reactants
and products.
V2O5, 7750K

• Heat change taking place during the reaction

N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g) + 93.6 KJ
or
N2(g) + 3H2(g) 2NH3(g)
∆H* = -93.6 KJ
*ΔH (change in enthalpy) that is heat evolved
or absorbed in a reaction at constant
temperature and pressure.

Enthalpy is the amount of heat content used

or released in a system at constant pressure.
Stoichiometry
derived from the Greek words
Stoicheron - element
Metron - measure.

 area of chemistry and chemical technology

on which determination of quantities of
reactants and products of chemical reaction
is based.
Chemical Kinetics
The study of chemical reaction rates and reactor
mechanisms.
Reaction Kinetics is the branch of chemistry
that quantifies rates of reaction.

Where:
K = rate constant
C = concentration of
substance
α .. β = order of reaction
The Collision Theory of Reaction Rates
 Qualitatively explains how chemical
reactions occur and why reaction rates
differ for different reactions.
• Molecules must collide before they can react.

Arrhenius Equation
 formula for the temperature dependence of
the reaction rate constant
 Arrhenius Equation

R = universal gas constant

(8.314 x 10^-3 kJ/ mol K)

T = temperature (K)

Where:
K = reaction rate
A = the pre-exponential factor
(frequency factor)
Ea = the activation energy / Energy barrier that must be
exceeded in order for molecules to have sufficient energy for
collision. (J/mol)
SAMPLE PROBLEM:
The reaction: has a rate
coefficient of 1.0 x 10-10 s-1 at 300 K and an
activation energy of 111 kJ mol-1. What is the
rate coefficient at 273 K?
Given:

@ Condition 1 @ Condition 2
K = 1.0 x 10-10 s-1 T2 = 273 K
Ea = 111 kJ mol-1 Req’d:
T1 = 300 K K2 = ?
Solution:

1.0 x 10-10 /s
= - 111 kJ/ mol
e (8.314 x 10-3 kJ / mol-K)(300K)

A = 2.13 x 109 / s
 111 kJ/ mol
= (2.13 x 109 / s) e (8.314 x 10 -3
kJ / mol-K)(273K)

K = 1.23 x 10-12 /s
 Chemical Energetics
The branch of science which deals with the
energy changes associated with chemical
reactions.
Endothermic Change Exothermic Change

Products Reactants
Energy

Energy

Reactants Products

Progress of Reaction Progress of Reaction

 Thermodynamics
The branch of science which deals with the
quantitative relationship between heat and
other forms of energies.
Laws of Thermodynamics
• First Law: Conservation of Mass Principle
• Second Law: entropy of any isolated system almost
always increases not thermal equilibrium almost
always increases
• Third Law: entropy approaches constant value as the
temperature approaches absolute zero
Therefore the design of a reactor must satisfy the
following requirements:
o Chemical Factors (Kinetics)
o Mass Transfer Factors
o Heat Transfer Factors
o Safety Factors
o Economic Factors

Design Procedure and Reactor Designing

An industrial chemical reactor is a complex device
in which heat transfer, mass transfer, diffusion and
friction must be considered and it must be safe and
controllable.
General Procedure For Reactor Design

1. The kinetic and thermodynamic data on the desired

reaction is initially collected. Values will be needed for
the rate of reaction over a range of operating
conditions, for example, pressure, temperature, flow
rate and catalyst concentration. This data may be
normally obtained from either laboratory or pilot plant
studies.
2. Data on physical properties is required for the design
of the reactor. This may be either estimated, or
collected from the literature or obtained by taking
laboratory measurements.
3. The rate controlling mechanism which has a
predominant role is then identified, for example,
kinetic, mass or heat transfer.
4. A suitable reactor type is then chosen, based on
experience with similar studies or from the
laboratory and pilot plant work.
5. Selection of optimal reaction conditions is initially
made in order to obtain the desired yield.
6. The size of the reactor is decided and its
performance estimated. Since exact analytical solutions
of the design relationship are rarely possible, semi-
empirical methods based on the analysis of idealized
reactors are used.
7. Materials for the construction of the reactor is/are
selected.
8. A preliminary mechanical design for the reactor
including the vessel design, heat transfer surfaces etc.,
is made.
9. The design is optimized and validated.
10. An approximate cost of the proposed and validated
design is then calculated.
Reactor Designing – Mathematical Models
A model of a reaction process is a set of data and equation
that is believed to represent the performance of a specific
vessel configuration (mixed, plug flow, laminar, dispersed,
etc.).
in which mathematical model is expressed
SYMBOLS and their relationship to the quantities in real
world

EQUATIONS
link the symbols and through which the values
of certain variables are computed

Principle: First a mechanism is assumed and then

a model is designed accordingly.
Basic Elements of Reactor Designing
Key Process Variables:
• Residence Time Distribution (τ)
• Volume (v)
• Temperature (T)
• Pressure (P)
• Concentrations of chemical species (C1, C2, C3------C4)
• Heat transfer coefficients (h, U)

RESIDENCE TIME DISTRIBUTION (RTD)

 A description of time that different fluid elements
spend inside the reactor.
TEMPERATURE
 affects rates of reaction.
Mass Balance
 A mass balance (also called a material balance) is
an accounting of material entering and leaving a
system. Fundamental to the balance is the
conservation of mass principle

IN = OUT + ACC
IN – OUT + PROD – CONS = ACC

- Integral Mass Balance

- Differential Mass Balance
Integral Mass Balance
 made by initially identifying the system boundaries,
that is how the system is connected to the rest of the
world and how the rest of the world influences the
system
Differential Mass Balance
 Designed by assuming the interior of the system

REACTOR MODELS
• Ideal Batch Reactor
• Ideal CSTR
• Ideal PFR
Ideal Batch Reactor
 It is a closed system. The mass balance for a substance
‘A’ becomes:

IN + PROD = OUT + ACC

Where:
rA - the rate at which substance A is produced
V - the volume (which may be constant or not)
nA - the number of moles (n) of substance A.
Ideal Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR):
 It is an open system.
 The mass balance becomes:
IN + PROD = OUT + ACC

Where:
QO - the volumetric flow in of the system
Q - the volumetric flow out of the system
CA,O - the concentration of A in the outflow
CA - the concentration of A in the inflow
Ideal Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
 It is an open system with no mixing along the reactor
but perfect mixing across the reactor.

Where:
Q - Volumetric flow in and out of the system
CA - Concentration of A
THE
END!