Theory:

A continuous stirred tank reactor is an ideal reactor which is also known as continuous stirred tank reactor
(CSTR) is an ideal reactor in which fluids flow continuously in and out of the reactor throughout the process.
This type of reactor is usually employed for liquid phase reactions or used for gas phase in laboratory for
kinetic studies. The content are well mixed and stirred throughout. This type of reactor is mostly used for large
scale particularly in industries. (Levenspiel, 1999)

Figure 1: A simple CSTR

General assumptions that are made in dealing with mixed flow reactor include running (operating) at steady
state, it is quite well mixed such that the properties of the reaction mixture are uniform in all parts of the vessel.
The inlet stream of a CSTR instantaneously mixes with the bulk of the reactor volume. Also, there is no spatial
variation in concentration, temperature or reaction rate throughout the vessel. (Schartl, 2014)
In this reactor, the reactants are continuously charged (introduced) into the reactor, while products are
continuously removed. A mixed flow reactor can function as a loop reactor when a heated and pressurized
fluid is injected into the system to facilitate the stirring. In turn this allows higher heat and mass transfer rates
while simplifying maintenance since there is no agitator. (Show & Lee, 2013)

For a mixed flow batch reactor operating a reaction A+ B → C + D, the volume of the reactor can be calculated
as

𝐹𝐴0 − 𝐹𝐴
V= −𝑟𝐴

Where:

FA0 = Feed amount in moles (input)

-rA = Rate of reaction

Also, the equation above can be rearranged as

Where τ is the space time, the time required to process one reactor volume of feed measured at specified
conditions, where by V is reactor volume and v0 is the volumetric feed rate.
𝑉𝐶𝑆𝑇𝑅
τ=
𝑣𝐴 + 𝑣𝐵
If the density is constant, then XA = 1 – CA/CA0, in which case the performance equation can be written as;
𝑉 𝑋𝐴 𝐶𝐴0 − 𝐶𝐴
= =
𝐹𝐴0 −𝑟𝐴 𝐶𝐴0 (−𝑟𝐴 )
𝑉 𝐶𝐴0 𝑋𝐴 𝐶𝐴0 − 𝐶𝐴
τ= = =
𝑣 −𝑟𝐴 −𝑟𝐴
Also for constant density systems, CA/CA0 = 1- XA, thus the performance equation for first order will be
𝑋𝐴 𝐶𝐴0 − 𝐶𝐴
𝑘𝜏 = = for expansivity (ε) = 0
1− 𝑋𝐴 𝐶𝐴

For a second order reaction, the equation becomes

Similar expressions can be written for any other form of rate equation. These expressions can be written
either in terms of concentrations or conversions. Using conversions is simpler for systems of changing
density, while either form can be used for systems of constant density. (Levenspiel, 1999)
The rate of reaction is given as
𝐶𝐴0 − 𝐶𝐴
− 𝑟𝐴 =
𝜏
The advantages of using a continuous stirred tank reactor include easy maintenance of good temperature
control, relatively inexpensive construction of the reactor itself, large heat capacity as well as easy access of
the interior design unlike batch reactor where the access to interior design is very limited. Generally, a CSTR
is more advantageous over batch reactors when large quantity of reactant needs to be processed such as at
industrial scale. (Catalano, et al., 2019)
Despite having advantages, mixed flow reactor has also got some disadvantages such as small conversion
of reactant to product per volume of the reactor, high power requirements for mixing and high shear force that
may damage the cells or vessel. (Szulkipeli, 2011)

Continuous stirred tank reactors are mostly applied in industrial processing, primarily in homogeneous liquid-
phase flow reactions, where constant agitation is required. They can be applied to activate sludge reactors in
wastewater treatment. They are also ideal for growth associated products. CSTRs can be used in
pharmaceutical industry as loop reactors. Fermenters are another application of CSTR which involve the use

Discussion:
In this experimental simulation, water was reacted with propylene oxide to produce propylene glycol as a
product with the reaction taking place in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The results of the reaction
are shown in the observation table as per exercise table above in which case the results for vapor fraction,
temperature, pressure, molar flow and mass flow for all streams (propylene oxide, water feed, mixed feed,
CSTR Vent and CSTR Product) were slightly different from the laboratory manual results.

The results showed that, the temperature of the mixed stream was higher than the manual one, this was due
to the input of water at higher temperature (72oF) than the one used in laboratory manual (70OF). Since the
reaction between water and propylene oxide is an exothermic reaction, the released energy raised the
temperature of the discharge stream from 23oC of a mixed stream to 110. 2oC of products. The results also
showed that, pressure propylene oxide had negligible impact on the overall process, thus when pressure of
water was raised, the overall process pressure was also raised to 108.2 kPa which is slightly higher than the
manual value of 103.4 kPa.

From the observation table as per experiment, the flow rates in both molar, mass and volumetric were
observed to be slightly higher than similar flow rates from the laboratory manuals. The difference was brought
by the increased flow rate of the propylene oxide in the feed stream, in which it was raise from 140 to 159
lbmole/hr.

Composition results of the simulation showed that, the production of the propylene glycol could be increased
by increasing the flow rate of the feed (increasing the input of Propylene oxide). Also, it showed that, all of
the propylene oxide was consumed to produce propylene glycol, thus the reaction was complete chemically.
Since, propylene glycol is a heavy organic compound (exist as in liquid phase), then the majority of the formed
glycol exit through the CSTR Product stream which was the bottom stream of a continuous stirred tank reactor
where heavy or liquid components exit the reactor.

By assuming the shape of the reactor being vertical during the simulation, the designed dimensions of the
reactor were obtained, in which the volume of the reactor was found to 7.079 m 3, diameter of 1.818 m, and
the height of reactor was found to be 2.727 m.
Conclusion:
The simulation of the production of propylene glycol from propylene oxide was performed successfully, in
which the simulation results for propylene oxide, water feed, mixed feed, CSTR Vent and CSTR Product
streams showed variations of values from the observation of laboratory manuals. The change in feed
temperature and pressure affected the discharge pressure and temperature of the products from CSTR, in
which raise in temperature and pressure of the water showed greater impact than propylene oxide. Increasing
flow rate of propylene oxide affected largely the discharge flow rates of the product streams by increasing
them.

Apart from temperature, pressure and flow rate, there are other parameters that could affect the production
of propylene glycol that were not considered in this design. One of those parameters is the use of catalyst to
enhance the production of the propylene glycol.
Figure 2: Composition of Streams after Simulation

Figure 3: Sizing of a CSTR

Figure 4:Dynamics of a CSTR after simulation

Figure 6: Reaction Results after simulation