This document provides the solution to a chemical engineering problem involving the chlorination of dichlorotetramethylbenzene in acetic acid. The reaction is assumed to be first order with respect to chlorine and dichlorotetramethylbenzene. Kinetic data from a batch reactor experiment is used to determine the rate constant and order of the reaction. The rate constant and order are then used to calculate the volume of a plug flow reactor needed to achieve 90% conversion of chlorine using the same initial conditions as the batch reactor.
This document provides the solution to a chemical engineering problem involving the chlorination of dichlorotetramethylbenzene in acetic acid. The reaction is assumed to be first order with respect to chlorine and dichlorotetramethylbenzene. Kinetic data from a batch reactor experiment is used to determine the rate constant and order of the reaction. The rate constant and order are then used to calculate the volume of a plug flow reactor needed to achieve 90% conversion of chlorine using the same initial conditions as the batch reactor.
Process and Plant Design I tutorial 5 Solution Manual
Baciocchi et al. have studied the chlorination of dichlorotetramethylbenzene in acetic acid at
30oC. The reaction of interest has the following stoichiometry. C6Me4Cl2 + Cl2 HCl + C6Me3(CH2Cl)Cl2 The data below are typical of those recorded in a well stirred batch reactor. Initial concentrations are as follows: Cl2 = 19.2 moles/m3 C6Me4Cl2 = 34.7 moles/m3 Time (ksec) Fraction of Cl2 reacted 0 0 48.4 0.2133 85.1 0.3255 135.3 0.4226 171.3 0.5195 222.9 0.5955 257.4 0.6365 a. What is the order of reaction and the reaction rate constant? b. Determine the plug flow reactor volume necessary to acheive 90% conversion of the input chlorine using an input volumetric flow rate of 0.15 m3/ksec and the same initial conditions as used in the batch experiments.
Solution (a) The reaction is in the liquid phase and hence there are no volume changes occurring during the reaction. From the data we are expected to find the rate equation. If we assume that the reaction is first order with respect to chlorine and Di-chloro-tetramethyl-benzene in acetic acid, then the schematic of the reaction is A+B R+S and the reaction is irreversible. The rate equation for this equation is
If we carry out a differential analysis, we know that a plot of -dCA/dt vs (1-XA). (M-XA) will be a straight line. The line should pass through the origin and give kCA0 as the slope. See data and graph. Time, ks XA (1-XA)(M-XA) 0 0 1.81 48.4 0.2133 1.256 85.1 0.3255 1 135.3 0.4226 0.801 171.3 0.5195 0.620 222.9 0.5955 0.491 257.4 0.6365 0.426
(b) The PFR performance equation is given by
We can integrate the RHS using partial fractions.
which when integrated gives a volume of 178.9 m 3 .