BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts

Gov. Pablo Borbon Campus II,
Alangilan, Batangas City, Philippines 4200
www.batstate-u.edu.ph Telefax: (043) 300-4044 locs. 106-108

CHEMICAL AND FOOD ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

ChE 423
Equipment Design

INTRODUCTION TO REACTOR DESIGN

Bonifacio, Nestor Jr. A

Panopio, John Romar C.
Sabido, Mikee C.
Villanueva, Kim Gerard A.

ChE-4201

Engr. Angelica D. De Sagun

Instructor

February 8, 2016
 REACTOR DESIGN

I. INTRODUCTION

A chemical reaction is process in which substances (reactants) are transformed

into other substances (products) by the combination, rearrangement, or separation of
atoms.

Reactors are the heart of a chemical process. Chemical reactors are vessels in
which chemical reactions take place. It is the site of conversion of raw materials into
products and is also called the heart of a chemical process. Chemical reactors have
diverse sizes, shapes, and modes and conditions of operation based on the nature of
the reaction system and its behavior as a function of temperature, pressure, catalyst
properties, and other factors.

The design of the reactor is determined by multiple aspects of chemical

engineering but of particular importance are the thermodynamics and kinetics of the
chemical reactions being carried out. The design of a chemical reactor is the most
important factor in determining the overall process economics: reaction with the highest
efficiency towards the desired output, producing the highest yield of product in the most
cost effective way.

Reactors are designed based on features like mode of operation, types of

phases present, the geometry of reactors, state of aggregation of the interacting
substances and by the conditions (temperature, pressure, reactant concentrations)
which are required to ensure the desired reaction rate and direction. According to the
first criterion, a distinction is made between chemical reactors designed for reactions in
homogeneous systems (single-phase gaseous or liquid) and reactors used for
heterogeneous systems (multiphase, for example, gaseous-liquid-solid). The second
criterion is used to classify reactors as low-, medium-, or high-pressure; low- or high-
temperature; and batchwise, semicontinuous, or continuous-operation.

The design of an industrial chemical reactor must satisfy the following

requirements:

1. The chemical factors: the kinetics of the reaction. The design must provide
sufcient residence time for the desired reaction to proceed to the required degree of
conversion.

2. The mass transfer factors: with heterogeneous reactions the reaction rate
may be controlled by the rates of diffusion of the reacting species; rather than the
chemical kinetics.

3. The heat transfer factors: the removal, or addition, of the heat of reaction.

4. The safety factors: the connement of hazardous reactants and products,

and the control of the reaction and the process conditions.

II. CLASSIFICATION OF REACTOR DESIGN

ACCORDING TO MODES OF OPERATION

Batch Process
 It is a process in which all the reactants are added together at the beginning of the
process and products are removed at the termination of the reaction. There is neither
addition nor withdrawal of substances while the reaction is processing. It is suitable for
small production and for processes where a range of different products or grades is to
be produced in the same equipment.

Continuous Process

It is a process in which the reactants are fed to the reactor and the products or
byproducts are withdrawn in between while the reaction is still processing. Continuous
reactors are usually preferred for large scale production.

ACCORDING TO TYPES OF PHASES PRESENT

A. Homogeneous Reactions
Homogeneous reactions are those in which the reactants, products and any
catalyst used form one continuous phase: gaseous liquid.
Homogeneous gas phase reactors will always be operated continuously.
Homogeneous liquid phase reactors may be batch or continuous.

B. Heterogeneous Reactions
Two or more phases exist, and the overriding problem in the reactor design is
to promote mass transfer between the phases.

The possible combinations of phases are the following:

Solid-solid. Thermal and mass-transfer resistances are major factors in the

performance of solid reactions. The product of the reaction is often a gas that
must diffuse from a remaining solid, sometimes through a solid product.
Liquid-liquid. Reactions such as the nitration of toluene or benzene with mixed
acids, emulsion polymerizations, saponification.
Liquid-Solid. Liquid phases are in contact with a solid. Reaction occurs either in
the liquid or at the liquid/solid interface. The solid maybe a reactant or a porous
catalyst.
Gas-solid. Solid/gas reactions include combustion of solid fuels, atmospheric
corrosion, manufacture of hydrogen by action of steam on iron, chlorination of
ores of uranium, titanium, zirconium and aluminum, conversion of ferrous oxide
to magnetic ferric oxide in contact with reducing atmosphere of CO in combustion
gases. The solid either takes part in the reaction or act as a catalyst
Gas-Liquid. Gas/Liquid reactions processes are generally employed by the
industry either for the purpose of a gas purification or the removal of relatively
small amounts of impurities such as CO2, CO, SO2, H2S, NO and others from air,
natural gas, hydrogen for ammonia, synthesis, etc.

ACCORDING TO REACTOR GEOMETRY

It determines the path of the fluid through the vessel and fix the gross mixing
patterns which help to dilute rich feed and redistribute material and heat.

Catalytic Reactors
 Heterogeneous catalytic reactors are the most important single class of reactors
utilized by the chemical industry.

Stirred tank reactors

Stirred tank agitated reactors consist of a tank fitted

with a mechanical agitator and a cooling jacket or coils.
They are operated as batch reactors or continuous
reactors. Tank sizes ranges from a few liters to several
large thousand liters. They are used for homogeneous
and heterogeneous liquid-liquid and liquid-gas reactions;
and for reactions that involve finely suspended solids, www.indiamart.com
which are held in suspension by the agitation.

Well-Stirred Batch Reactor

Industrial practice generally favors processing continuously rather

than in single batches, because overall investment and operating costs
usually are less. Data obtained in batch reactors can be well defined and
used to predict performance of larger scale, continuous-flow reactors.
Almost all batch reactors are well stirred; thus, ideally, compositions are
uniform throughout and residence times of all contained reactants are
constant.

Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)

The CSTR is the idealized opposite of the well-stirred batch and

tubular plug-flow reactors. Analysis of selected combinations of these
reactor types can be useful in quantitatively evaluating more complex gas-
, liquid-, and solid-flow behaviors.

Tubular Reactors

Tubular Reactors are generally used for

gaseous reaction, but are also suitable for
some liquid reactions. If high heat transfer rates
are required small diameter tubes are used to
increase the surface area to volume ratio.
Several tubes may be arranged in parallel,
connected to a manifold or fitted into a tube
sheet in a similar arrangement to a shell and http://www.keyword-suggestions.com
tube heat exchangers.

Packed Bed Reactors

There are two basic types of packed bed

reactor; those in which he solid is a reactant and
those in which the solid is a catalyst. Industrial
packed bed catalytic reactors range in size from

www.essentialchemicalindustry.org
 small tubes, a few centimeters diameter to a large diameter packed beds.
Packed Bed Reactors are used for gas and gas-liquid reactions.

Fluidized Bed Reactors

A fluidized-bed reactor is a combination of the two

most common, packed-bed and stirred tank, continuous
flow reactors. It is very important to chemical engineering
because of its excellent heat and mass transfer
characteristics. The essential feature of a fluidized bed
reactor is that the solids are held in suspension by the
upward flow of the reacting fluid. This promotes high
mass and heat transfer rates and good mixing. en.wikipedia.org

III. FUNDAMENTALS OF REACTOR DESIGN

Chemical Reactions

Brief representation of the chemical change in terms of symbols and formulae of

the reactants and products is called a chemical equation.A chemical equation in which
the number of atoms to each element is equal on the reactant side and product side is
called a balanced equation.

Chemical Energetics

Chemical reactions are always associated with energy changes. Quite often, the
energy change accompanying a chemical reaction is more significant than the reaction
itself. The branch of science which deals with the energy changes associated with
chemical reactions is called chemical energetics.

Thermodynamics

Since the bond energy varies from one bond to another, the chemical reactions
are always accompanied by absorption or release of energy. Most of the times the
energy is in the form of heat.Thermodynamics literally means conversion of heat into
work and vice-versa because thermrefers to heat and dynamics refers to movement.
Thermodynamics may, therefore, be defined as the branch of science which deals
withthe quantitative relationship between heat and other forms of energies.

Kinetics

Reactor systems must be configured and sized which requires knowledge of reaction
kinetics, which is obtained by conducting laboratory experiments. For homogeneous
non-catalytic reactions, power-law expressions are commonly used for regression of
laboratory kinetic data. These expressions are not always based on the stoichiometric
equation because several elementary reaction steps may be involved, the sum of which
is the stoichiometric equation, but one of which may control the overall reaction rate.
Elementary reaction steps rarely involve more than two molecules. The general power-
law kinetic equation is
Where rj is the rate of disappearance of component j (in mol/time-volumr), Ci is the
concentration of component i (in mol/volume), t is time, k is the reaction rate coefficient,
i is the order of reaction with respect to component i, and C is the number of
components.

The reaction rate coefficient is a function of temperature as given by the empirical

Arrhenius equation:

where ko is the pre-exponential factor, and E is the activation energy.

The design of an industrial chemical reactor must satisfy the following requirements.

1. The chemical factors: the kinetics of the reaction. The design must provide
sufficient residence time for the desired reaction to proceed to the required
degree of conversion.
2. The mass transfer factors: With heterogeneous reactions, the reaction rate may
be controlled by the rates of diffusion of the reacting species, rather than the
chemical kinetics.
3. The heat transfer factors: the removal or addition of the heat of reaction.
4. Economic factors: Minimum amount of money should be required to purchase
and operate. Normal operating expenses include energy input, energy removal,
raw material costs, labour, etc.

IV. DESIGN PROCEDURE AND REACTOR DESIGNING

Many reactor systems include: single-batch, backmix, or plug flow reactors, or

multistage setups such as reactors in series or parallel.

The starting point for all design is the general material balance expressed for any
reaction component. A reactor is designed by use of the equations expressing material
balances, heat balances, reaction rates, and pressure drops (particular form of
momentum balance).

A general procedure for reactor design is outlined below:

1. Initially the kinetic and thermodynamic data on the desired reaction are 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, semiemperical
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

Things to consider: various feed ratios, the introduction of feed between stages,
interstage cooling or heating, recycle of material, and many other possibilities.
Operation of the reactor can be adiabatic, isothermal, or nonadiabatic, nonisotherma.
For the latter, heat transfer to or from the reacting mixture occurs along the length of the
reactor. Temperature control is an important consideration in reactor design. Adiabatic
operation is always considered first because it provides the simplest and least-
expensive reactor. When reactions are highly exothermic or endothermic, it is often
desirable to exercise some control over temperature.

Factors that influence the selection of one design in preference to a competing

design could be:

Reaction type.
Rate of production and product desired.
Relative costs of equipment and necessary instrumentation.
Operational stability.
Control and flexibility of operation, feed material, and operating costs.
Equipment life expectancy.
Length of time that the product is expected to be manufactured
Ease of convertibility of the equipment to modified operating conditions or to new
and different processes.

Reactor design controls

Reactor size: volume required for the reactive materials and not for the whole setup
including auxiliary equipment. Size of reactor may vary by a factor of 10,000% among
competing designs.

Product distribution of products of reaction: the prime distribution in the choice of

reactor system or multistage reactions. Thus a reactor with the appropriate type of flow
will maximize the production, of the desired product, and at the same time depress
formation of undesired materials.

Important factor in comparing is the reactor size requirement.

V. BASIC ELEMENTS OF REACTOR DESIGNING

Reactions are carried out as batches or with continuous streams through a vessel.
There are two main basic vessel types:
 Tank Reactor a tank
Tubular Reactor a pipe or tube

Most commonly, reactors are run at a steady-state, but can also be operated in a
transient state. Transient state is a state in which the key process variables like
residence time, volume, temperature, pressure or concentration of chemical species,
heat transfer coefficients change with time. Chemical reactors may be designed keeping
in view the various process variables.

TYPES OF REACTOR MODEL

There are three main basic models used to estimate the most important process
variables of different chemical reactors.

Batch Reactor Models

Batch reactors are used in for

most of the reactions carried out
in a laboratory. The reactants are
placed in a test-tube, flask or
beaker. It is used when either
small amounts of material or
relatively expensive materials are
to be treated. A semi-batch
reactor is operated with both
continuous and batch inputs and
http://www.mccannscience.com outputs. It is simple, needs little
supporting equipment, and is
therefore ideal for small-scale experimental studies of reaction kinetics. It is used when
either small amounts of material or relatively expensive materials are to be treated.

Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor Model (CSTR).

It is the simplest kinetic reactor model in which

the contents are assumed to be perfectly mixed.
The composition and the temperature are
assumed to be uniform throughout the reactor
volume and equal to the composition and
temperature of the reactor effluent. The fluid
elements do not have the same residence time in
the reactor rather there is a residence-time
distribution. A perfectly mixed reactor is used
often for homogeneous liquid-phase reactions.
The CSTR model is adequate for this case,
http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org
provided that the reaction takes place under
adiabatic or isothermal conditions.

In a CSTR, one or more fluid reagents are introduced into a tank reactor equipped
with an impeller while the reactor effluent is recovered. The impeller stirs the reagents to
ensure proper mixing. Therefore, it can be seen that in these reactors, reactants are
continuously fed to the first vessel; they overflow through the others in succession, while
being thoroughly mixed in each vessel. Though the composition is uniform in individual
vessels, but a stepped concentration gradient exists in the system as a whole.

Plug Flow Reactor Model (PFR)

The plug-flow tubular reactor (PFR or

PFTR), in which the composition of fluid,
flowing as a plug, gradually changes down
the length of the reactor, with no
composition or temperature gradients in
http://www.umich.edu the radial direction. One or more fluid
reagents are pumped through a pipe or tube. the feed enters one end of a cylindrical
tube and the product stream leaves at the other end or passes many short reactors in a
tube bank. A PFR is usually operated continuously at steady-state, apart from start-up
and shutdown periods. The PFR is completely unmixed, with elements having the same
residence time in the reactor. If the reactor operates under adiabatic or nonisothermal
conditions, the temperature of the flowing fluid changes gradually down the length of the
reactor.

VI. REACTOR NETWORK DESIGN USING ATTAINABLE REGION

Attainable Region defines the achievable compositions that may be obtained from a
network of chemical reactors
- It was introduced by horn (1964), with more recent developments and
extensions by Glasser and co-workers (Glasser et al. 1987; Hilderbrandt et al.,
1990)

Fig: Attainable region for the van de Vusse reactions

References

Douglas, J.M. Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes

Coulson & Richardsons Chemical Engineering Design

Plant design and Economics for Chemical Engineers by Peters, M.S., and
Timmerhaus K.D.

Product and Process Design Principles by Lewin, D.R., Seader, J.D., and Seider,
W.D. (page 215-229)

http://www.metal.ntua.gr/~pkousi/e-learning/bioreactors/page_04.htm