1

REACTORS SIZING: TRANSESTERIFICATION REACTORS

SIZING REACTORS:

The sizing of reactors is based on the following assumptions;
- Using 100 % excess methanol
- 1 % Catalyst (based on the weight of the oil)
-
R
t = 1h

- X =90 %
- Non Elementary reaction first order
- Steady-state process

Designing reactors in other word is to calculate the volume of the reactor .The study evaluate
the volume by using to method; the HYSYS and the reaction kinetic.
The HYSYS method finds the volume using the following equation:


8 . 0
Q
V
R
t
=





2

- Reactor 1

FIGURE 1: Reactor 1








3

Substituing values in the previously derived equation to find r, it was then substituted in

And a volume of 0.1m
3
was found.
Since the entire design of the whole process is based on a design illustrated in Apostolakou
et. al. (2009) as the base case. Apostolakou et. al. (2009) suggested a reactor volume to be
calculated using an equation: with the residance time, Q as the volumetric
flowrate of all streams and V as the reactor volume.





- Reactor 2

FIGURE 2 : Reactor 2



4













Using the equation
The volume was found to be 3m
3
while using the equation below:




Using the rate laws, the volume calculated as illustrated in reactor 1 sizing is 4.8m
3
.





5

USING THE KINETIC OF REACTION:



Overall chemical reaction:

1 Triolein + 3 Methanols => 3 Biodiesel + 1 Glycerol
Let:
1 A + 3 B => 3 C + 1 D

1- Design equation

FA0 FA +
j
r V
A
A AO
r
F F
V

= In terms of Conversion:
A
AO
r
X F
V

=

2- Rate law




3- Stoichiometry : ( Liquid phase reaction)

V C F
A A
=

0 0
V C F
A A
=

Or
0
0 0
0
RT
P y
C
A
A
=


4- Combine :


) 1 (
0
0 0
0
X
RT
P y
k
X F
V
A
A

=

5- Evaluate V
A A
kC r =
) 1 (
) 1 (
0
0
0
0
0
X C
v
X F
v
F
v
F
C
A
A A A
A
=

= = =

6


3
32 . 4
) 9 . 0 1 ( 28 . 3 05 . 0
) 9 . 0 )( 0788 . 0 (
m V
V
=

=



HEAT EXCHANGER SIZING:


2514 Kg/h of oil has to be heating up from room temperature 25 C to 60 C at the
beginning of the operation to allow an easier process. Two general types of heat exchangers
problems are commonly encountered, specifying the specific heat exchanger type for a
required duty, and the sizing, which refers to the heat transfer surface area.
Designing or predicting the performance of the heat exchanger requires major parameters
such as, the overall heat transfer coefficient U; the total heat surface area A, and the inlet and
outlet temperature of the working fluid. The present report uses the value of U given in the
referenced document: A.A.Apostalakou et al. which had assumed U= 0.5 kW.
1 2
k m .

Assumption:
1- U is constant.
2- The flow conditions are steady
3- The specific heats and mass flow rates of both fluids are constant.
4- There is no loss of heat to the surroundings ,due to the heat exchanger being
Perfectly insulated.
5- No change of phase either of the fluid during the heat transfer
6- The changes in potential and kinetic energies are negligible
7- Axial conduction along the tube of the heat exchanger is negligible.
8- The shell and tube heat exchanger is used.
9- The flow is counter current arrangement. As the LMTD is always greater then that
for a parallel flow unit .In other word, a counter flow heating surface for the same
rate of heat transfer.



7









FIGURE 3: Flow Arrangement: Counter-Current

















FIGURE 4: Temperature Profile














Cold Oil
Hot Water

TC1=25 C
TH2 =151.0 C
TH1= 151.8 C
TC2=60 C
) (
1 2 2 C H
T T = u
) (
2 1 1 C H
T T = u

8


HEAT TRANSFER CALCULATION:


Proprieties of the fluids:

P(Kpa) Cp(J/Kg.C)
STEAM 500 2748 2107
OIL - 2083 -



KW
s J
C C Kg J s Kg
T T c m Q
C C
OIL
p
C
C
51
/ 5 . 51033
) 25 60 ( . / 2083 / 7 . 0
) (
1 2
=
=
=
=
-


C T
T
T C C KG J s Kg S KJ
T T c m Q Q
H
H
H
H H
stream
p H H C
=
=
=
= =
-
151
8 . 151 767 . 0
) 8 . 151 ( . / 2748 / 024 . 0 / 51
) (
2
2
2
2 1



Provisional Area:

K K m KW
KW
U
Q
A
m
381 . . 5 . 0
51
1 2

= =

u

2
27 . 0 m A=

m H C
UA Q Q Q u = = =
) (
1
2
1 2
u
u
u u
u
Ln
m

=

9

AGITATION:

The reason why the reactor has an agitator is because of the following reasons:
1. The rate of transesterification depends on the agitation rate or directly proportional to
the Reynolds number (Nouriddini, 1998)
2. Blending the two miscible liquids
3. Increase the heat transfer between
The two reactors have the same volume that means the two tanks are identical. Therefore the
calculations are made for one reactor. Generally, liquids are agitated in a cylindrical vessel
which can either be closed or open to the air.
There are different types of agitators listed below and their descriptions (walter..).
1. There-blade propeller agitator
- Turns at high speeds of 400 to 1750 rpm (Revolution per minute)
- Used for low viscosities liquids below about 3 Pa.s (3000 cp)
2. Paddle agitators
- Used for low speeds between 20 to 200 rpm
- Two-bladed and four-bladed flat puddles are often used
- Total length of the paddle impeller is usually 60 80% of the tank diameter
- Width of the blade is 1/6 to 1/10 of the tank length
- Used for viscous liquids where deposits on walls occur and to improve heat transfer
to the walls
- It sweeps and scraps the tank walls and sometimes the tank bottom
- It is a poor mixer
- Used for viscosities of the fluid of about below 100Pa.s (100 000cp)
3. Turbine agitators
- Used at high speeds for liquids with a very wide range of viscosities
- Diameter of the turbine is normally between 30-50% of the tank diameter
- Useful in suspending solids since the currents flow downward and then sweep up the
solids.
- Used for viscosities below about 100 000 cp

10

4. Helical Ribon agitators
- Used in highly viscous solutions
- Operates at low rpm in laminar region
Since the two tanks are identical, the dimensions are going to be the same except the power
consumption. It has been calculated that the reactions require a volume of about 4 m
3
.
Tank 1 Dimension:
Choosing the allowance of 20%
The tank volume will therefore be
The liquid depth is approximately equal the diameter of the tank (McCabe et. al., 2005)
















11




The viscosity of the mixture was calculated using the equation below (obtained from
Coulson and Richardson, Vol 6).



From the viscosity and the description of impellers described earlier, the type of impellers
chosen are Propellers due to the low viscosity.
The density of the mixture was calculated to be 904 kg/m
3
.
Assuming the the speed of the impeller

Using the curve shown in Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7
th
ed, by McCabe
and Smith, on page 260, Figure 9.14 which shows the Power number N
P
versus Reynolds
number Re for propellers, the N
P
was found to be 0.91.
Calculating the power:

The amount of workdone to the fluid is:






12

REACTOR /TANK 2 DIMENSIONS :




Choosing the allowance of 20%
The tank volume will therefore be
The liquid depth is approximately equal the diameter of the tank (McCabe et. al., 2005)















13




The viscosity of the mixture was calculated using the equation below (obtained from
Coulson and Richardson, Vol 6).



From the viscosity and the description of impellers described earlier, the type of impellers
chosen are Propellers due to the low viscosity.
The density of the mixture was calculated to be 880 kg/m
3
.
Assuming the the speed of the impeller

Using the curve shown in Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7
th
ed, by McCabe
and Smith, on page 260, Figure 9.14 which shows the Power number N
P
versus Reynolds
number Re for propellers, the N
P
was found to be 0.8
Calculating the power:

The amount of workdone to the fluid is:










14

ENERGY BALANCE:

- Reactor 1



A + + + + =
(

+ +
R s
outlet
o o o o o
inlet
i i i i i
H W Q V v gz H V v gz H V v gz U
dt
d
)
2
1
( )
2
1
( )
2
1
(
2 2 2

Simplifying Assumptions

The change in Potential Energy E
p
is insignificant since there is no change in height.
The change in Kinetic Energy E
k
is insignificant.
Since the liquid is already heated to the reaction temperature, there is no more heating
required therefore it is assumed that Q = 0
( )
R s
Outlet
o o
inlet
i i i
H W V H V H V H
dt
d
A + + =


0

) (
dt
PdV
dt
dP V
dt
dH
dt
dU
PV H U
PV U H
R R
R
R
+ =
=
+ =

Volume of the Reactor is constant
Assume that the reactor is isobaric

Since
T C H
dt
dH
dt
dU
P
A =
=

R s in in in P out out out P
R s out out out P in in in P P
H W V T C V T C
dt
dV
ce
H W V T C V T C V T C
dt
d
A + + A = A
=
A + + A A = A


) ( ) (
0 sin
) ( ) ( ) (


15





Group contribution method was used to estimate the Cp of biodiesel and triolein


Elements Cp for liquids
C 11.7
H 18
B 19.7
Si 24.3
O 25.1
F 29.3
P 31
S 31
Other 33.5
Group contibution method











Biodiesel
Elements Molecular mass Cp
C 228 222.3
H 36 648
O 32 50.2
Total 296 920.5
Biodiesel Cp 3.109797297

Triolein
Elements Molecular mass Cp
C 684 666.9
H 104 1872
O 96 150.6
Total 884 2689.5
Triolein Cp 3.042421

Sodium Methoxide
Elements
Molecular
mass Cp
C 12 11.7
H 3 54
Na 23 33.5
O 16 25.1
Total 54 124.3
Sodium methoxide
Cp 2.301851852

HCL 0.938404131
water 1.884515154
Methanol 1.453953383
Glycerol 1.354743066
Cp at 60
O
C

16


Heat of Formations
- Heat of formation of Triolein is -2193.7 kJ/mol (Amanda, 2011).
- Heat of formation of Methanol is -238.4 kJ/mol (Amanda, 2011)
- Heat of formation of Glycerol is -669.6 kJ/mol (Amanda, 2011)
- Heat of formation of Biodiesel is -429 kJ/mol (Esra, 2009)


The overall heat of reaction for the production of biodiesel is calculated below:






Heat capacity for the inlet mixture = 2.26 Kj/Kg
Heat capacity for the outlet mixture = 2.8 KJ/Kg.k
R s in in in P out out out P
H W V T C V T C A + + A = A ) ( ) (





O
C


17

- Reactor 2



Heat capacity for the inlet mixture = 2.91 Kj/Kg
Heat capacity for the outlet mixture = 2.96 KJ/Kg.k
R s in in in P out out out P
H W V T C V T C A + + A = A ) ( ) (





O
C
















18

SAMPLE CALCULATION:

- Concentration of iitial component A

0
0 0
0
RT
P y
C
A
A
=
090 . 0
09049 . 0
56 . 2488
2 . 225
0
0
=
= =
A
A
y
y

3
0
3
0
/ 28 . 3
333 314 . 8
10 . 101 09 . 0
m mol C
C
A
A
=

=


- Molar flow rate
s mol F
M
m
F
A
R
A
/ 0788 . 0
07879 . 0
) 10 884 (
7 . 0
0
3
0
=
=

= =

-

- Mass flow rate of oil

697969 . 2513 =
-
OIL
m Kg/hr
=
3600
697969 . 2513

=0.7 Kg/s
7 . 0 =
-
OIL
m Kg/s

- Mass flow rate of steam








s Kg m
Q
m
/ 024 . 0
02422093 . 0
2107
51
=
= =
=
-
-

19



- Mean values of temperature

C =
=
1 . 91
60 8 . 151
1
1
u
u


C =
=
126
25 0 . 151
2
2
u
u


K
C
Ln
m
m
m
381
553 . 107
)
91
126
ln(
91 126
) (
1
2
1 2
=
=

=
u
u
u
u
u u
u


- Specific heat of methanol


kJ/kg











20

REFERENCES

1. A.A. Apostolakou, et al., Techno-economic analysis of a biodiesel production
process from vegetable oils, Fuel Processing Technology (2009),
doi:10.1016/j.fuproc.2009.04.017

2. B. Freedman, R.O. Butterfield, E.H. Pryde, Transesterification kinetics of soybean
oil, JAOCS 63 (1986) 13751380.
3. Zang, Y., Dube, M., Mclean, D., and Kates, M., 2003. Biodiesel production from
waste cooking oil: 1. Process design and technological assessment. Bioresource
Technology 89, (1-16).

4. Ghadge, S. V. and Raheman, H., 2006. Process optimization for biodiesel production
from mahua ( Madhuca indica) oil using response surface methodology. Bioresource
Technology 97, 379-384.

5. Soojin, L., Dusko, P., and Naoko, E., 2011. Process simulation and economic
analysis of biodiesel production process using fresh and waste vegetable oil and
supercritical methanol. Chemical engineering research and design.89 (2011) 2626-
2642.

6. Perry, R. H., and D. W. Green, Eds., Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th
ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (1984).

7. McCabe, L.W., Smith, C.J., and Harriott, P., Unit Operations of Chemical
Engineering, 7
th
ed. McGraw-Hill, New York (2005).

8. Sinnott, 2005. Chemical Engineering design volume 6, 4
th
edition. Oxford: Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann.
9. Fogler, H.S. 1999. Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering. 3
rd
edition. New
Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
10. Elliot, V. 1998. Introductory applied thermodynamics. Cape Town: Metric
Publications
11. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/fluids-evaporation-latent-heat-d_147.html
12. Amanda, C.O., Luiz, F.M., Dilson, C., Method of contribution of groups to estimate
thermodynamic properties of components of biodiesel formation in liquid phase.
2011
13. R.E. Tate, K.C. Watts *, C.A.W. Allen, K.I. Wilkie. The viscosities of three biodiesel
fuels at temperatures up to 300
O
C. 2005
14. Heuristics for process synthesis (heuristic 31)