ChE471

Exam3

Fall2006

(Closedbook,closednotes,threecribsheetsallowed))
1.Weconductafirstorderdecomposition A R S inanimperfectlymixedisothermalreactorwiththe
Ecurveshownbelow.
E(min1)
1
0.5

t(min)

TherateofreactionisgivenbyRA=kCA(mol/Lmin)withk=2min1.Whatisthemeanresidencetimein
thisreactor?
a)
Whatconversionwillbeachievedinthisreactor?Usethemodelthatpredictstheconversion
exactly.
ComparetheaboveconversiontotheonethatyoucouldobtaininaPFRandCSTRof
b)

thesamemeanresidencetimeastheabovereactor.

2.Anirreversible,exothermicreaction A P ispromotedbyanonporouscatalyst.Thereactionrateperunit
surfaceofthecatalystisgivenby

whereTs(oK)isthesurfacetemperatureandCAs(mol/m3)isthesurfaceconcentrationofA(i.egaseous
concentrationofAintheveryvicinityofthecatalystsurfaces).Theheatofreactionis HRA =5,000cal/mol.
Thecatalystmanufacturersendsussamplesoftheirnonporouscatalystforwhichtheyclaimtheobservedrate
ofreactionofalmost2.5(mol/m2s)atthebulktemperatureofTb=300KandbulkreactantconcentrationofCAb
=50(mol/m3).Attheirexperimentalconditionsthetransportcoefficientscanbeestimatedtobe:km=0.05
(m/s)andh=50(cal/m2sK).
a)Istheobservedrateofreactionclaimedbythecatalystmanufacturerpossible?Whatisattheirconditions
thecatalystsurfacetemperatureTsandreactantconcentrationCAs?Whatcontrolstherate:kineticsormass
transfer,orboth,andwhatisthemagnitudeofthefilmheattransferandmasstransfereffects?Whatisthe

effectivenessfactor ?
b)Wewanttoreproducethesefindingsandrun.thesametypeofexperimentalreactoratidenticalvelocity
conditionsandatidenticalbulktemperatureandconcentrationreportedaboveconditions.However,we
observeaverylowrateof0.040(mol/m2s).
Explainandtrytoquantifytheseobservations.Whatsurfacetemperaturesandconcentrationscorrespondtothe
rateobservedbyus?Whatarethemagnitudesofthefilmeffectsandwhatistheeffectivenessfactoratour
observedrate?Whatconclusionsdoyoureach?Canbothresultsberight?

3.Whatcanyoutellaboutthecontrollingresistance(film,diffusion,kinetic)andactivationenergyfora1st
ordercatalyticreactiononporouscatalystparticlesbasedonthedatabelowobtainedinastirredbasketreactor
thatexhibitsCSTRbehavior.Isothermalconditionsprevailinthereactorduringeachrun.
Cat. Mass

Cat. Diam.

RPM

Tb C

10

10

low

340

40

10

high

340

0.08

20

10

high

390

0.09

30

10

low

390

Run1

Flow Rate
m 3
Q

Feed Conc.
mol
CAo

m 3

Outlet Conc.
mol
CA

m 3

0.05

50

0.02

3
4

W g

d p cm

Thedensityofthecatalystpelletsis p 2.5g cm 3 .Theheatofreactionis rA 5, 000cal mol A,the

heattransfercoefficienttothecatalystpelletsis h 1000cal m 2 s K ,masstransfercoefficientisabout
1(m/s),catalystparticlesarespherical,theeffectivediffusivityinthemis Deff 0.01cm 2 sandtheeffective

conductivityis eff 0.12cal msK

.
[PAYATTENTIONTOUNITSANDCONVERTTHEMTOACONSISTENTSETASYOUHAVE

HOURSANDSECONDSANDMETERSANDCENTIMETERSETC.FIRSTNOTETHATYOUNEED

THERATEPERUNITVOLUMEOFCATALYSTPELLETNOTPERUNITMASS].
Yourgoalistofindthedominantresistance(film,pore,kinetic)andfullyexplainyouranswer.
a.
b.
c.
d.

Cantheabovelargecatalystpelletsbeconsideredinternallyisothermal?Whatisthemaximum
pellet?Isitimportant?
Whatcanwesayabouttheexternalmasstransfereffectsbasedontheresultsintheabovetable?Is
thatfindingconfirmbyyouranalysisofthefilmeffectbasedontheobservedrateandmasstransfer
coefficient.?

Whatcanwesayaboutthefilmheattransfereffects?Istheparticlesurfacetemperatureaboutthe
sameasinthebulk?Whatis Ts ?
Whatcanyousayaboutinternaldiffusioneffects?

e.

Basedonalloftheabovecanyouestimatetheactivationenergyforthisreaction?Howaboutthe
catalystparticleeffectivenessfactorvalueatthetwotemperatures?

4. SketchthecorrespondingxAvsTdiagramforthetwopackedbedreactorsoperatedadiabatically
foranexothermicreactionasperflowchartshownbelow.
A

Data: x AA 0, x A N 0.6, x A Q 0.9

R1=2R2=1
Bothheatexchangersarecoolingtheflow.Assumeaslopeoftheadiabaticlineandbe
consistent.