PART III: Tutorial Based Analysis of Main Chemical Processes

(Using MATLAB/Simulink)

LAB V– NON-ISOTHERMAL
CSTR REACTORS SIMULINK
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
• In this lab, we will analyze a
single jacket cooled CSTR
– The detailed derivation of a
fundamental model for a non-
isothermal continuous stirred
tank reactor.
– The development of the dynamic
process simulator for solving the
balance equations. We will
compare linear vs nonlinear
dynamics
– The concept of multiple steady
states (MSS) for the simplified
form of the example CSTR
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
• The continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) or backmix
reactor is a very common processing unit in chemical
and polymer industry. The name suggests that it is a
tank type reactor in which the contents are well
stirred and it runs with continuous flow of reactants as
well as products
• Governing phenomena
– Mass balance
– Component Balance
– Energy balance (non-isothermal case)
– Reaction

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Process Description
• Reactant A is continuously supplied to the reactor with a
volumetric flow rate Fi, a molar concentration (or
composition) CAf and a temperature Tf. The contents of
the reactor are mixed with a motorized agitator. An exit
stream, which contains a mixture of both the reactant A
and product B, is withdrawn from the reactor continuously
with a volumetric flowrate Fo, a composition CA and a
temperature T.
• To remove the exothermic heat that is generated due to
the prescribed chemical reaction, a cooling jacket
surrounds the reactor. A coolant stream with a volumetric
flow rate Fj and an inlet temperature Tjin (< T)
• continuously takes out the heat to maintain the desired
reaction temperature
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Objective

• Develop a dynamic reactor model that that describes the

reactor operation
• Simulate the open-loop response for temperature and
concentrations time evolution
• Solve the steady state equations (design equations) to identify
the steady state operation parameters
• Investigate the existence of multiple steady states for this
reactor
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Assumptions
• The heat losses from the process (well-insulated) to
the atmosphere are negligible.
• The mixture density (ρ) and heat capacity (Cp) are
assumed constant.
• The coolant is perfectly mixed and therefore the
temperature everywhere in the jacket is the same
(Tj).
• The mass of the metal walls is negligible so the
thermal inertia of the metal need not be considered.
• It is reasonably a good assumption (Luyben, 1990)
because the heat capacity of steel is only about 0.1
Btu/(lbm)(°F), which is an order of magnitude less
than that of water.Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Assumptions
• There are no spatial variations in concentration,
temperature, or reaction rate throughout the reactor.
• The exit stream has the same concentration and
temperature as the entire reactor liquid.
• The overall heat transfer coefficient (Ui) is assumed
constant.
• No energy balance around the jacket is considered.
Indeed, the cooling jacket temperature (Tj) can directly
be manipulated in order to control the desired reactor
temperature (T).
• The reactor is a flat-bottomed vertical cylinder and the
jacket is around the outside and the bottom

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
Parameter
Simulation Parameters
Description Value

Ac cross-sectional area of the reactor, m2 4.3

CA concentration of reactant A in the exit stream, kmol/m3 8.56

CAf concentration of A in the feed stream, kmol/m3 10.00

d diameter of the cylindrical reactor, m 2.34

E activation energy, kcal/kmol 11,843.00

Fi volumetric feed flow rate, m3/h 10.00

h height of the reactor liquid, m 2.34

∆ heat of reaction, kcal/kmol -5,960.00

R universal gas constant, kcal/(kmol)(K) 1.99

Reaction Rate Frequency
Factor α frequency factor, h–1 34,930,800
Cp multiplication of mixture density and heat capacity, kcal/(m3)(°C) 500.00

T reactor temperature, °C 38.18

Tf feed temperature, °C 25.00

Tj jacket temperature, °C 25.00

Ui overall heat transfer coefficient, kcal/(m2)(°C)(h) 70.00

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
Simulation time
CHE 441/621 V1.0
Integration time interval hr 0.005
 The Process Model
• Continuity

• For constant density

• Relating the outlet flow to h

• Therefore

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
Component Balances

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Energy Balance Equation
• In the energy balance equation,
Rate of energy input into the
reactor is ,
• Rate of energy out of the
reactor is + −
• Rate of energy added by the
exothermic reaction is −∆ or

• Rate of accumulation of energy

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
• The heat transfer area can be computed
as:
= +

Ahmad Justanieah © 2016

CHE 441/621 V1.0
 Final Model
10
−

"#
− − "
= = = $
"%
− + "&
−∆
− + − −
! !
,-
' ( (: = +( ./ 01 = +
Parameters: , , , ! , ∆ , +, 3,
Ahmad Justanieah © 2016
CHE 441/621 V1.0