REACTOR DESIGN

WHAT IS REACTOR?
Chemical reactors are vessels that are designed for a
chemical reaction to occur inside of them

Types of Vessels
Tank reactor

A tank that is usually enclosed to

keep contaminants out of the reaction vessel, or
envelope
Tubular reactor
A pipe or tube

Selection Criteria of Reactor

Conversion
Selectivity
Productivity
Yield
Heat exchange
Mixing
Catalyst Distribution
Hold-up Time
Availability
Energy utilization
Safety
Economics

MODE OF REACTION

1. BATCH
2. CONTINUOUS

MODE OF OPERATION
BATCH
1.HANDLE SMALL
QUANTITIES

CONTINUOUS
1.HANDLE LARGE
QUANTITIES

2. LARGE RESIDENCE
TIME

2.SHORT RESIDENCE
TIME

PHASES IN CONTACT
GAS-LIQUID
FOR THIS PURPOSE REACTORS USED ARE
1.BATCH STIRRED TANK REACTOR
2. CSTR
3. TUBULAR REACTOR

Why I choose Semi Batch Stirred Tank Reactor?

Mixing of Reactants
Good Temperature Control
High heat and mass transfer efficiencies
Useful for slow reactions requiring large hold up time
Uniform
Distribution of Catalyst
For Liquid-Gas system Control
Less Man power requirements

DESIGNING
General design considerations for the
reactor is

Rate of reaction
Residence time
Volume of reactor
Power consumption
Molecular weight
Chain Diameter
Chain Length

DESIGN PROCEDURE FOR

REACTOR
Calculate molar flow rate from given mass flow rates
Calculate volumetric flow rate from molar flow rate
Calculate initial concentration from volumetric flow
rate
Calculate the concentration for given conversion
Calculate the rate of reaction by the given kinetic
equation
Calculate the residence time
Calculate the reactor volume
Calculate the actual volume of reactor
Calculate the dimension of reactor
Calculate the power

GIVEN DATA
Flow rate of ETHYLENE
entered

6439 Kg/hr

Flow rate of CATALYST

entered

0.631 Kg/hr

Flow rate of HYDROGEN

entered

6.31 Kg/hr

Flow rate of SOLVENT

entered

92.4 Kg/hr

Density of ETHYLENE

0.0892 Kg/dm3

Density of CATALYST

0.96 Kg/dm3

Temperature of Reactor

85Co

Pressure inside the Reactor

8 atm

Conversion

98%

Rate Equation
rp

[(k p k fm ) * ki * K1 * AR * M
kt [1 K1 ( AR ) K 2 ( M )]
kp

9.21/sec

kfm

0.211/sec

kt

0.21
dm3/mol.sec

ki

14.61/sec

K1

0.031/sec

K2

0.031/sec

CALCULATION
OF PARAMETERS

Molar flow rate

molar. Flow rate = mass. Flow rate /
mol.wt
So
Molar flow rate of Ethylene = 229973.6 mol /
hr
Molar flow rate of catalyst = 4.635 mol / hr

Volumetric flow rate :

Vol. flow rate= mass flow rate /
Density
So
Volumetric flow rate of Ethylene
72189.01 dm3/ hr
Volumetric flow rate of Catalyst
0.668421 dm3/ hr

Initial Concentration:
CAo=molar flow rate/Vol. Flow rate
Initial Concentration of Ethylene
3.1857mol/dm3
Initial Concentration of Catalyst
6.934 mol/dm3

Concentration at given
Conversion:
CA=CAO(1-XA)
As given conversion is 98%
So
Concentration of
Ethylene=0.026218mol/dm3
Concentration of Catalyst=0.0571
mol/dm3

Rate of reaction:
Rate Equation
rp

[(k p k fm ) * k i * K 1 * AR * M ]

k [1 K
t

( AR) K 2 ( M )]

By putting the values we get

- rp=0.002874mol/dm3min

Residence Time:
As for CSTR

So,
=192.6 min
=3.214 hrs

Ao

X
r

A
A

Reactor Volume:
V= *VFR
So
V=232.0426m3
There are two reactors in series and the ratio of
their residence time is given in literature.
2.09
So,
Reactor Volume of the 1st reactor=157.56m 3
Reactor Volume of the 2nd reactor=74.49m 3

CHAIN LENGTH:
As
L=M(Lo/Mo)
So
L=5.46*10-6 m

CHAIN DIAMETRE
As
D=(4/(Lo/Mo)-1*(*6.02*10-26)-1)
So
D=5.5*10-6m

Reference: PREDICTIVE MODELING OF METALCATALYZED

POLYOLEFIN PROCESSES
By
Neeraj Prasad Khare

Specification
Sheet
Flow rate of ETHYLENE entered

6439 Kg/hr

Flow rate of CATALYST entered

0.631 Kg/hr

Flow rate of HYDROGEN entered

6.31 Kg/hr

Flow rate of SOLVENT entered

92.4 Kg/hr

Density of ETHYLENE

0.0892 Kg/dm3

Density of CATALYST

0.96 Kg/dm3

Temperature of Reactor

85Co

Pressure inside the Reactor

8 atm

Conversion

98%

Continued
Residence Time

3.01 hrs

Reactor Volume

232.026m3

Chain Length

5.46*10-6 m

Chain Diameter

5.5*10-6m

Molecular Weight