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Slurry Reactors
By
Kanchan A. Nandeshwar
M.Tech Ist Year
MT17MCL006

Department of Chemical Engineering,

Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology,
NAGPUR, (M.S), INDIA-440010

October 26th ,2017

Synopsis
† Introduction to Slurry Reactors
† Applications of slurry reactor
† Modelling of an Industrial Slurry Reactor
† Theory
† Design equations
† Advantages & Disadvantages
† References
Slurry Reactor
† It is a Multiphase reactor in which reactant gas is bubbled
through a solution containing solid catalyst particles.
† Multiphase reactors are reactors in which two or more
phases are necessary to carry out the reaction. The majority
of multiphase reactors involve gas and liquid phases which
contact a solid.
† In case of slurry reactor, the reaction between the gas and
the liquid takes place on a solid catalyst surface.
† A slurry reactor can be operated in either a semi-batch or
continuous mode.
Fig. Slurry Reactor
Applications
† Hydrogenation
† Oxidation
† Stack gas scrubbing with lime or magnesia.
† Waste water treatment.
† Ethylene oxychlorination.
† Oxidation of toluene to benzoic acid.
† Ethylene oxidation to acetaldehyde.
† Olefin polymerisation using catalyst suspension.
† Fatty oil hydrogenation with catalytic suspension.
Modelling of an Industrial Slurry Reactor
Assumptions :
In modelling the slurry reactor we assume that:
i. the liquid phase is well mixed
ii. the catalyst particles are uniformly distributed
iii. The catalyst, fluid and bubbles, all flow upward together in
plug flow.
iv. The reaction is first order in both A & B
v. Overall rate of transport is at steady state
The reactants in the gas phase participate in five reaction
steps:
Reaction steps in a slurry reactor
1. Absorption from the gas phase into the liquid phase at the
bubble surface
2. Diffusion in the liquid phase from the bubble surface to the
bulk liquid
3. Diffusion from the bulk liquid to the external surface of the
solid catlyst
4. Internal diffusion of the reactant in the porous catalyst
5. Reaction within the porous catalyst
 The reaction products participate in the steps above but in
reverse order (i.e. 5 through 1). Each step may be thought of as a
resistance to the overall rate of reaction RA.
These resistances can be shown schematically as in the figure below.
 Theory
One of the things we want to achieve in our analysis of slurry reactors
is to learn how to detect which resistance is the largest (i.e., slowest step)
and how we might operate the reactor to decrease the resistance of this
step and thereby increase the efficiency of the reactor.
To illustrate the principles of slurry operation, we shall consider the
following reaction in A & B
A(l ) + B(g)  C(l )
 Theory (contd.)

A(l ) + B(g)  C(l )

Gas B is absorbed in liquid A, diffuses to the external surface of

the catalyst pellet, and then diffuses into the catalyst pellet, where it
reacts with liquid A to form product liquid, C. Product liquid C
then diffuses out of the pellet into the bulk liquid.
Design Equations
1. Rate of Gas Absorption:
The rate of absorption of gas B per unit volume of liquid A
is:
RA = kb ab(Ci-Cb) …..(a)
where, kb = mass tfr coeff. For gas absorption, dm/s
ab = bubble surface areas, dm2/(dm3 of solution)
Ci = conc. of gas B in the liquid A at gas-liquid
interface, mol/dm3
Cb = bulk conc. of gas B in solution, mol/dm3
RA [=] dm/s [dm2 /dm3 of solution] mol/dm3
= mol/(dm3 of solution).s
Equation (a) gives the rate of gas B transport from the gas-liq
interface to the bulk liquid.
Design Equations (contd.)
2. Transport to the catalyst pellet:
The rate of mass transfer of gas B from the bulk solution to
the external surface of catalyst particles is:
RA = kc ap m(Cb-Cs) …..(b)
where, kc = mass tfr coeff. for particles, dm/s
ap = ext. surface area of particle, dm2/(g of catalyst)
m = mass concentration of catalyst (g of catalyst/ dm3 of
solution); also known as catalyst loading
Cs = conc. of gas B at external surface of catalyst pellet,
mol/dm3
RA [=] dm/s *[dm2 /g of catalyst]* [g of catalyst/ dm3 of
solution]*mol/dm3
= mol/(dm3 of solution).s
Design Equations (contd.)
3. Diffusion and Reaction in the Catalyst Pellet:
The internal effectiveness factor, ղ:
actual rate of rxn
ղ = rate of rxn that would exist if
the entire interior of the pellet were exposed to
the reactant conc. at the external surface

therefore, actual rate of reaction per unit mass of catalyst can be

written as: RA = m ղ (-rAS) .....(c)
where,
m = mass of catalyst per unit volume of solution
(g of catalyst/ dm3 of solution)

RA [=] [g of catalyst/ dm3 of solution]* mol/(g catalyst).s

= mol/(dm3 of solution).s
Design Equations (contd.)
The Rate Law:
The rate of reaction evaluated at the external pellet surface is:
-rAs = kCs

where, k = specific reaction rate, dm3/ g cat.s

Cs = conc. of gas B at eternal pellet surface, mol/dm3

RA [=] [dm3/ g cat.s][mol/dm3]

= mol/(g catalyst).s
Design Equations (contd.)
Determining the limiting step:

At steady state,
RA = kb ab(Ci-Cb) = kc ap m(Cb-Cs) =m ղ (-rAS)

Adding equations (a), (b) & (c) and rearranging them

yields the rate equation for a first order reaction in a slurry
reactor -
Design Equations (contd.)

Each of the terms on the right-hand side of the above equation

can be thought of as a resistance to the overall rate of reaction
such that:

…..(1)
Design Equations (contd.)
…..(1)
 We see from this equation that a plot of Ci/RA as a
function of the reciprocal of catalyst loading (i.e. 1/m) is a
straight line with slope as the combined resistance, rcr and
intercept as the gas absorption resistance, rb.
Design Equations (contd.)
Effect of Particle size on Rate of Reaction
† Suppose it is desired to change the
catalyst pellet size, (to make them
smaller, for example). Because gas
absorption is independent of catalyst
particle size, the intercept will remain
unchanged.
† But as the particle size is decreased,
both the effectiveness factor and mass
transfer coefficient increase. As a
result, the combined resistance, rcr,
decreases, as shown by the decreasing
slope in figure.
Design Equations (contd.)
Effect of Gas absorption on rate of reaction
† As the resistance to gas absorption
increases, the intercept increases but
the slope does not change.
Design Equations (contd.)
Two extremes of controlling resistances

Fig (a) shows a large intercept (rb) with a small slope (rc+rr),
while fig (b) shows a large slope (rc+rr) and a small intercept.
† We can therefore conclude that if diffusion controls the rate of
reaction, we should decrease the particle size and use more
catalyst; and if gas absorption controls the rate of reaction, we
should change the sparger to get smaller gas bubbles.
Advantages
† High heat capacity to provide good temperature control.
† Potentially high reaction rate per unit volume of reactor if the
catalyst is highly active.
† Easy heat recovery.
† Adaptability to either batch or continuous flow processing.
† The catalyst may readily be removed and replaced if its
working life is relatively short.
† Because of high intra-particle diffusion rate, small particles can
be used.
Disadvantages
† Generation of fine particles by abrasion of the catalyst.
† Catalyst removal by filtration may provoke problems with
possible difficulties on filters, further time of operation,
and costs of filtering systems may be a substantial portion
of the capital investment.
† Higher catalyst consumption than that of fixed-bed
reactors.
† Back mixed flow and the volume of the reactor are not
fully utilized.
References
† Fogler, H. Scott (2004). Elements of chemical reaction
engineering (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education International/Prentice Hall PTR. pg. 769

† http://nptel.ac.in/courses/103103026/module2/lec18/2.h
tml
Thank you.