Overview of Chemical Reaction Engineering
Overview of Chemical Reaction Engineering
Overview of Chemical Reaction Engineering
OVERVIEW OF CHEMICAL
REACTION ENGINEERING*
*
This chapter is adopted from Kirk-Othmer’s Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 7th ed, Wiley
Interscience, NY (2007).
Principles of Chemical Reactor Analysis and Design, Second Edition. By Uzi Mann
Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
1
2 OVERVIEW OF CHEMICAL REACTION ENGINEERING
In many instances these three requirements are not complimentary, and achieving
one of them comes at the expense of another. Chemical reaction engineering is
concerned with achieving these requirements for a wide range of operating
conditions—different reacting phases (liquid, gas, solid), different reaction mech-
anisms (catalytic, noncatalytic), and different operating temperature and pressure
(low temperature for biological reaction, high temperature for many reactions in
hydrocarbon processing).
Each of these reaction categories has its features and characteristics that should be
described quantitatively.
In addition, reactor operations are also classified by the way their temperature (or
heat transfer) is controlled. Three operational conditions are commonly used: (i)
isothermal operation—the same temperatures exist throughout the reactor, (ii) adia-
batic operation—no heat is transferred into or out of the reactor, and (iii) non-
isothermal operation—the operation is neither isothermal nor adiabatic.
The following terms are commonly used:
Figure 1.1 Batch operations: (a) batch reactor, (b) semibatch reactor, and (c) distillation
reactor.
reactions take place over space (the reactor volume), and the residence time of
the reacting fluid in the reactor provides the required reaction time. Common
configurations of continuous reactors:
† Tubular reactor (Fig. 1.2a)
† Continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) (Fig. 1.2b)
† Cascade of CSTRs (Fig. 1.2c)
† For multiphase reactions, the contacting patterns are used as a basis for clas-
sifying the reactors. Common configurations include:
† Packed-bed reactor (Fig. 1.3a)—A vessel filled with catalytic pellets and
the reacting fluid passing through the void space between them.
Relatively large pellets (e.g., larger than 1 cm) are used to avoid excessive
pressure drop and higher operating cost. In general, heat transfer to/from
large-scale packed-bed reactors is a challenge.
1.2 CLASSIFICATION OF CHEMICAL REACTORS 5
Figure 1.2 Continuous reactors: (a) tubular reactor, (b) continuous stirred-tank reactor
(CSTR), and (c) cascade of CSTRs.
Figure 1.3 Multiphase reactors: (a) packed-bed reactor, (b) moving-bed reactor, (c) flui-
dized-bed reactor, (d ) bubbling column reactor, (e) spray reactor, and ( f ) kiln reactor.
1.2 CLASSIFICATION OF CHEMICAL REACTORS 7
the bottom, flows through the void spaces between the pellets. The gaseous
reactant must be absorbed and transported across the liquid film to the cat-
alytic sites at the surface of the pellets.
† Bubbling column reactor (Fig. 1.3d )—A vessel filled with a liquid reactant
and a gas reactant, fed from the bottom, moves upward in the form of
bubbles. The liquid reactant is fed from the top and withdrawn from the
bottom. The gaseous reactant is absorbed in the liquid reactant, and the
reaction takes place in the liquid phase.
† Others [e.g., spray reactor (Fig. 1.3e), slurry reactor, kiln reactor
(Fig. 1.3f ), membrane reactor, etc.].