Materials and apparatus

0.097 M NaOH solution

NaOH pellets

0.1 M ethyl acetate

0.1 M HCl

Volumetric Pipette [10 mL]

Erlenmeyer flasks [250 mL]

Stirring Sticks

Stopwatch

Burettes [Acid and Base]

Graduated cylinders [100 mL]

Equipment
1. Reactor Heater
2. Water Bath
3. Coiled Reaction Tubing
4. Agitator Motor
5. Reactant Flowmeters
6. Switch Box
7. Steel Tube Support
8. Collecting Tank

Equipment Specifications:

Volume:

Height:

Width:

1m

Depth:

0.66 m

400 mL
1.075 m

Procedure
Preparation of Reactor Feed
Prior to the experiment, 30 liters of 0.1 M NaOH and 0.1M Ethyl Acetate were prepared
in two containers. After thorough mixing, the contents were poured into the corresponding
storage tanks in the reactor.
Equipment Start-up
The main water supply valve of the reactor was fully opened and the water bath drain
valve was closed. The two power supply circuit breakers were then switched on and the
temperature setting in the control console was set to zero. Then, the main power switch was
switched on. The stirrer was then turned on once the water in the reactor starts to overflow and
the temperature setting was increased to 30. The sample beaker was removed and the two feed
pump switches were switched on. The trapped air in the reactor was purged by increasing the
flowmeter valve setting.
Experiment Proper
The flow rates of the reactants were set to a reading where there is equal molar flowrates
entering the reactor. The temperature setting in the console was set to a setting of 30C. Steadystate was allowed to reach after two reactor volumes of effluent have accumulated. Once steadystate has been attained, effluent sampling was done and the temperature of the reaction was
recorded. Two 10 ml effluent samples were collected in the sampling point of the products using
a volumetric pipette. Immediately after the pipetting, 10ml 0.1M HCl was poured into the
sample. After which, two drops of phenolphthalein indicator were added and the sample was
titrated with 0.1 M NaOH. The preceding procedures were then repeated for three different flow
rate settings, each at three different temperature settings.

Equipment Shutdown
After all the runs have been performed, the feed pumps and stirrer were switched off. The
storage tanks were drained and refilled with distilled water. The flow meters were switched on
and adjusted to the highest setting. After which, the feed pumps were switched off and the
storage tanks and water bath were drained. The power supply and two circuit breakers were
switched off, and then the main water supply line was closed and the equipment inspected.