CHAPTER 5

Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor Design

CHEMICAL REACTION RATE

The rate of a chemical reaction is the rate of formation or

transformation of a participant in a chemical reaction. It is expressed
as the number of mass or mole of material converted per unit volume
of reactor per unit time. Thus, the rate of appearance or
disappearance of a chemical species i in a homogeneous reaction is
(Levenspiel, 2003):

d ( ni / V )
ri = eq 5-1
dt

If i is a reactant, the negative sign is used to signify depletion

with time. Whereas, the positive sign is used if its a product. Where
ni is the number of moles of component i, V is the reactor volume
and t is the reaction time.

For a constant volume reaction,

1 dni dC
ri = i eq 5-2
V dt dt
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CSTR DESIGN

As expressed in the Law of Mass Action, the rate of a chemical

reaction is proportional to the active masses of participating reactants.
Therefore, the rate is dependent on the concentration of the
participating reactants. In elementary reaction, the stoichiometric
coefficient of the reactants is equal to the order of the reactions. This
order becomes the power to which the reactant is raised.
If the given chemical reaction is
aA bB cC
dD eE L eq 5-3

then, the rate of reaction for the disappearance of reactant A is

dC A
rA kC A CB CC eq 5-4
dt

Again, except in elementary reactions, the order of the reaction

is not equal to the stoichiometric coefficients as in a , b , and
c . k is the rate constant of the reaction.

Elementary and Non-Elementary Reactions

Elementary Reaction

Elementary reaction occurs only in a single step.

Example: 1. A Product eq 5-5

2. A+B Product eq 5-6

Non-elementary Reaction

Non-elementary reaction occurs in two or more steps of

reactions and there is no direct correspondence between the
stoichiometric coefficient and the rate expression of the reaction.
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CSTR DESIGN

Mechanism of Non-Elementary Reaction (Levenspiel, 2003)

Non-chain reaction mechanism

Reactants (intermediates)* eq 5-7

(intermediates)*
Products eq 5-8

Chain Reaction Mechanism

Reactants (intermediates)* eq 5-9

(intermediates)* + Reactant (intermediates)*
+ Product eq 5-10
( intermediates)* Product eq 5-11

REACTION RATES OF DIFFERENT MECHNISMS

Reversible Reactions

First Order Reversible Reactions

k1

A R
eq 5-12
k2

The rate expression for substance A and R are written as

-dC
( rA ) net A =k1C A -k 2 C R
dt
net

eq 5-13
dC R
( rR ) net
=k1C A -k 2 C R eq 5-14
dt net

At equilibrium rnet = 0. Therefore,

k1C Ae =k 2 C Re eq 5-15
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CSTR DESIGN

k1 C Re
kC = = eq 5-15
k 2 CAe

After establishing the material balance and upon integration, the

final working equation in terms of fractional conversion is:

XA
ln
1- =- k 2 [ k C +1] t eq 5-16
X Ae

Irreversible Reactions in Parallel

k1
A R assumed desired product eq 5-17
k2
A T unwanted product eq 5-18
k3
A S unwanted product eq 5-19

The rate equation is for reactant A

-dC A
rA = = (k1 k 2 k 3 )C A eq 5-20
dt
Integration gives

CA = CAo e-(k1 +k 2 +k 3 )t eq 5-21

Irreversible Reactions in Series (Consecutive Reactions)

Consider the unimolecular first order reaction

k1
A k2
B R eq 5-22

The rate equation for component A

-dCA
=k1C A eq 5-23
dt
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CSTR DESIGN

Rearranging and integrating :

CA = C Ao e-k1t eq 5-24
dC B
=k1C A -k 2 C B eq 5-25
dt

Homogeneous Catalyzed Reactions

In the homogeneous catalyzed type of reactions, the overall rate

is the sum of rates of both the uncatalyzed and catalyzed reactions.

The uncatalyzed reaction is

k1
A R eq 5-26

and the catalyzed reaction is

k2
A + C R C eq 5-27

The rate expression of component A is

-dCA
= k 1C A + k 2 C A C C eq 5-28
dt

The concentration of the catalyst (CC) is assumed to be constant.

-dC A
= (k1 +k 2 CC )C A eq 5-29
dt

Integration gives
C
ln A = (k1 +k 2 CC ) t eq 5-30
CAo

Autocatalytic Reactions

An autocatalytic reaction is a reaction in which one of the

products of reaction acts as a catalyst.
For an uncatalyzed reaction:
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CSTR DESIGN

k1
A R eq 5-31

For which the equation rate is:

-dC A
rA = =k C A CR eq 5-32
dt

The corresponding catalyzed reaction where product R acts as a

catalyts is

k1
A + R R + R eq 5-33

the rate equation is

-dCA
rA = =k CA C R eq 5-34
dt

Establishing the material balance and upon integration, the final

rate expression is

( Co -CA ) CAo
ln =C kt eq 5-35
( Co -CAo ) CA o

CLASSIFICATION OF REACTORS

Although the purpose of this chapter is to present the

determination of CSTR specifications, Batch and Plug flow reactors
will be briefly described

Batch Reactor

Batch reactors are usually simple in design with minimum

auxiliary and instrumentation requirements. It is commonly employed
for small scale production, testing of new productions, manufactured
of expensive and easily contaminated system. High conversion could
be easily obtained by increasing the reaction time, although
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CSTR DESIGN

production output is reduced correspondingly. It is usually not

applicable for large industrial scale production where labor cost
would be high and production output is low compared to continuous
flow reactors. In batch reactor there is neither inflow nor outflow of
both reactants and products while the reaction is in progress.

Plug Flow Reactors (PFR)

In Plug flow reactor, reactant continually flows through a

cylindrical vessel or pipe. The reactant diminished along the length,
and there is no radial variation in concentration. This type of
continuous flow reactors are simple in design and practically has no
power requirement.

reactat product

Figure 5-1. Plug Flow Reactor.

Continuous-Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)

CSTR is commonly used for industrial production. It is

assumed of having no spatial variation in concentration and
temperature. As name implies the reactor is well mixed, allowing the
assumption of same concentration at any point within the reactor and
the product. It is also called Backmix Reactor (Fogler, 1999). Even a
well designed and operated CSTR will produce lower conversion per
unit reactor volume against Plug Flow type reactors. In this chapter,
design of Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor will be discussed. Most
homogeneous liquid phase reactions employs CSTR.
reacta product
n ow
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CSTR DESIGN

Figure 5-2. Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor.

CSTR DESIGN EQUATIONS

Space Time and Space Velocity concept

The space time, , is the time required to process one reactor

volume of feed and is given by the following equation:

C AoV V
eq 5-36
FAo vo

where

CAo is the initial concentration

V is the volume of the reactor,

FAo is the molal flowrate of component A and,

vo is the volumetric flow rate.

Whereas, space velocity (S) refers to the number of reactor

volumes of reactant fed into the reactor per unit time and is given by
the following equation:
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CSTR DESIGN

1 F v
S Ao o eq 5-37
C AoV V

Overall Material Balance

reactant leaves
Reactant enters Volume element

Reactant accumulates

Reactant disappears by reaction

Figure 5-3. Over-all Material Balance.

rate of reactant rate of reactant rate of disappearance due rate of accumulation of

flow into element = flow out of element + to chemical rxn within + reactant in element of volume
of volume of volume the element of volume

eq 5-38

Input = output + rate of disappearance + rate of accumulation of A

At steady- state process, rate of accumulation of reactant = 0

FAo = FA + (-rA) V eq 5-39

However,

FA = FAo FAo XA eq 5-40

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CSTR DESIGN

Then,

XA V
eq 5-41
( -rA ) FAo

Where XA is the fractional conversion of reactant A

In terms of space time

C Ao X A
eq 5-42
( -rA )

REACTION RATES AND SPACE TIME

Zero Order irreversible chemical reaction

A-----------Product eq 5-43

(-rA) = k eq 5-44

substituting ( rA) into space time equation,

C Ao X A
eq 5-45
k

First Order irreversible chemical reaction

A-----------Product eq 5-46
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CSTR DESIGN

(-rA ) k C A eq 5-47

substituting ( rA) into space time equation,

C Ao X A
eq 5-48
kC A
Second order irreversible chemical reaction

2A------------Product eq 5-49

(-rA ) k C A2 eq 5-50

substituting ( rA) into space time equation,

C Ao X A C Ao X A
eq 5-51
( 1- X A )
2
k C A2 2
k C Ao

Nth order irreversible chemical reaction

nA------------Product eq 5-52

(-rA ) k C An eq 5-53

substituting ( rA) into space time equation,

C Ao X A C Ao X A
eq 5-54
( 1- X A )
n
k C An n
k C Ao

CSTR SIZING

CSTR sizing is dictated by residence time requirement. The

longer the residence time, the bigger the reactor volume at constant
volumetric flow rate. This is expressed below:
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CSTR DESIGN

= V / vo eq 5-55

where:
= Space time or Residence time, sec [hr]
V = Volume of Reactor, m [ft3]
vo = Volumetric flowrate, m/sec [ft3/s]

Overall chemical kinetics which includes, chemical specie,

amount of specie, reaction temperature, presence of catalyst, agitation
etc determines the degree of residence time as shown in Table 5-1.

Table 5-1. Residence Time and/or Space Velocities in Industrial Chemical Reactors.
Residence
Reactor
Product P, Time or
Phase Catalyst T, C
(raw materials) atm Space
(CSTR)
Velocity
Alkylate (i-C4, butanes) L H2SO4 5-10 2-3 5-40 min
Alkylate (i-C4, butanes) L HF 25-38 8-11 5-25 min
Butadiene sulfone L t-Butyl catechol 34 12 0.2 LHSV
(butadiene, SO2)
Caprolactam (cyclohexane L Polyphosphoric 80- 1 0.25-2 h
oxime) acid 110
Chloral (Cl2, acetaldehyde) LG None 20-90 1 140 h
Cumene hydroperoxide L Metal porphyrins 95- 2-15 1-3 h
(cumene, air) 120
Cyclohexanone L N. A. 107 1 0.75 h
(cyclohexanol)
Dextrose (starch) L H2SO4 165 1 20 min
Dextrose (starch) L Enzyme 60 1 100 min
Dodecylbenzene (benzene, L AlCl3 15-20 1 1-30 min
propylene tetramer)
Ethyl acetate (ethanol, L H2SO4 100 1 0.5-0.8
acetic acid) LHSV
Ethylene, propylene LG None 30-40 3-10 0.5-5 min
chlorohydrins (Cl2, H2O)

Table 5-1 continued...

Residence
Reactor
Product P, Time or
Phase Catalyst T, C
(raw materials) atm Space
(CSTR)
Velocity
Glycerol (allyl alcohol, L H2WO4 40-60 1 3h
H2O2)
o-Methyl benzoic acid L None 160 14 0.32 h
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CSTR DESIGN

(xylene, air) 3.1 LHSV

Nitrobenzene (benzene, L H2SO4 45-95 1 3-40 min
HNO3)
Phenol (cumene L SO2 45-65 2-3 15 min
hydroperoxide)
t-Butyl methacrylate L H2SO4 25 3 0.3 LHSV
(methacrylic acid, i-butene)
Aldehydes (diisobutene, LG Co Carbonyl 150 200 1.7 h
CO)
LHSV Space velocity (hourly) liquid
N. A. Not Available
Adapted from Table 23 - 1 Section 23 - 7 Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook 7th ed.

Standard Stirred Tank Configuration

Stirred tank configuration for a six flat blade turbine Trambouze

et. al., (1988), provide for the standard type agitation system. As
shown below, the following are standard configuration:

DT

HT Dd

ZL
I

DI
ZI

m
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CSTR DESIGN

Figure 5-4. Dimensions for CSTR Design.

ZL DI 1
1 eq 5-56 eq 5-57
DT DT 3

W 1 ZI
eq 5-58 1 eq 5-59
DT 10 DI

Dd 3 I 1
eq 5-60 eq 5-61
DI 4 DI 4

b 1 m 1
eq 5-62 eq 5-63
DI 5 DT 5

where:
ZL = Static liquid depth
DT = Tank diameter
DI = Impeller diameter
ZI = Impeller distance from tank bottom
W = Baffle width
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CSTR DESIGN

Dd = Impeller disc diameter

I = Impeller blade length
b = Impeller blade width
HT = Tank height
m = Baffle tip distance from tank bottom

Mixing Time

To estimate the mixing time, Norwood and Metzner correlation

provides for the equation applicable for six flat blade turbine:
2 0.5
DI 1
Z
( m)
N t 5 ( Fr ) 6 L
N eq 5-64
DT DT

where:
tm = Mixing time
N = Impeller revolutions per unit time
DI = Impeller diameter
DT = Tank diameter
ZL = Static liquid depth
N Fr = Froude Number

N 2 DI
N Fr eq 5-65
g
where g = acceleration due to gravity

Impeller Selection

Agitation is designed to increase fluid turbulence, and is often

employed in the following (Mc Cabe, 2001):
1. homogenization of a fluid phase
2. increased heat transfer between a solid surface and a fluid phase
3. creation of interfacial area between two immiscible fluid phases.
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CSTR DESIGN

4. maintenance of a divided solid in suspension in a fluid phase

Agitation as used in the process industries is the production of

irregular disturbances or turbulent motion within a fluid by means of
mechanical devices acting on that fluid (Brown, 1950). Most of the
fluids handled in the process industry are low viscosity Newtonian
fluids.

Several references classify impellers according to their form,

functions and uses in the mixing operations (Brown, 1950; Foust et.
al, 1980 and McCabe, 2001) as shown in Figure 5-5. Figure 56 may
be used I n the selection of appropriate impeller type.

Anchor Propeller 6 flat blade disc-turbine

Paddle Gate anchor Helical screw

Figure 5-5. Types of Impeller. Adapted from Doran,

Pauline M. 1995 Bioprocess
Engineering Principles.

A graphical method of impeller selection is presented on Figure 5-6.

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CSTR DESIGN

107

Flat-blade turbines

Ribbons
Helical Screws

Helical
106

Gate anchors
Propellers
105

Paddles
Viscosity (centipoise)

104
Anchors

103

102

10

1
Impeller Type

Figure 5-6. Viscosity Ranges for Different Impellers. Adapted

from F.A Holland and F.S. Chapman, 1966, Liquid
Mixing and Processing in Stirred Tanks as cited by
Doran, Pauline M. (1995) Bioprocess Engineering
Principles.

Baffles

Baffles are flat vertical strips set radially along the tank inner
wall. They are mounted inside the tank to produce higher mixing and
horizontal liquid surface (Perry and Green, 1997). In the absence of
baffles in a stirred tank, vortex are formed because of the centrifugal
force acting on the liquid and could reach deep to the impeller which
is undesirable (Mc Cabe, 2001). Due to the motion of the impeller in
the fluid and the resultant movement of the liquid past the baffles and
wall, the skin friction and the drop form have to be considered in
relation to the speed of rotation and design of blade and tank.
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CSTR DESIGN

Figure 5-7 provides for baffle inclination and attachment

selection guide.

Figure 5-7. Baffle Arrangements (a) Baffles are attached to the

wall for low-viscosity liquids. (b) Baffles set away
from the wall for moderate-viscosity liquids. (c)
Baffles set away from the wall and at an angle for
high-viscosity liquids. Adapted from F.A Holland and
F.S. Chapman, 1966, Liquid Mixing and Processing in
Stirred Tanks as cited by Doran, Pauline M. 1995.
Bioprocess Engineering Principles)
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CSTR DESIGN

Power Dissipation

Power dissipated by the agitator maybe computed by:

5
Pa N P N 3 DI eq 5-66

where
Pa = Power dissipated by an agitator
N = RPM of the impeller
= Density of the mixture
DI = Impeller diameter
NP = Power number

An estimation of typical horsepower for agitators is given below

(Parker, 1964; Schlegel, 1972): This maybe used to approximate
power requirement due to mixing of CSTR.

Fluid Approximate Horsepower

Blending vegetable oil 1.0 hp per 100,000 lb

Blending gasoline 0.019 hp per m3
Clay dispersion 10 12 hp per 1,000 gal
Fermentation (pharmaceutical) 3 10 hp per 1,000 gal
Suspension polymerization 6 7 hp per 1,000 gal
Emulsion polymerization 3 10 hp per 1,000 gal
Solution polymerization 15 40 hp per 1,000 gal

Radius of Action of an Agitator

Radius of action of an agitator should be checked after reactor,

blade and baffle sizes have been calculated to ensure there is enough
intensity of mixing inside the reactor, as this will affect reaction
conversion. Radius of Action R A may be calculated as:
1
P 2
RA 9 10 2



eq 5-67
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CSTR DESIGN

Horizontal radius of action ( Ra H ) and vertical radius of action ( RaV )

are 50% and 20% respectively of the computed radius of action.

where
P = Power, watts
= Viscosity, Pa . s
R a = Radius of action, m
Ra H = Half major axis ellipsoidal
Ra = Half minor axis ellipsoidal
V

To ensure high degree of agitation a linear speed at blade tip should

be greater than 4. Where tip speed is given by:

Vp = NDI (m/s) eq 5-68

Another indicator of high degree of agitation is Power dissipated per

W
unit volume of fluid which should have at least 1,500 m3
value.

Below is the summary of degree of agitation against tip blade speed

and Power per unit volume (Trambouze et. al, 1988):

Degree of Agitation Tip Speed m s ( ) Power watt

Volume m 3
Low 3.25 750
Medium 3.25 to 4 750 to 1500
High 4 up 1500 up

For an initial condition, a 50% on blade tip speed of 4 m s and ( )

watt
Power per unit volume of 1500 3
m
could be a good choice. On
the other hand, a good compromise should be reached, so that just
enough mixing is provided for certain required residence time for
power requirement to be justifiable. An acceptable criteria used is:

tm< 0.1
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CSTR DESIGN

eq 5-69