Hysys project of chemical reaction engineering

Prepared by: Mahmoud Mohamed

ID: 141761
CONTENTS
1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 plug flow reactors ............................................................................................................. 3

1.2 PFR applications .............................................................................................................. 3

1.3 Advantages and disadvantages ......................................................................................... 4

2 Results ..................................................................................................................................... 5

3 Discussion ................................................................................................................................ 8

4 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 9

List of figures

Figure 1 PFR Parameters ................................................................................................................ 3

Figure 2 PFD ................................................................................................................................... 7

List of tables

Table 1 Material streams data ......................................................................................................... 5

Table 2 Compositions data.............................................................................................................. 5
Table 3 Energy streams data ........................................................................................................... 5
Table 4 Units data ........................................................................................................................... 6
Table 5 Mix-100 data ...................................................................................................................... 6
Table 6 CSTR-100 data .................................................................................................................. 6
Table 7 PFR-100 data ..................................................................................................................... 7

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 PLUG FLOW REACTORS

Plug flow, or tubular, reactors consist of a hollow pipe or tube through which reactants flow.
Pictured below is a plug flow reactor in the form of a tube wrapped around an acrylic mold which
is encased in a tank. Water at a controlled temperature is circulated through the tank to maintain
constant reactant temperature. Plug flow reactors may be configured as one long tube or a number
of shorter tubes. They range in diameter from a few centimeters to several meters. The choice of
diameter is based on construction cost,
pumping cost, the desired residence time,
and heat transfer needs. Typically, long
small diameter tubes are used with high
reaction rates and larger diameter tubes
are used with slow reaction rates. Fluid
going through a plug flow reactor is modeled as
flowing through the reactor as a series of
infinitely thin coherent “plugs”, each having a
uniform composition. The plugs travel in the Figure 1 PFR Parameters
axial direction of the reactor, with each plug
having a different composition from the ones
before and after it. The key assumption is that Figure 2 PFR Parameters
as a plug flows through a PFR, the fluid
is perfectly mixed in the radial direction but not mixed at all in the axial direction (not with the element upstream
or downstream). Each plug is considered as a separate entity, effectively an infinitesimally small batch reactor
with mixing approaching zero volume. As the plug flows down the PFR, the residence time of the plug element
is derived from its position in the reactor. In this description of the ideal plug flow reactor, the residence time
distribution is therefore an Impulse (a small narrow spike function). (Plug flow reactor, n.d.)

1.2 PFR APPLICATIONS

Plug flow reactors have a wide variety of applications in either gas or liquid phase systems.
Common industrial uses of tubular reactors are in gasoline production, oil cracking, synthesis of

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ammonia from its elements, and the oxidation of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide. Pictured
below is a tubular reactor used in research on the oxidation of nitrogen compounds.

Tubular reactors can also be used as bioreactors or for small scale production. The tubular
bioreactor shown below is used for the production of algae. The algae is then compressed and dried
and can be used as feed for a biodiesel reactor. ( Froment , Bischoff, & De Wilde, 2011)

1.3 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages Disadvantages

 Easily maintained since there are  Reactor temperature difficult to

no moving parts. control.
 High conversion rate per reactor  Hot spots may occur within
volume. reactor when used for exothermic
reactions.
 Mechanically simple.  Difficult to control due to
temperature and composition
variations.
 Unvarying product quality.
 Good for studying rapid reactions.
 Efficient use of reactor volume.
 Good for large capacity processes.
 Tubes are easy to clean.
 Low pressure drops.
(Plug flow reactor, n.d.)

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2 RESULTS

Material streams
Table 1 Material streams data

Compositions
Table 2 Compositions data

Energy streams
Table 3 Energy streams data

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Units table
Table 4 Units data

Mix-100 table
Table 5 Mix-100 data

CSTR-100 table
Table 6 CSTR-100 data

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PFR-100 table
Table 7 PFR-100 data

Process Flow Diagram

Figure 3 PFD

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3 DISCUSSION
Propylene glycol is produced from the hydrolysis of propylene oxide and the reaction takes places
in two isothermal reactors, a CSTR and a PFR after feeding the reactants to a mixer. The results
shown extremely low conversion when applying the given flow rates data and also the given
conditions of temperature and pressure. It was also required to check the conversion if it would
change if one of the variables is changed. Variables to be changed are the flowrates of the reactants
then the temperature and finally the pressure. Flow rate of the reactants was raised keeping excess
water also as given first, however, the conversion was also low. Moreover, temperature was raised
to 32°C, but the conversion did not increase and remained as it is close to zero. In addition, volume
of the reactors was changed increased to 6 m3 and then decreased to 4 m3, however, with no change
in the conversion rate. The reaction should be catalysed either by an acid as sulphuric acid or by a
basic catalyst at 77°F-93°F and 1atm. The conversion expected using these conditions and by the
addition of the catalyst is 99%.

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4 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Froment , G. F., Bischoff, K. B., & De Wilde, J. (2011). Chemical Reactor Analysis And Design.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Plug flow reactor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Vapourtec: https://www.vapourtec.com/flow-

chemistry/plug-flow-reactor/

Plug Flow Reactors . (n.d.). Retrieved from Visual Encyclopedia of Chemical Engineering:
http://encyclopedia.che.engin.umich.edu/Pages/Reactors/PFR/PFR.html