BKF2453 Chemical Reaction Engineering I

TUTORIAL: Test your understanding and your SPEED

1. From the reaction of A  products in a batch reactor, several plots of molarity of A (CA) versus reaction
dC A

time was obtained and the following equations have been regressed. Express dt or -rA as a function of
CA for each plot. Determine specific rate constant and order of reaction as well
2.3
CA 
a. t2
C  3exp  2t 
A
b.
2. The following reactions occur. If –rA = 2 mol/L/min write the rate of consumption or formation for each
species in the respective reaction
a. A  2C
b. 2 A  B  C  D
1
A  2 B  C  3D
c. 2
3. Please determine the overall order of the elementary reactions below:-
a. A  B
b. 2A  B
c. A + B  C
d. ½ A  B
e. ¼ A + ½ B  C + D
4. Please identify the limiting reactant of the following reactions:-
a. P  Q Feeds: 90% inert and 10% P
b. P + Q  2R + S, Feeds: equal molar flow rate of P and Q
c. 2P + Q  ½ R + S, Feeds: equal molar flow rate of P and Q
d. P + Q  R + 2S, Feeds: 80% inert, 10% P and 10% Q
e. P + ½ Q  R Feeds: 25% P and 75% Q
f. P + 2Q  R + 2S Feeds: equal number of mole of P and Q
g. P + Q  R Feeds: ratio between P and Q is 3:1
5.

6. A reaction has the activation energy, E = 20 kJ.mol-1. Determine the reaction rate constant, k, at the desired
temperature (T = 200oC ) as at 25oC the constant, k = 10-3 L. mol-1min-1.
7. A series of non-catalytic liquid phase reaction tests
A B+C
 are conducted in a batch reactor at 1000C. As the result, the correlation of conversion obtained as
follows

C A=2 exp (−10−3 t ), t in min

(a) The activation energy of the reaction is 18 J.mol-1. Initial concentration of A, CA0 = 1 mol.dm-3.
From the correlation above, derive the rate law using the power law model and determine
whether the reaction is elementary or not.
(b) Using the specific rate constant from (a), calculate the reaction rate constant, k, at the desired
temperature as at 300oC
8. The liquid-phase isomerization reaction of maleic acid to form fumaric acid takes place in an ideal
batch reactor at 180oC
Cis-HO2CCH=CHCO2H  Trans-HO2CCH=CHCO2H
Maleic Acid  Fumaric Acid
The concentration-time data for maleic acid was obtained as follows:-
CA (mol.dm-3) 1.0 0.95 0.816 0.707 0.5 0.37
t (hr) 0 0.278 1.389 2.78 8.33 16.66
(a) Determine the rate law and its parameters with the right unit.
(b) Demonstrate how a flow reactor can be used to determine the rate law
(c) Explain how the volume of the batch reactor can be determined.
9. The liquid-phase reaction: A → 2B
occurs isothermally in a 75-mL human stomach for 1 hour without any incoming food from
esophagus or exiting food to duodenum.
a) From the above explanation, specify the type of reactor for the 1-hour reaction and develop
the mole balance until it is proved that the conversion of A will determine the time of
reaction.
b) In one meal, 1 mol A is initially eaten. The analysis of the transient substrate in the stomach
for the first 40 min reveals the following plot of reactant moles (mol) against the time
(minutes) elapsed during the reaction. Determine the rate law of the reaction. Is the reaction
elementary?
1.2

0.8
NA, mole of A

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

t, min
 10. The reaction
AC

is to be carried out isothermally in a 1 m 3 constant volume batch reactor. Calculate the time
necessary to consume 99% of A with C A0 = 0.5 mol/L and the entering molar flow rate is 5 mol/h. Assuming
the reaction rate, -rA is:

a. –rA = k with k = 0.05 mol/h.L

b. –rA = kCA with k = 0.0001 s-1
c. –rA = kCA2 with k = 3 dm3/mol.h

Repeat (a), (b) and (c) to calculate the volume of CSTR and PFR necessary to consume 99% of A.

11. Decomposition of palm oil milling effluent (POME) dry sludge in a gasification reaction can be generally
symbolized as the reaction

A → Products (gases and ashes)

at 1,500oC and atmospheric pressure in a furnace. The concentration of A from a
thermogravimetric analysis at the same temperature and pressure is shown in Table 1.
Table 1
CA (mol.dm-3) 1 0.776 0.620 0.422 0.231 0.146

t (hr) 0 0.25 0.50 1.00 2.00 3.00

a) The reaction in the furnace is conducted one by one with the cleaning and refilling procedure in
between. Suggest the type of reactor for the furnace and its mole balance for A
(4 Marks)

b) Determine the rate law and its parameters with the right unit.
(22 Marks)
c) At 90% conversion, the remaining A must be crushed in order to improve reaction performance.
Predict the time taken to reach 90% conversion.
(4 Marks)