Tutorial 3

CHE7504: Chemical Reaction Engineering – II

9. The concentration readings in the following table represent a continuous response to a

delta-function input into a closed vessel, which is to be used as a chemical reactor.
Tabulate and plot the exit age distribution ‘E’. Also determine the fraction of exit stream
younger than 15 min.

Time, min 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Concn., g/L 0 3 5 5 4 2 1 0

10. If the vessel in the above problem is to be used as a reactor for a liquid decomposing with
rate –rA = kCA, k = 0.307 min–1. Find the fraction of reactant unconverted in this reactor
and compare it with the fraction unconverted in a plug flow reactor of the same size.

11. On the assumption that the closed vessel of Problem 9, is well represented by the
dispersion model, calculate the vessel dispersion number D/uL.

Tutorial 4

12. Repeat ‘Problem 10’ assuming that the dispersion model is a good representation of flow
in the reactor. Compare the calculated conversion by the two methods.

13. Von Rosenberg (1956) studied the displacement of benzene by n-butyrate in a 1.5 in.
diameter packed column 4 ft long, measuring the fraction of n-butyrate in the exit stream
by refractive index methods. When graphed, the fraction of n-butyrate versus time was
found to be S-shaped. This is the F-curve for the run at the lowest flow rate where u =
2.19 × 10–5 ft/sec, which is about 2 ft/day. Two points (i, Fi) on the graph are (1.0333,
0.16) and (1.0865, 0.84). Find the vessel dispersion number for this system.

14. Find the vessel dispersion number in a fixed-bed reactor packed with 0.625 cm catalyst
pellets. For this purpose, tracer experiments are run in a vertical column. Catalyst is laid
down in a haphazard manner above a screen to a height of 120 cm, and fluid flows
downward through this packing. A sloppy pulse of radioactive tracer is injected directly
above the bed, and output signals are recorded by Geiger counters at two levels in the bed
90 cm apart. The following data apply to a specific experimental run. Bed voidage = 0.4,
superficial velocity of fluid (based on an empty tube) = 1.2 cm/sec, and variances of
output signals are found to be 12 = 39 sec2 and 22 = 64 sec2. Find D/uL.
Fig.1. Conversion using Dispersion model for 1st order reactions.