REACTORS IN PROCESS ENGINEERING

Gary L. Foutch
Arland H. Johannes Oklahoma State University

I. Reactor Classifications
II. Primary Reactors
III. Generalized Reactor Design
IV. Special Reactor Configurations

GLOSSARY

Adiabatic reactor: Vessel that is well insulated to minimize heat transfer and has an
increase or decrease in temperature from the initial inlet conditions due solely to the
heats of reaction.
Batch reactor: Vessel used for chemical reaction that has no feed or effluent streams.
The reactor is well stirred and usually run either isothermally or adiabatically. The
main design variable is how much time the reactants are allowed to remain in the
reactor to achieve the desired level of conversion.
Catalyst: Substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being
consumed in the reaction.
Continuous stirred tank reactor: Sometimes called a continuous-flow stirred-tank
reactor, ideal mixer, or mixed-flow reactor, all describing reactors with continuous
input and output of material. The outlet concentration is assumed to be the same as
the concentration at any point in the reactor.
Conversion: Fraction or percentage that describes the extent of a chemical reaction.
Conversion is calculated by dividing the number of moles of a reactant that reacted
by the initial moles of reactant. Conversion is defined only in terms of a reactant.
Elementary reaction: Reaction that has a rate equation that can be written directly
from a knowledge of the stoichiometry.
Isothermal reactor: Any type of chemical reactor operated at constant temperature.
Mean residence time: Average time molecules remain in the reactor. Note that this is
different from space time.
Multiple reactions: Series or parallel reactions that take place simultaneously in a
reactor. For example, A + B → C and A + D → E are parallel reactions, and A + B
→ C + D → E + F are series reactions.
Plug flow reactor: Sometimes called a piston flow or a perfect flow reactor. The plug
flow reactor has continuous input and output of material. The plug flow assumption
generally requires turbulent flow. No radial concentration gradients are assumed.
Product distribution: Fraction or percent of products in the reactor effluent.
Rate constant: Constant that allows the proportionality between rate and concentration
to be written as a mathematical relationship. The rate constant is a function of
 temperature only and is generally modeled by an exponential relationship such as the
Arrhenius equation.
Rate equation: Mathematical expression that is a function of both concentration of
reactants or products, and temperature.
Reaction mechanism: Series of elementary reaction steps that when combined, gives
the overall rate of reaction.
Space time: Time to process one reactor volume based on inlet conditions.
Yield: Moles of a desired product divided by moles of a limiting reactant.

A chemical reactor is any type of vessel used in transforming raw materials to desired
products. The vessels themselves can be simple mixing tanks or complex flow reactors.
In all cases, a reactor must provide enough time for chemical reaction to take place.
The design of chemical reactors encompasses at least three fields of chemical
engineering: thermodynamics, kinetics, and heat transfer. For example, if a reaction is
run in a typical batch reactor, a simple mixing vessel, what is the maximum conversion
expected? This is a thermodynamic question answered with knowledge of chemical
equilibrium. Also, we might like to know how long the reaction should proceed to
achieve a desired conversion. This is a kinetic question. We must know not only the
stoichiometry of the reaction but also the rates of the forward and the reverse reactions.
We might also wish to know how much heat must be transferred to or from the reactor to
maintain isothermal conditions. This is a heat transfer problem in combination with a
thermodynamic problem. We must know whether the reaction is endothermic or
exothermic.
After chemical reaction a series of physical treatment steps is usually required to purify
the product and perhaps recycle unreacted material back to the reactor. The quantity of
material to be processed is a key factor in determining what type of reactor should be
used. For small-lot quantities, a batch reactor is commonly used in industry. For large,
high-volume reactions, such as in the petroleum industry, flow reactors are common.

I. Reactor Classifications

Reactors may be classified by several different methods depending on the variables of

interest. There is no single clear cut procedure for reactor classification. As a result,
several of the more common classification schemes are presented here.

A. OPERATION TYPE

The operational configuration for the reactor can be a primary method of classification.

1. Batch

Batch reactors are operated with all the material placed in the reactor prior to the start of
reaction, and all the material is removed after the reaction has been completed. There is
no addition or withdrawal of material during the reaction process.
2. Semibatch

The semibatch reactor combines attributes of the batch and the continuous-stirred tank.
The reactor is essentially batch but has either a continuous input or output stream during
operation.

3. Continuous Flow Reactors

Continuous flow reactors represent the largest group of reactor types by operational
classification. Several continuous flow reactors are used industrially.

a. The continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR) involves feeding reactants into a

wellmixed tank with simultaneous product removal.
b. The plug flow reactor (PFR) consists of a long pipe or tube. The reacting mixture
moves down the tube resulting in a change in concentration down the length of the
reactor.
c. In the recycle reactor part of the outlet stream is returned to the inlet of the reactor.
Although not a typical reactor classification by type, the recycle reactor allows for
continuous operation in regimes between CSTR and PFR conditions.

B. NUMBER OF PHASES

Reactors can also be classified by the number of phases present in the reactor at any
time.

1. Homogeneous

Homogeneous reactors contain only one phase throughout the reactor.

2. Heterogeneous

Heterogeneous reactors contain more than one phase. Several heterogeneous reactor
types are available due to various combinations of phases .

a. Gas-liquid
b. Gas-solid
c. Liquid-solid
d. Gas-liquid-solid

Multiphase reactor configurations are strongly influenced by mass transfer operations.

Any of the reactor types presented above can be operated as multiphase reactors.

C. REACTION TYPES

Classification of reactors can also be made by reaction type.

1. Catalytic

Reactions that require the presence of a catalyst to obtain the rate conditions necessary
for that particular reactor design.

2. Noncatalytic

Reactions that do not include either a homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst.

3. Autocatalytic

Reaction scheme whereby one of the products increases the overall rate of reaction.

4. Biological

Reactions that involve living cells (enzymes, bacteria, or yeast), parts of cells, or
products from cells required for the reaction scheme.

5. Polymerization

Reactions that involve formation of molecular chains, whether on a solid support or in

solution.

D. COMBINATION OF TERMS

Any combination of the above classifications can be used to describe a reactor: for
example, a heterogeneous-catalytic-batch reactor.

II. Primary Reactors

There are five primary reactor designs based in theory: batch, semibatch, continuous-
stirred tank, plug flow, and fluidized bed. The operating expressions for these reactors
are derived from material and energy balances, and each represents a specific mode of
operation. Selected reactor configurations are presented in Fig. 1.

A. BATCH

DESCRIPTION. Batch processes are the easiest to understand since they strongly
relate to "cookbook" technology. You put everything in at the beginning and stop the
reaction at some time later. This cookbook technology allows for immediate production
of a new product without extensive knowledge of the reaction kinetics. [See BATCH
PROCESSING (CHEMICAL ENGINEERING) .]
The reactor is characterized by no addition of reactant or removal of product during the
reaction. Any reaction being carried out with this constraint, regardless of any other
reactor characteristic, is considered batch. The assumptions for batch operation are (1)
the contents of the tank are well mixed, (2) reaction does not occur to any appreciable