Reactor design

The reactor is the heart of a chemical process. It is the only

place in the process where raw materials are converted into
products, and reactor design is a vital step in the overall design
of the process.
The treatment of reactor design in this section will be restricted
to a discussion of the selection of the appropriate reactor type
for a particular process, and an outline of the steps to be
followed in the design of a reactor.

The design of an industrial chemical reactor must satisfy the

following requirements:
1. The chemical factors: the kinetics of the reaction. The design
must provide sufficient residence time for the desired reaction
to proceed to the required degree of conversion.
2. The mass transfer factors: with heterogeneous reactions the
reaction rate may be controlled by the rates of diffusion of the
reacting species; rather than the chemical kinetics.
3. The heat transfer factors: the removal, or addition, of the
heat of reaction.
4. The safety factors: the confinement of hazardous reactants
and products, and the control of the reaction and the process
conditions.
The need to satisfy these interrelated, and often contradictory
factors, makes reactor design a complex and difficult task.
However, in many instances one of the factors will
predominate and will determine the choice of reactor type and
the design method.
Principal types of reactor
The following characteristics are normally used to classify
reactor designs:
1. Mode of operation: batch or continuous.
2. Phases present: homogeneous or heterogeneous.
3. Reactor geometry: flow pattern and manner of contacting
the phases
(i) stirred tank reactor;
(ii) tubular reactor;
(iii) packed bed, fixed and moving;
(iv) fluidised bed.
In a batch process all the reagents are added at the
commencement; the reaction proceeds, the compositions
changing with time, and the reaction is stopped and the
product withdrawn when the required conversion has been
reached. Batch processes are suitable for small-scale
production and for processes where a range of different
products, or grades, is to be produced in the same equipment;
for instance, pigments, dyestuffs and polymers.

In continuous processes the reactants are fed to the reactor

and the products withdrawn continuously; the reactor
operates under steady-state conditions. Continuous
production will normally give lower production costs than
batch production, but lacks the flexibility of batch production.
Continuous reactors will usually be selected for large-scale
production. Processes that do not fit the definition of batch or
continuous are often referred to as semi-continuous or semi-
batch. In a semi-batch reactor some of the reactants may be
added, or some of the products withdrawn, as the reaction
proceeds. A semi-continuous process can be one which is
interrupted periodically for some purpose; for instance, for
the regeneration of catalyst.
Homogeneous reactions are those in which the reactants,
products, and any catalyst used form one continuous phase:
gaseous or liquid. Homogeneous gas phase reactors will always
be operated continuously; whereas liquid phase reactors may
be batch or continuous. Tubular (pipe-line) reactors are
normally used for homogeneous gas-phase reactions; for
example, in the thermal cracking of petroleum crude oil
fractions to ethylene, and the thermal decomposition of
dichloroethane to vinyl chloride. Both tubular and stirred tank
reactors are used for homogeneous liquid-phase reactions.

In a heterogeneous reaction two or more phases exist, and the

overriding problem in the reactor design is to promote mass
transfer between the phases. The possible combination of
phases are:

1. Liquid-liquid: immiscible liquid phases; reactions such as

the nitration of toluene or benzene with mixed acids, and
emulsion polymerisations.
2. Liquid-solid: with one, or more, liquid phases in contact
with a solid. The solid may be a reactant or catalyst.
3. Liquid-solid-gas: where the solid is normally a catalyst; such
as in the hydrogenation of amines, using a slurry of platinum
on activated carbon as a catalyst.
4. Gas-solid: where the solid may take part in the reaction or
act as a catalyst. The reduction of iron ores in blast furnaces
and the combustion of solid fuels are examples where the solid
is a reactant.
5. Gas-liquid: where the liquid may take part in the reaction or
act as a catalyst.
Reactor geometry (type)
The reactors used for established processes are usually
complex designs which have been developed (have evolved)
over a period of years to suit the requirements of the process,
and are unique designs. However, it is convenient to classify
reactor designs into the following broad categories.

1-Stirred tank reactors

2- Tubular reactor
3-Packed bed reactors
4-Fluidised bed reactors