Reactor Design

LABORATORY AND INDUSTRIAL

CATALYTIC REACTORS:
SELECTION, APPLICATIONS, AND DATA ANALYSIS
I. Introduction
A. Why study reactors?
B. Definition and classification of reactors
C. Reactor/process design perspective: from the laboratory to the full-scale plant
D. Selection of reactors in the laboratory and plant
II. Laboratory and Bench Scale Reactors
A. Kinds
B. Criteria for selection of lab/bench scale reactors; applications
III. Plant Reactors
A. Common types
B. Fixed catalyst bed reactors: characteristics, advantages, limitations
C. Fluidized beds: characteristics, advantages, limitations
D. Criteria for selection
 DEFINITION AND
CLASSIFICATION OF REACTORS
1. What is a Reactor?
a. A device that encloses the reaction space, and which houses the catalyst and reacting
media.
b. A container to which reactants are fed and products removed, that provides for the
control of reaction conditions.
2. Classification of Reactors
a. Size
b. Methods of charging/discharging: batch or steady-state flow
c. Motion of particles with respect to each other
d. Fluid flow type: tubular or mixed-fluid
 BASIC REACTOR DESIGN
ELEMENTS
Estimation of reactor
Reactor design usually involves the following volume required to
process given amount
(moles or molar rate) of
raw material to desired
amount of products
Selection of reactor
type for a given • How fast does the
application reaction occurs
Selection of operating (reaction rates)
conditions dictates how large the
• Temperature, reactor volume will be
Knowledge of nature of Pressure, • Design of isothermal
reaction Concentrations reactors involves
• Catalytic or Non- • Type of catalyst (if solution of MOLE
Catalytic applicable) BALANCE equation
• Homogeneous or • Flow rates only
Heterogeneous • In some cases,
• Reversible or pressure drop must
Irreversible also be calculated
 OUR APPROACH TO REACTOR DESIGN

 Operations of most reactors are relatively complex

 Temperature is not uniform and/or constant
 Multiple reactions can occur
 Flow patterns are complex
 Simplified and/or ideal reactor systems.
 COMMON REACTOR TYPES
 Batch Reactor
 Semi-Batch Reactors
 Flow Reactor
 Continuous-Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
 Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
 Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)

 Other Reactor Types

 Fluidized Bed Reactor
 Trickle Bed Reactor
 Packed Bed Reactors
 Slurry Reactors
 Membrane reactors
 GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
System
Volume,
V

Fj0 Gj Fj

 Molar Flow  Molar Flow   Molar Rate   Molar Rate 

 Rate of    Rate of   Generation    Accumulation 
       
 Species j in   Species j out  of Species j  of Species j 
dN j
Fj 0  Fj  Gj 
dt
 mole   mole   mole   mole 
          
 time   time   time   time 
 GENERAL MOLE BALANCE

If spatially uniform
G j  r jV
If NOT spatially uniform

 V1
V2
rj1
rj 2
G j1  rj1V1
G j 2  rj 2 V2


 GENERAL MOLE BALANCE

G j   r jiVi
i1

Take limit
n
 Gj   rji Vi   r dV
j
i1 lim V  0 n  


 GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
System
Volume,
V

FA0 GA FA

General Mole Balance on System Volume V

In  Out  Generation  Accumulation
dN A
FA 0  FA   rA dV 
dt
 GENERAL MOLE BALANCE
EQUATION (GMBE)
General mole balance equation is the foundation of reactor design

Rate of INPUT – Rate of OUTPUT + Rate of GENERATION = Rate of

ACCUMULATION
dN A
F AO - FA + GA =
dt
FA

FAO
Control Volume = V

GA = (rate of formation of A) · V
= (rA)·V
DESIGN EQUATIONS
 BATCH REACTORS

Key Characteristics
• unsteady-state operation (by definition)
• no spatial variation of concentration or temperature, i.e.
lumped parameter system (well-mixed)
• mainly used for small scale operation
• suitable for slow reactions
• mainly (not exclusively) used for liquid-phase reaction
• charge-in/clean-up times can be large
DESIGN EQUATION FOR BATCH

Conversion
Reaction time (h)

X
dX
t  N A0 
0
 rAV
Moles of A (t=0) Volume (ft3)

Rate of reaction
(lbmol A)/[(h)*(ft3)]
 CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK
REACTORS
 CFSTR differs from the batch reactor in that the feed mixture continuously
enters and the outlet mixture is continuously withdrawn.
 Itense mixing in the reactor to destroy any concentration and temperature
differences, heat transfer must be extremely efficient to keep the temperature
of the reaction mixture equal to the temperature of the heat transfer medium.
 The CFSTR can either be used alone or as part of a series of battery CFSTRs.
 It is easy to maintain good temperature control with a CFSTR, however, a
disadvantage is that the conversion of reactant per volume of reactor is the
smallest of the flow reactors. Therefore, very large reactors in series are
needed to achieve high conversions.
 The first reactor could be run to give a 50% conversion, yielding a high rate
of reaction and subsequently reducing the total reactor volume. The next
reactor might run from 50%–80% conversion and the third from 80%–90%
until the desired conversion is reached.
 Industrial reactors operate in the steady state with the volume, concentration,
and temperature of the reaction mixture being constant.
CFSTR
DESIGN EQUATION FOR CSTR
(CONTINUOUS STIRRED TANK
REACTORS)
Molar flow of A (t=0) Conversion

FA 0 X
V
 rA

Rate of reaction (mol

A)/[(h)*(m3)]
 PLUG FLOW REACTORS
Key Characteristics
• Steady-state operation
• Spatial variation in axial direction but not in
radial direction + no temporal variation, i.e.
distributed system
• suitable for fast reaction mainly used for gas
phase reaction
• temperature control may be difficult
• there are no moving parts
 Continuous homogenous baffled Reactor
CFPFR
 PLUG FLOW REACTORS
Plug flow is an idealized flow of fluids where all particles in a given cross-section have identical
velocity and direction of motion.
During plug flow, particles of different age do not mingle and there is no Back-mixing. All particles
that enter the reactor at the same time must leave simultaneously.
The essential features of the plug flow reactor require that there be no longitudinal mixing of fluid
elements as they move through the reactor, and that all fluid elements take the same length of time to
move from the reactor inlet to the outlet.
The plug flow can be described as a piston flow model.
This is because the reaction occurring within differentially thin slugs of fluid, fill the entire cross-
section of the tube and are separated from one another by hypothetical pistons that prevent axial
mixing. These plugs of material move as units through the reactor, with the assumption that the
velocity profile is flat.
 Each plug of fluid is assumed to be uniform in temperature, composition, and pressure and thus can be
assumed that radial mixing is infinitely rapid.
DESIGN EQUATION FOR PFR

Volume of Conversion
reactor (ft3)

X
dX
V  FA 0 
0
 rA
Molar flow of A (t=0)

Rate of reaction (mol

A)/[(h)*(m3)]
 PACKED BED REACTORS

Key Characteristics
• Similar to PFR. Can be thought of as PFR packed with
solid particles, which are almost always catalysts.
• Steady-state operation
• Mainly used for gas phase catalytic reaction although
examples for liquid-phase reaction are also known.
• temperature control may be difficult
• There are no moving parts
• Pressure drop across the packed bed is an important
consideration
 Packed bed reactors are very versatile
and are used in many chemical
processing applications such as
absorption, distillation, stripping,
separation processes, and catalytic
reactions.
 Across the diverse applications in which
they are used, the physical dimensions
of the beds can vary greatly.
 Typical reactors consist of a chamber,
such as a tube or channel that contains
catalyst particles or pellets, and a liquid
that flows through the catalyst.
 The liquid interacts with the catalyst
across the length of the tube, altering the
chemical composition of the substance.
DESIGN EQUATION FOR PBR

Conversion
Weight of catalyst (lb)

X
dX
W  FA 0 
0
 r ' A
Molar flow of A (t=0)

Rate of reaction
(lbmol A)/[(h)*(lb of catalyst)]
 SOLID CATALYZED REACTIONS

 Reactant gas can be made to contact solid catalyst in many ways, and
each has its specific advantages and disadvantages.
 These may be divided into two broad types,
 Fixed bed reactors
 Fluidized-bed reactors.
PERFORMANCE EQUATIONS FOR REACTORS
CONTAINING POROUS CATALYST PARTICLES
Fixed Bed Reactors

The fixed-bed (packed-bed) reactor is a tubular

reactor that is packed with solid catalyst particles.
The catalyst of the reactor may be placed in one
or more fixed beds (i.e., layers across the reactor)
or may be distributed in a series of parallel long
tubes.

continuous reactor used for bubbling

gaseous reactants through a liquid catalyst
The fixed-bed reactor gives less chance for back-mixing, but channeling of
the gas flow through the catalyst bed causes ineffective use of parts of the
reactor bed. An advantage of the fixed-bed reactor is that for most
reactions, it gives the highest conversion per weight of catalyst of any
catalytic reactor.

The disadvantages are:

• The catalysts are highly prone to deactivation.
• The catalysts often require regeneration after a relatively short
period of operation. This may incur additional cost.
• It is difficult to control the heat-transfer in the catalyst bed.
• Some part of the catalyst surface remains unused as a result of
the reaction system and the rate-controlling step.
Heat Exchange in Packed Reactors
 a.. Reactants Inlet

Liquid Or
Feed Gaseous
Bath

Reactor Reactor
Inert balls Tube Tube

Catalyst
Gas Or
Liquid
Flow

Outlet
Product

Product b.
I II III IV

1 2 3 4
Figure Commercial fixed-bed, Fresh feed

adiabatic catalytic reactor.

Recycle gas

Figure Commercial fixed-bed reactor designs for controlling

temperature: (a) multi-tubular heat-exchange reactor, (b) series of
fixed-bed, adiabatic reactors with interstage heating or cooling.
a. Deentrained b.
vapor Continuous
phase Product
Product

Hydro- Spent
clone catalyst

Fresh
catalyst Dispersed
phase
Feed

Figure Liquid-phase slurry reactors: (a) forced-circulation, slurry-bed

reactor, (b) bubble-column, slurry-bed reactor.
 rotor
H2 from reservoir
(consumption measured)
P to heat source

pressure
vessel

shaft heater

liquid

product
withdrawal reactants + H 2

suspended products
catalyst
particles H2

Figure: Batch-slurry reactor for hydrogenation of specialty chemicals.

 CATALYST DEACTIVATION DIAGRAM

Pd Sites

Al2O3

A
Fresh Catalyst (high dispersion; high surface area)

Pore cintering
Cintered Pd

Al2O3 -Al2O3

B C
Old Catalyst Old catalyst
Low dispersion (low activity) Low surface area (low activity)
 Fluidized Bed Reactors
• The fluidized bed is another common type of catalytic reactor.
• The fluidized bed is analogous to the CFSTR in that its contents though heterogeneous are well
mixed, resulting in an even temperature distribution throughout the bed.
• In a fluidized bed reactor, the solid material in the form of fine particles is contained in a vertical
cylindrical vessel.
• The fluid stream is passed up through the particles at a rate strong enough for them to lift and not
fall back into the fluidized phase above its free surface by carryover in the fluid stream.
• The bed of particles in this state shows the appearance of boiling.
• In heterogeneous catalytic reactions, the catalyst loses its activity with operating time.

The advantages of the fluidized bed are:

• Savings in operating expenses due to heat recovery in the reaction regeneration
steps.
• Rapid mixing of reactants-solids and high heat transfer rates.
• Easy to control both the heat transfer and the fluid flow system.
Fluidized Bed Reactors
Fluid Catalytic Cracker
(FCC)
• The fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
process, as shown in Fig. converts gas
oils and heavy stocks recovered from
other operations into high-octane
gasoline, light fuel oils, slurry oil, and
olefin-rich light gases. The gasoline
produced has good overall octane
characteristics and an excellent octane
number.
• The catalysts used are mixtures of
crystalline alumina silicates (known as
zeolites), active alumina, silica-alumina,
clay, and rare earth oxides.
In the FCC, an oil feed composed of heavy hydrocarbon molecules is mixed with catalyst and
enters a fluidized bed reactor.
 The long molecules react on the surface of the catalyst and are cracked into lighter product
molecules (e.g., gasoline), which leave the reactor from the top. During the cracking process,
carbon and other heavy un-cracked organic materials are deposited on the surface of the catalyst
resulting in its deactivation. The catalyst is then taken into a regenerator where the deposited
surface material is burned with air. The regenerated catalyst returns to the reactor after it has been
mixed with fresh feed.

A salient feature of the fluidized bed reactor is that it operates at nearly constant temperature and is,
therefore, easy to control. there is no opportunity for hot spots (a condition where a small increase in
the wall temperature causes the temperature in a certain region of the reactor to increase rapidly,
resulting in uncontrollable reactions) to develop as in the case of the fixed bed reactor.

The disadvantages are:

 Back-mixing due to particle distribution in dense and dilute phases.
Inefficient contacting due to solids movement and the bypassing
of solids by bubbles.
Possible channeling, slugging, and attrition of catalyst.
Possible agglomeration and sintering of fine particles in the dilute phase under certain
conditions (e.g., high temperature).
In contrast to reactors involving the use of solid
catalyst phases, there are reactors that use two
liquid phases.
An example is the catalytic alkylation reaction of
an olefin (e.g., butylene) with isobutene to give C
8-isomers (alkylate).
Here, the two liquid hydrocarbon streams enter
the bottom of the tubular flow vessel as shown in
Fig.
They are then dispersed as bubbles in a co-
current continuous stream of liquid hydrofluoric
acid (HF) that acts as a catalyst. Phase separation
occurs at the top of the reactor where the lighter
alkylate product is removed, and the heavier HF
stream is recycled to the bottom of the reactor.
In this case, the reaction occurs when both the
olefin and iso-butane reach the acid.
Tubular reactors are used for reactions
involving a gas and a liquid.
In this arrangement, the gas phase is dispersed
as bubbles at the bottom of a tubular vessel.
The bubbles then rise through the continuous
liquid phase that flows downwards.
An example of this process is the removal of
organic pollutants from water by non catalytic
oxidation with pure oxygen

The effect of physical processes on reactor

performance is more
complex than for two-phase systems because
both gas-liquid and liquid-solid inter-phase
transport effects may be coupled with the
intrinsic rate.
 BUBBLE COLUMN REACTORS
 Bubble columns are intensively used as multiphase contactors and reactors in chemical,
biochemical and petrochemical industries.
 They provide several advantages during operation and maintenance such as high heat and mass
transfer rates, compactness and low operating and maintenance costs.
 A bubble column reactor is basically a cylindrical vessel with a gas distributor at the bottom.
 The gas is sparged in the form of bubbles into either a liquid phase or a liquid–solid
suspension.
 These reactors are generally referred to as slurry bubble column reactors when a solid phase
exists.
 They have excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics, meaning high heat and mass
transfer coefficients.
 Little maintenance and low operating costs are required due to lack of moving parts and
compactness.
 The durability of the catalyst or other packing material is high.
 BUBBLE COLUMN REACTORS
The design and scale-up of bubble column reactors generally depend on the
quantification of three main phenomena:
i. heat and mass transfer characteristics;
ii. mixing characteristics;
iii. chemical kinetics of the reacting system.
 BUBBLE COLUMN REACTORS
More specifically, in order to design bubble column reactors, the following
hydrodynamic parameters are required:
 specific gas–liquid interfacial area,
 axial solids dispersion coefficients,
 mean bubble diameter,
 axial dispersion coefficients of the gas and liquid,
 overall heat transfer coefficient between slurry and immersed heat transfer
internals,
 mass transfer coefficients for all the species,
 gas holdups,
 physicochemical properties of the liquid medium.
 FLUID DYNAMICS AND REGIME
ANALYSIS
The fluid dynamic characterization of bubble column reactors has a significant effect on the operation and
performance of bubble columns.
Three types of flow regimes are commonly observed in bubble columns which are the
homogeneous (bubbly flow) regime;
the heterogeneous (churn-turbulent) regime and slug flow regime

It has been shown that the

gas–liquid mass transfer
coefficient is lower at churn-
turbulent

Gas hold up t is basically

defined as the volume
fraction of gas phase
occupied by the gas bubbles
Three Phase Reactors

A slurry reactor is a multi-phase flow reactor in which the reactant gas is bubbled through a solution
containing solid catalyst particles.
The reactor may operate continuously as a steady flow system with respect to both gas and liquid phases.
Alternatively, a fixed charge of liquid is initially added to the stirred vessel, and the gas is continuously
added such that the reactor is batch with respect to the liquid phase. This method is used in some
hydrogenation reactions such as hydrogenation of oils in a slurry of nickel catalyst particles.
A heterogeneous tubular reactor that incorporates three
phases where gas and liquid reactants are contacted with the
solid catalyst particles, is classified as a trickle-bed reactor.
The liquid is usually allowed to flow down over the bed of
catalyst, while the gas flows either up or down through the void
spaces between the wetted pellets.
Co-current down flow of the gas is generally preferred
because it allows for better distribution of liquid over the
catalyst bed and higher liquid flow rates are possible without
flooding.
In most applications, the reaction occurs between a dissolved
gas and a liquid-phase reactant in the presence of a solid
catalyst.
In some cases, the liquid is an inert medium and the reaction
takes place between the dissolved gases at the solid surface.

Trickle-bed reactors have been developed by the petroleum industry for

hydro-desulfurization, hydro-cracking, and hydro-treating of various
petroleum fractions of relatively high boiling point.
Unlike the slurry reactor, a trickle-bed reactor approaches plug flow
behavior and, therefore, the problem of separating the catalyst from the
product stream does not exist.
The low ratio of liquid to catalyst in the reactor minimizes the extent of
homogeneous reaction.
However, if the reaction is substantially exothermic, the evolved heat may
cause portions of the bed not to be wetted resulting in poor contacting of
catalyst and liquid.