Kinetic Reactors Reference Page

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Intro to Kinetic Reactors

In many chemical processes the rate at which reactions occur is just as important as the reaction itself. When reaction rates are known, engineers can design kinetic reactors that achieve a desired conversion or production rate.

These videos introduce the basic reactor models used in reaction engineering and show how reaction kinetics are incorporated into material balances. The most common reactor types are batch reactors, continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs), and plug flow reactors (PFRs).

How Did You Think I Would React?

This video introduces the basic idea of kinetic reactor balances and shows how reaction rates appear in the mole balance equations for reacting systems.

Visuals

Wishing Upon a CSTR

This video introduces the three most common reactor models used in chemical engineering: batch reactors, continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs), and plug flow reactors (PFRs). It explains the assumptions behind each reactor type and how they are represented mathematically.

Visuals

It’s Totally Tubular, Man!

This video works through examples comparing reactor performance, particularly the behavior of plug flow reactors and how reactor design affects conversion.

Visuals

Examples and Definitions

Definitions

Chemical Reactor
A vessel or system in which chemical reactions occur. Reactors are designed to provide the conditions necessary for reactions to proceed, including appropriate temperature, pressure, mixing, and residence time.
Batch Reactor
A reactor in which reactants are loaded into the vessel, the reaction proceeds over time, and the products are removed after the reaction is complete. No material enters or leaves the reactor during operation.
Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor (CSTR)
A continuous reactor in which reactants flow into the reactor and products flow out continuously while the contents remain well mixed. Because of this mixing, the composition inside the reactor is uniform.
Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
A continuous reactor in which reactants flow through the reactor with negligible mixing along the direction of flow. The composition changes continuously along the reactor length.
Space Time
The time required for a volume of feed equal to the reactor volume to enter the reactor. It is calculated as the reactor volume divided by the volumetric flow rate of the feed.

\[ \tau = \frac{V}{\dot V} \]

Space time is closely related to residence time, which describes how long material remains in the reactor.