10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K.

Dane Wittrup Lecture 9: Reactor Size Comparisons for PFR and CSTR This lecture covers reactors in series and in parallel, and how the choice of reactor affects selectivity versus conversion.

PFR vs. CSTR: Size and Selectivity

Material balance: CSTR PFR

V=
Levenspiel Plot

FAo XA rA

V=

XA

FAo dX A rA

as X A increases, C A decreases

FAo rA

1st or 2nd order reaction

rA decreases, for 1st and 2nd order, F so Ao increases rA

Figure 1. General Levenspiel Plot.

XA
CSTR Volume PFR Volume

FAo rA

FAo rA

VCSTR

VPFR

XA

XA

Figure 2. Levenspiel plots for a CSTR and a PFR for positive order reactions. So PFR is always a smaller reactor for a given conversion when kinetics are positive order.
Cite as: K. Dane Wittrup, course materials for 10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007. MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

Non-monotonically positive order kinetics arise: Autocatalytic reactions (e.g. cell growth) Adiabatic or non-isothermal exothermic reactions Product inhibited reactions (some enzymes)

Series of Reactors
Example: 2 CSTRs FAo

v1 x1

FA1
v2

FA2
V1 = FAo X1 rA1

x2

Figure 3. Schematic of two CSTRs in series.

0 2nd reactor: In + Out + Prod = Acc

FA1 FA2 + rA2 V2 = Steady state

10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K. Dane Wittrup

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FA2 = FA0 X 2 FA0

V2 =

FA0 rA2

( X 2 X1 )

FAo rA

V1

V2

Figure 4. Reactor volumes for 2 CSTRs in series.

X1

X2

Multiple CSTRs begin to approximate a single PFR

FAo rA

X
Figure 5. Reactor volumes for multiple CSTRs in series.

10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K. Dane Wittrup

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FAo rA

VPFR VCSTR

FAo rA

VCSTR VPFR

X
Designed final conversion

XA

Final X

Figure 6. Levenspiel plots comparing CSTR and PFR volumes for changing kinetics. Left: The CSTR has the smaller volume. Right: The PFR eventually has the smaller volume. Choice of PFR vs CSTR depends on conversion. Choose the reactor that has the smallest volume reduce cost. Reactors: CSTR

FAo rA

VCSTR VPFR
PFR

X
Final X Figure 7. To achieve the desired conversion with smaller reactor volumes, use a combination. In this case, use a CSTR then a PFR. By doing so, the reactor volume is less than the area underneath the curve. For competing parallel reactions, selectivity for desired product can dominate the choice. Example

A D A U

rD = kd C A1

D = Desired, U = Undesired

rU = ku C A

10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K. Dane Wittrup

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Define selectivity

SD /U =

rD kd (1 2 ) = CA rU ku

If

1 > 2 , as C A

increases, S D /U increases

-Favors PFR because C A starts at C Ao then drops whereas CSTR concentrations are always at lower C A . If

1 < 2 , as C A 1 = 2
then

increases, S D /U decreases

-CSTR favored If

S D /U =

kd , no dependence on C A ku

-Therefore no CSTR/PFR preference. Define a fractional yield

kd C 1 dCD A = dC A kd C 1 + ku C 2 A A

Overall fractional yield

All D produced All A consumed

For a CSTR:

= xit C
0

C A = C A C A
For a PFR:

1 C A

C At

CA 0

dC A

If

1 = 2

C A
C Af

C A0

CA
Figure 8. Fractional yield versus concentration. Selectivity does not depend on CA.

10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K. Dane Wittrup

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If

1 > 2

CA
Figure 9. Fractional yield versus concentration when 1 > 2. CSTR PFR

CSTR C A
C Af

PFR C A
C Af

C A0 CA

C A0 CA

Figure 10. Comparison of overall fractional yield for a CSTR and a PFR when 1 > 2. PFR is preferred because PFR > CSTR , therefore the yield of D per mol A consumed is higher. If

1 < 2

CSTR C A

PFR C A

C Af

C A0

CA

C Af

C A0 C A

CSTR PFR Figure 11. Comparsion of overall fractional yield for a CSTR and a PFR when 1 > 2.

PFR < CSTR

10.37 Chemical and Biological Reaction Engineering, Spring 2007 Prof. K. Dane Wittrup Lecture 9 Page 6 of 6

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