REACTORS

A reactor consists of the vessel used to produce desired products by chemical means and is
the heart of a commercial processing unit.

A chemical reactor is a device which is used to contain controlled chemical reactions.

Reactions take place inside the reactor, in conditions which can be monitored and controlled
for safety and efficiency.

Reactor technology, besides stoichiometry and kinetics, includes requirements for

1. Introducing and removing reactants and products,

2. Supplying and withdrawing heat
3. Accommodating phase change and material transfers
4. Assuring efficient contacting among reactant
5. Providing of catalyst replenishment or regeneration

These issues are taken into account when one translate reaction kinetics and bench scale data
into effective pilot plants, scales to larger sized units and ultimately designs and operate
commercial units.
Selection of reactor is based on
Physical properties of feed and product (vapour, liquid, solid or combination)
The characteristics of the chemical reaction (reactant conc., rates, operating
conditions & heat addition or removal)
Nature of any catalyst used (activity, life physical form
Requirement for contacting reactants and removing products

TYPES OF REACTOR
All reactors can be classified in three basic types

1) Well stirred batch reactor

2) The continuous flow stirred tank reactor
3) Tubular reactor

SIMPLE BATCH REACTOR

The reactor in a batch process is normally a closed tank or stirred kettle which is filled with
reactants which are allowed to react, often for several hours. The contents are then withdrawn
and generally processed to separate or purify the final product. The overall investment and
operating cost of batch reactors are usually high. However batch reactor may be preferred for
small scale production of high priced product and for multiple low volume products are
produced in same reactor. They are also preferred when it is difficult to maintain continuous
flow e.g. when transporting highly viscous liquid or sticky solids.
Batch reactors are used to develop continuous processes because of their suitability and
convenient use in laboratory experimentation. The data is well defined and is used to predict
performance of large scale continuous flow reactor.

E.g. hydrolysis of Easters, polymerization of butadiene styrene

SEMI BATCH REACTORS

a) Batch with continuous addition of one reactant.

The reactant may be gas, liquid or solid. The one reactant is first charged and another is
continuously added as the reaction proceeds. e.g. gradual addition of chlorine to a stirred
vessel containing benzene and catalyst results in higher yields of di and trichlorobenzene then
if chlorine was included in the original batch. e.g. Production of detergents by reaction of
ethylene oxide with alkylated phenols. In this case a large amount of ethylene oxide is added
to a smaller amount of a less active reactant.

b) Batch with continuous removal of one product.

In this semi batch reactor, a gas or an immiscible liquid forms or a solid precipitates during
the reaction which is continuously removed. E.g. thermal decomposition of organic liquids
are enhanced by the continuous removal of gaseous products. Constant pressure can be also
maintained. In addition to better yields, gradual addition or removal helps to control
temperature when the net reaction is exothermic or endothermic Another example of this
type is the esterification of ethyl alcohol with acetic acid to form ethyl acetate.

THE CONTINUOUS FLOW STIRRED TANK REACTOR (CSTR)

In a continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), reactants and products are continuously

added and withdrawn. In practice, mechanical or hydraulic agitation is required to achieve
uniform composition and temperature, a choice strongly influenced by process
considerations. The CSTR is the idealized opposite of the well-stirred batch and tubular plug-
flow reactors. Continuous-flow stirred-tank reactors in series are simpler and easier to design
for isothermal operation than are tubular reactors. Reactions with narrow operating
temperature ranges or those requiring close control of reactant concentrations for optimum
selectivity benefit from series arrangements.
The CSTR configuration is widely used in industrial applications and in wastewater treatment
units (i.e. activated sludge reactors).

Continuous stirred tank reactors, (a) With agitator and internal heat transfer surface, (b) With
pump around mixing and external heat transfer surface,

TUBULAR REACTORS

A tubular reactor is a vessel through which flow is continuous, usually at steady state, and
configured so that conversion of the chemicals and other dependent variables are functions of
position within the reactor rather than of time. In the ideal tubular reactor, the fluids flow as if
they were solid plugs or pistons, and reaction time is the same for all flowing material at any
given tube cross section. Tubular reactors resemble batch reactors in providing initially high
driving forces, which diminish as the reactions progress down the tubes.
a) Longitudinal tubular reactor

This is the most common type of reactor also known as Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
Examples of this type are a reactor used in thermal cracking furnaces.
The ratio of length to diameter of the tube is large.

b) Tubular reactor

This type of reactor differs from longitudinal tubular reactor in such a way that the ratio of
length to diameter of tube is not large enough, so there will be some batch mixing. The most
important processes using tubular reactors are thermal cracking of ethane and of propane to
produce ethylene.

c) Tower reactor

Tower reactors may consist of an empty tower, a packed tower or a baffled tower. This type
of reactor is less expensive then tubular reactor and is ideal where large volumes are needed.

Packed tower reactor is used for production of ethylene glycol from ethylene oxide and
alcohol where tower is packed with iron rings.