Chemical Reaction

Engineering
Introduction and Definitions
Dr Veluri VPS Murthy, Professor
Phone: +606 7989 271 (preferred)
Mobile: +601116672959
e-mail: vvpsnm@gmail.com
Chemical Reaction Engineering
2014

Introduction
Chemical Reaction Engineering is concerned with
the exploitation of chemical reactions on a
commercial (large) scale.
Its goal is the successful design and operation of
chemical reactors.
Chemical Reaction Engineering sets chemical
engineering apart as a distinct branch of
engineering profession.

Chemical Processes
General Block Diagram
Raw
materials

Products

Separation
process

Separation
process
Chemical
Reactor

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By-products

Reactors
Reactors are the heart of many chemical
processes producing industrial chemicals
e.g. Oil refining Industry

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Petroleum Refinery

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Separation
Petrochemicals units

Reactor
Heat Exchangers

Storage Tanks
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Reactors in Other Industries

Pharmaceutical industry
Environmental technology
Catalytic converter, fuel cells,
wastewater treatment

Principles of chemical kinetics can be used in

living systems, enzyme kinetics
to improve an artificial kidney

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Reactors Polymer Industry

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Reactors in Ammonia Synthesis

Ammonia- synthesis (Haber-Bosch process)
Catalyst

Ammonia

Hydrogen +
Nitrogen

cooler

Compressor Gas treatment

Reactor

Stripper
gas

Chemical reaction in the oven:

Chemical Reaction Engineering
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Phenomena affecting
Reactor Performance
Chemical Kinetics
Thermodynamics

Fluid Mechanics

Mass Transfer

Heat Transfer
Economics

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Reactor Design and

Reaction Kinetics
Reactor design

What kind of reactor ?

How big ?
What conditions ?
Configuration ?

Predictable
Product!

Reaction kinetics
What is the rate of the chemical reaction ?
What does it depend on ?
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Reaction Kinetics
Quantitative description of rate of reaction
(how fast reactions occur)
Gives factors affecting rate of reaction viz.
concentrations, temperature, pressure etc.
Used for reactor design
size, flow,
distribution

thermal

configuration,

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product

Definition and Types of Reaction

Reaction = loss of chemical identity &
assumption of new form
Decomposition

2N2O 2N2 + O2

Combination

2NO + O2 2NO2

Isomerization

CH33

CH33

CH22=C-CH22CH33 CH33C=CHCH33

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Classification of reactions
Homogeneous
single phase
e.g. methane
combustion (gas)

Heterogeneous

Liquid phase

multiple phases
e.g. coal combustion
catalytic cracking

Solid + liquid

All combinations are possible!

Chemical Reaction Engineering
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Liquid + gas
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Classification of Reactions
Noncatalytic

Catalytic

Homogeneous

Most gas phase reactions Most liquid phase

reactions
Fast reactions
Enzyme and microbial
(burning of flame)
reactions
Hetero- -Burning of Coal
-Ammonia synthesis
geneous -Attack of solids by acids -Oxidation of ammonia to
-Gas-liquid absorption
nitric acid
with reaction
-Cracking of crude oil
-Reduction of iron ore to -Oxidation of SO2 to SO3
iron and steel
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Rate of reaction - definition

We define the rate of reaction for a

species involved in a reacting system
either as a reactant or as a product.
Example: for a reaction AB,
1. The rate, -rA is defined as negative because
A is consumed. (reactant)
2. The rate, rB is defined as positive because B
is produced, (product)
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What Factors Affect Reaction Rate?

Homogeneous systems
Temperature, pressure, concentration

Heterogeneous systems
Temperature, pressure, concentration
Mass transfer, heat transfer
Burning of coal, porous catalyst
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Rate of Reaction for homogeneous

& heterogeneous systems
Homogeneous Systems:
Number of moles reacting per unit time per unit volume
Example: (combustion of methane)
CH4 + 2O2 CO2 + 2H2O
-rCH4 = moles of methane disappearing per time per volume
rH20 = moles of water appearing
per time per volume

Heterogeneous Catalytic Systems:

Number of moles reacting per unit time per unit mass of
catalyst.
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Chapter 1- Levenspiel
Overview of Chemical Reaction
Engineering

Every industrial chemical process is

designed to produce economically a desired
product from a variety of starting materials
through a succession of treatment steps.
Figure 1.1 shows a typical situation.

 To find what a reactor is able to do, we need

to know the kinetics, the contacting pattern
and the performance equation.
We show this schematically in Fig. 1.2.

 the performance equation; relates output to

input for various kinetics and various
contacting patterns:
[1]

This is important, because with this

expression, we can compare different reactor
designs and conditions, find which is best, and
then scale up to larger units.

Definition of Reaction Rate

The rate of a reaction can be expressed as
the rate of disappearance of a reactant or as
the rate of appearance of a product.
Consider reaction (species A)
A B
-rA = the rate of a disappearance of species A per unit
volume
rB = the rate of formation of species B per unit
volume

 The reaction rate is the increase in molar

concentration of a product of a reaction per unit time.
If the rate of change in number of moles of i
component due to reaction is dNildt, then the rate of
reaction in its various forms is defined as follows.
Based on unit volume of reacting fluid,

[2]
Based on unit mass of solid in fluid-solid systems,

[3]

 Based on unit interfacial surface in two-fluid systems

or based on unit surface of solid in fluid-solid
systems,

[4]
Based on unit volume of solid in fluid-solid systems

[5]
Based on unit volume of reactor, if different from the
rate based on unit volume of fluid,

[6]

 In homogeneous systems, the volume of fluid in the

reactor is often equal to the volume of reactor. In such
a case V and Vr are identical and Eqs. 2 and 6 are
used interchangeably.
In heterogeneous systems all the above definitions of
reaction rate are encountered, the definition used in
any particular situation is often a matter of
convenience.
From Eqs. 2 to 6 these intensive definitions of reaction
rate are related by

[7]

Speed of Chemical Reactions

Some reactions occur very rapidly; others
very, very slowly.
Figure 1.3 indicates the relative rates at
which reactions occur. To give you an
appreciation of the relative rates or relative
values between what goes on in sewage
treatment plants and in rocket engines, this
is equivalent to; 1 sec to 3 yr.
With such a large ratio, of course the design
of reactors will be quite different in these
cases.

Speed of Chemical Reactions

10-4-4

10-3-3

10-2-2

Cellular reactions
Water treatment

0.1

10 100

1033

Rocket engine

Gases in porous
catalyst particles
Working hard

1044

Coal furnaces
Jet engine

Human at rest

Rate of reaction in moles / (m33 * s)

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EXAMPLE 1.1
A rocket engine, Fig. El.l, burns a stoichiometric
mixture of fuel (liquid hydrogen) in oxidant
(liquid oxygen). The combustion chamber is
cylindrical, 75 cm long and 60 cm in diameter,
and the combustion process produces 108 kg/s
of exhaust gases. If combustion is complete, find
the rate of reaction of hydrogen and of oxygen.

Solution:
To evaluate:
Reactor volume and volume in which reaction
takes place are identical. Thus,

H2O produced = 108 kg/s X (1 kmol/18 kg) = 6 kmol/s

Thus, H2 used = 6 kmol/s and O2 used = 3 kmol/s

Rate of reaction is:

For H2:

For O2:

Read EXAMPLE 1.2

A human being (75 kg) consumes about 6000 kJ
of food per day. Assume that the food is all
glucose and that the overall reaction is
/mol glucose

Find his/her metabolic rate (the rate of living,

loving, and laughing) in terms of moles of
oxygen used per m3 of person per second.

Home Work PROBLEMS: CHAPTER 1

1.1. Municipal waste water treatment plant. Consider a
wastewater treatment plant for a small community (Fig.
P 1.1). Waste water, 32 000 m3/day, flows through the
treatment plant with a mean residence time of 8 hr, air
is bubbled through the tanks, and microbes in the tank
break down the organic material
A typical entering feed has a BOD (biological oxygen
demand) of 200 mg O2/liter, while the effluent has a
negligible BOD. Find the rate of reaction, or decrease in
BOD in the treatment tanks.

[Ans: -rO2 = 2.2 *10-4 mol.m-3.s -1]

1.3 Fluid catalytic crackers (FCC)

FCC reactors are among the largest processing units
used in the petroleum industry. Figure P1.3 shows an
example of such units. A typical unit is 4-10 m ID and
10-20 m high and contains about 50 tons of porous
catalyst ( = 800 kg/m3). It is fed about 38000 barrels
of crude oil per day (6000 m3/day at a density, =
900 kg/m3), and it cracks these long chain hydrocarbons
into shorter molecules. To get an idea of the rate of
letsvaporized
suppose that
feed consists
justwhat
C20
Ifreaction;
60% of the
feedthe
is cracked
in the of
unit,
ishydrocarbon:
the rate of reaction, expressed as r' (moles
reacted/kg cat. s) and as r"' (moles reacted/m3 cat. s)?
[Ans: -rC20 = 2.03 *10-3 mol.s -1.kg cat-1]