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Plug Flow Reactor Overview & Applications

Plug flow reactors are long, pipe-shaped tanks used in the chemical industry where reactions take place along the length of the reactor using a catalyst coating the walls. They allow for non-mixing flow where reactants enter and are continuously converted to products, making them ideal for rapid reactions like gasoline production, oil cracking, and ammonia synthesis. Plug flow reactors provide high conversion per volume, continuous operation, good heat transfer, and consistent product quality compared to continuously stirred tank reactors.

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Fauzani Ayop
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438 views13 pages

Plug Flow Reactor Overview & Applications

Plug flow reactors are long, pipe-shaped tanks used in the chemical industry where reactions take place along the length of the reactor using a catalyst coating the walls. They allow for non-mixing flow where reactants enter and are continuously converted to products, making them ideal for rapid reactions like gasoline production, oil cracking, and ammonia synthesis. Plug flow reactors provide high conversion per volume, continuous operation, good heat transfer, and consistent product quality compared to continuously stirred tank reactors.

Uploaded by

Fauzani Ayop
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PLUG FLOW REACTOR

What is PFR?
A plug flow reactor is a pipe-shaped tank where a chemical reaction takes place with walls coated with a catalyst and an inlet flow of pure reactant.(www.scrib.com)

Simple illustration of PFR:

Plug flow reactors are an idealized scenario where there is no mixing involved in the reactor. It is the opposite of the continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR), where the reaction mixture is perfectly mixed. Plug flow reactors are frequently used in the chemical industry due to the non-mixing property of the reactors.

PFR are frequently used in biological reactions when the substrate flows into the reactor and is converted to product with the use of an enzyme.

Theory

Design equation

Steady state

APPLICATIONS

Applications
Gasoline production
Oil cracking Synthesis of ammonia from its elements

Oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide

Oxidation Of Nitrogen Compounds

Production of Algae

ADVANTAGES
> High Conversion per Unit Volume
> Low operating (labor) cost > Continuous operation -can run for long periods of time without maintenance > Good heat transfer > Easily maintained since there are no moving parts > Mechanically simple > Unvarying product quality > Good for studying rapid reactions > Efficient use of reactor volume > Good for large capacity processes

CONCLUSIONS PFR is better than CSTR because required less volume to achieved high conversion

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