Chapter 1

Lecture 1

Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) is the

field that studies the rates and mechanisms of
chemical reactions and the design of the
reactors in which they take place.

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 Lecture 1
 Introduction

 Definitions

 General Mole Balance Equation

 Batch (BR)
 Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
 Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
 Packed Bed Reactor (PBR)

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 Chemical Reaction Chapter 1

Engineering
Chemical reaction engineering is at the heart of
virtually every chemical process. It separates the
chemical engineer from other engineers.

Industries that Draw Heavily on Chemical

Reaction Engineering (CRE) are:
CPI (Chemical Process Industries)
Examples like Dow, DuPont, Amoco, Chevron

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 Chapter 1

4
 Chapter 1

Smog (Ch. 1)
Wetlands (Ch. 7 DVD-ROM)

Hippo Digestion (Ch. 2)

Oil Recovery Cobra Bites

(Ch. 7) (Ch. 8 DVD-ROM)

Lubricant Design Plant Safety

5
Chemical Plant for Ethylene Glycol (Ch. 5) (Ch. 9) (Ch. 11,12,13)
 Materials on the Web

[Link]

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 Chapter 1

Let’s Begin CRE

Chemical Reaction Engineering (CRE) is the
field that studies the rates and mechanisms of
chemical reactions and the design of the reactors
in which they take place.

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 Chapter 1

Chemical Identity
A chemical species is said to have reacted when
it has lost its chemical identity.
The identity of a chemical species is determined
by the kind, number, and configuration of that
species’ atoms.

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 Chapter 1

Chemical Identity
A chemical species is said to have reacted when
it has lost its chemical identity.
There are three ways for a species to lose its
identity:

1. Decomposition CH3CH3  H2 + H2C=CH2

2. Combination N2 + O2  2 NO
3. Isomerization C2H5CH=CH2 
CH2=C(CH3)2

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 Chapter 1

Reaction Rate
The reaction rate is the rate at which a species
looses its chemical identity per unit volume.

The rate of a reaction (mol/dm3/s) can be

expressed as either:
The rate of Disappearance of reactant: -rA
or as
The rate of Formation (Generation) of product: rP

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 Reaction Rate
Consider the isomerization
AB
rA = the rate of formation of species A per unit
volume
-rA = the rate of a disappearance of species A
per unit volume
rB = the rate of formation of species B per unit
volume

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 Chapter 1

Reaction Rate
EXAMPLE: AB
If Species B is being formed at a rate of
0.2 moles per decimeter cubed per second, i.e.,
rB = 0.2 mole/dm3/s

Then A is disappearing at the same rate:

-rA= 0.2 mole/dm3/s
The rate of formation (generation of A) is:
rA= -0.2 mole/dm3/s

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 Chapter 1

Reaction Rate
 For a catalytic reaction we refer to –rA’ , which is the
rate of disappearance of species A on a per mass of
catalyst basis. (mol/gcat/s)

NOTE: dCA/dt is not the rate of reaction

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 Chapter 1

Reaction Rate
Consider species j:
1. rj is the rate of formation of species j per unit volume
[e.g. mol/dm3s]
2. rj is a function of concentration, temperature,
pressure, and the type of catalyst (if any)
3. rj is independent of the type of reaction system
(batch, plug flow, etc.)
4. rj is an algebraic equation, not a differential equation
(e.g. -rA = kCA or -rA = kCA2)

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 Chapter 1
Building Block 1:
General Mole Balances
System
Volume, V

Fj0 Gj Fj

 Molar Flow  Molar Flow   Molar Rate   Molar Rate 

 Rate of   Rate of    Generation   Accumulation
       
 Species j in   Species j out   of Species j   of Species j 
dN j
Fj 0  Fj  Gj 
dt
 mole   mole   mole   mole 
          
15  time   time   time   time 
 Chapter 1
Building Block 1:
General Mole Balances
If spatially uniform:
G j rjV

If NOT spatially uniform:

 V1
V2
rj1
rj 2
G j1 rj1V1
G j 2 rj 2 V2

16 
 Chapter 1
Building Block 1:
General Mole Balances
n
G j  rji Vi
i 1

Take limit
n

G j  rji Vi  rj dV

i1 lim V  0 n  

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 Chapter 1
Building Block 1:
General Mole Balances
System
Volume, V

FA0 GA FA

General Mole Balance on System Volume V

In  Out  Generation  Accumulation

dN A
FA 0  FA  rA dV 
dt
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 Chapter 1

Batch Reactor - Mole Balances

Batch

dN A
FA0  FA  rA dV 
dt
FA0 FA 0

Well-Mixed r dV r V
A A

dN A
rAV
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19 dt
 Chapter 1

Batch Reactor - Mole Balances

dN A
Integrating dt 
rAV
t 0 N A  N A0
when
t t N A  N A

NA
dN A
t
N A0
 rAV

Time necessary to reduce the number of moles of A from NA0 to NA.

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 Chapter 1

Batch Reactor - Mole Balances

NA
dN A
t
N A0
 rAV

NA

21 t
 Chapter 1

CSTR - Mole Balances

CSTR

dN A
FA 0  FA  rA dV 
dt

Steady State dN A
0
 dt
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 Chapter 1

CSTR - Mole Balances

Well Mixed r dV r V
A A

FA 0  FA  rAV  0

FA 0  FA
V
  rA
CSTR volume necessary to reduce the molar flow
rate from FA0 to FA.
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
 Chapter 1
Plug Flow Reactor - Mole
Balances

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 Chapter 1
Plug Flow Reactor - Mole
Balances
V

FA FA


V V  V
 

 In   Out   Generation 
 at V       0
   at V  V   in V 
FA V  FA V V  rA V 0
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 Chapter 1
Plug Flow Reactor - Mole
Balances
Rearrange and take limit as ΔV0

FA V V  FA V
lim rA
V  0 V

dFA
rA
dV

This is the volume necessary to reduce the entering molar

flow rate (mol/s) from FA0 to the exit molar flow rate of FA.
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
 Chapter 1
Plug Flow Reactor - Mole
Balances
PFR

dN A
FA0  FA  rA dV 
dt
dN A
Steady State 0
dt

FA0  FA  rA dV 0
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 Chapter 1
Alternative
Plug Flow Derivation
Reactor - Mole
Balances
Differientiate with respect to V

0
dFA
 rA
dFA
dV
rA
dV
FA
dFA
The integral form is: V 
rA
 FA 0

This is the volume necessary to reduce the

entering molar flow rate (mol/s) from FA0 to the
exit molar flow rate of FA.
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 Packed Bed Reactor - Mole
Chapter 1

Balances
W
PBR
FA FA

W W  W
  dN A
FA W  FA W  W  rA W 

dt
Steady State dN A
0
dt
FA W  W  FA W
lim rA
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W  0 W
 Packed Bed Reactor - Mole
Chapter 1

Balances
Rearrange:
dFA
rA
dW
The integral form to find the catalyst weight is:
FA
 dFA
W 
F
rA
A0

PBR catalyst weight necessary to reduce the

entering molar flow rate FA0 to molar flow rate FA.
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 Reactor Mole Balances Chapter 1

Summary
The GMBE applied to the four major reactor types
(and the general reaction AB)
Reactor Differential Algebraic Integral
NA NA
dN A dN A
Batch rAV t
dt rV
N A0 A
t
CSTR FA 0  FA
V
 rA FA
FA
dFA dFA
PFR rA V 
dV FA 0
drA
V

FA FA
PBR dFA dFA
rA W 
 dW F
rA
31 A0

W
 Reactors with Heat
Fast Forward to the 10th Week of the Course Chapter 11

Effects

EXAMPLE: Production of Propylene Glycol in

an Adiabatic CSTR

Propylene glycol is produced by the hydrolysis of

propylene oxide:

H 2 SO4
CH2  CH  CH3  H 2O 
CH2  CH  CH3
O OH OH

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 Fast Forward to the 10th Week of the Course Chapter 11

v0

Propylene Glycol

What are the exit conversion X and exit temperature T?

Solution
Let the reaction be represented by
A+BC
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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

Evaluate energy
balance terms

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

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 Chapter 11

Analysis
We have applied our CRE algorithm to calculate
the Conversion (X=0.84) and Temperature (T=614
°R) in a 300 gallon CSTR operated adiabatically.

T=535 °R

X=0.84
A+BC
T=614 °R
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 Algorithm

Keeping Up

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 Algorithm

Separations

Filtration Distillation Adsorption

These topics do not build upon one another.

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 Algorithm

Reaction Engineering

Mole Balance Rate Laws Stoichiometry

These topics build upon one another.

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 Algorithm

Heat Effects
Isothermal Design

Stoichiometry
Rate Laws
Mole Balance

CRE Algorithm

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 Algorithm

Mole Balance Rate Laws

Be careful not to cut corners on any of the

CRE building blocks while learning this material!

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 Algorithm

Heat Effects
Isothermal Design

Stoichiometry
Rate Laws

Mole Balance

Otherwise, your Algorithm becomes unstable.

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 End of Lecture 1

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 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

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 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

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 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

52
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Hippo Digestion (Ch. 2)

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 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

54
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

55
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Smog (Ch. 1)

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 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Chemical Plant for Ethylene Glycol (Ch. 5)

57
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Wetlands (Ch. 7 DVD-ROM) Oil Recovery (Ch. 7)

58
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Cobra Bites
(Ch. 8 DVD-ROM)

59
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Lubricant Design (Ch. 9)

60
 Supplemental Slides
Additional Applications of CRE

Plant Safety
(Ch. 11,12,13)

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