BATCH REACTOR

Batch reactors are perhaps the simplest reactors used in chemical processes. A batch reactor is a vessel or
container that may be open or closed. Reactants are usually added to the reactor simultaneously. The
contents are then mixed (if necessary) to ensure no variations in the concentrations of the species present.

General Information
When using batch reactors, reactants are first placed inside the reactor and then allowed to react
over time. Batch reactors are closed systems that operate under unsteady-state conditions.
Usage Examples
 Used for liquid phase reactions that require a fairly long reaction time
 Used when only a small amount of product is desired
 When a process is still in the testing phase
 When the desired product is expensive
 Used to make a variety of products at different times
Advantages
 High conversions can be obtained by leaving reactants in reactor for extended periods of time.
 Batch reactor jackets allow the system to change heating or cooling power at constant jacket
heat flux.
 Versatile, can be used to make many products consecutively.
 Good for producing small amounts of products while still in testing phase.
 Easy to clean.
Disadvantages
 High cost of labor per unit of production.
 Difficult to maintain large scale production.
 Long downtime for cleaning leads to periods of no production
CONTINUOUSLY STIRRED TANK REACTOR
This type of reactor also consists of a tank or kettle equipped with an agitator. It may be operated
under steady-state or transient conditions. Reactants are fed continuously, and the products
withdrawn continuously. The reactants and products may be in the liquid, gas, or solid state, or a
combination of these. If the contents are perfectly mixed, the reactor design problem is greatly
simplified for steady-state conditions because the mixing results in uniform concentration,
temperature, etc., throughout the reactor.

General Information
Continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) are open systems, where material is free to enter or exit
the system, that operate on a steady-state basis, where the conditions in the reactor don't change
with time. Reactants are continuously introduced into the reactor, while products are continuously
removed.
Usage Examples
 Homogeneous liquid-phase flow reactions, where constant agitation is required
 Used in the pharmaceutical industry as a loop reactor
 Used for high-density animal cell culture in research or production
 Fermenters
Advantages
 Good temperature control is easily maintained
 Cheap to construct
 Reactor has large heat capacity
 Interior of reactor is easily accessed
Disadvantages
 Conversion of reactant to product per volume of reactor is small compared to other flow
reactors
 Deadzones, where no mixing occurs, can develop
 Reactants can bypass if outlet placed improperly
CASCADE OF CONTINUOUSLY STIRRED TANK REACTOR
A Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor is made to have a steady state flow of the contents in reactor.
This set-up is used to study a non-catalytic homogeneous second order liquid phase reaction under
controlled environment. The training setup consists of three CSTR arranged in series with two feed
tanks through which two reactants are fed to the reactor. The individual flow of Chemicals is
measured by Rotameters attached to feed tanks. Needle valves are provided on respective
Rotameter so that the flow rate can be adjusted by operating them. Compressed air is used for the
circulation of feed. Reactants from feed tanks enter in the first CSTR and are passed to second
CSTR and so on. Samples are for analysis collected from different ports provided on the training
set-up. Pressure Gauge, Pressure Regulator and Safety Valve are fitted in the compressed air line
to measure the constant air pressure for safety purpose.
TUBULAR FLOW REACTOR / PLUG FLOW REACTOR
The most important class of reactor to be examined is the tubular flow reactor. The reactor(s) may
be vertical or horizontal. The feed is charged continuously at the inlet of the tube, and the products
are continuously removed at the outlet. If heat exchange with the surroundings is required, the
reactor tube is jacketed. If adiabatic conditions are required, the reactor is covered with insulation.

General Information
Plug flow reactors, also known as tubular reactors, consist of a cylindrical pipe with openings on
each end for reactants and products to flow through. Plug flow reactors are usually operated at
steady-state. Reactants are continually consumed as they flow down the length of the reactor.
Usage Examples
 Gasoline production, oil cracking, synthesis of ammonia from its elements, and the oxidation
of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide.
Advantages
 Easily maintained since there are no  Good for studying rapid reactions.
moving parts.  Efficient use of reactor volume.
 High conversion rate per reactor volume.  Good for large capacity processes.
 Mechanically simple.  Low pressure drops.
 Unvarying product quality.  Tubes are easy to clean.
Disadvantages
 Reactor temperature difficult to control.  Difficult to control due to temperature
 Hot spots may occur within reactor when and composition variation.
used for exothermic reactions.
POLYMERIZATION REACTOR
A variety of polymerization reactors, including continuous, semibatch, and batch reactors, are used
in industrial polymer manufacturing. In general, batch reactors are usually employed for small-to-
intermediate production of polymers or specialty grades. On the other hand, continuous reactor
systems (e.g., continuous stirred tanks, train of CSTRs, loop-type reactors, and fluidized bed
reactors (FBRs)) are suitable for large-volume production of commodity polymers such as
polyolefins, high-impact polystyrene, and poly(methyl methacrylate). Semibatch reactors are
usually single stirred tanks similar to the batch reactor units. Their operation usually follows the
following process step: initial charge of the reactants (i.e., monomers, initiators, and solvents) into
the reactor that is followed by continuous/discrete feeding of some reactant (e.g., comonomer,
chain transfer agent (CTA), and initiator) to control the polymerization rate and/or the polymer
chain properties.
BIO-REACTOR
Bioreactors are a tool used in tissue engineering to mature and guide the development of tissue
engineered constructs. Bioreactors are in vitro culture systems that have been designed to alter the
following basic physiological phenomena: cell survival along with tissue structure, organization,
mechanical properties, and function. Bioreactors ensure cell survival through adequate delivery of
essential nutrients throughout the three-dimensional tissue engineered construct. Bioreactors can
also guide tissue structure, organization, and ultimately function through the application of
chemical and mechanical stimuli.
ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTOR
Using Electrochemistry (EC) as a reaction technique before the MS allows the analyst to mimic
natures’ REDOX reactions in almost any analytical field. Many chemical and catalytic reactions
(wet chemistry, Fenton, etc.) can be mimicked in a controlled manner in the electrochemical cell
simply by applying a voltage potential. A large number of biochemical reactions such as enzymatic
, micorbial, aquatic, photolytic, etc, can be simulated without biological interferences (e.g. cell
matrix, plasma, urine, soil, etc.) and the generated REDOX products can be easily detected by MS,
making EC/MS a real biomimetic tool with substantial cost and time savings compared to in-vivo
or in–vitro techniques.
DISTILLATION REACTOR
A batch reactor where volatile products are removed continuously from the reactor during the operation.
PACKED-BED REACTOR / FIXED BED REACTOR
Packed bed reactors are very versatile and are used in many chemical processing applications such
as absorption, distillation, stripping, separation processes, and catalytic reactions. Typical reactors
consist of a chamber, such as a tube or channel that contains catalyst particles or pellets, and a
liquid that flows through the catalyst.

General Information
Packed bed reactors consist of a cylindrical shell with convex heads. Most are vertical, and allow
reactants to flow by gravity. Inside the reactor is an immobilized, or fixed, bed of catalyst . Packed
bed reactors are heterogeneous reaction systems.
Usage Examples
 A wide range of uses for catalytic reactions
 Small scale commercial reactions.
Advantages
 High conversion rate per weight of  More product is formed due to increased
catalyst. reactant/catalyst contact.
 Easy to build.  Low cost of construction, operation, and
 More contact between reactant and maintenance.
catalyst than in other types of reactors.  Effective at high temperatures and
pressures.
Disadvantages
 Difficult temperature control.
 Side reactions possible.
 Temperature gradients may occur.
 Heat transfer to or from reactor can be
 Catalyst difficult to replace. difficult.
 Channeling of gas stream can occur,
leading to ineffective regions in the
reactor.
MOVING-BED REACTOR
MBBR are biological filters, fabricated to provide biological filtration and maximize oxygen
concentration while enabling organic load degradation. MBBR biotowers, are made of PP,
resistant to osmosis and ozone gas. MBBR range covers the treatment needs for Biomass load
from 10 up to 850kg per bio-tower, utilizing low water volume and small footprint. The non-
treated water swell is continuously mixed with air/oxygen in the biotower, while the organic load
is degraded biologically by microorganisms. This bio-film layer is formed on and in suspended
polyethylene floating media.
FLUIDIZED-BED REACTOR
Fluidized bed reactors (FBR) are catalytic reactors in which the catalyst is fluidized within the
reactor.

General Information
Fluidized bed reactors are heterogeneous catalytic reactors in which the mass of catalyst is
fluidized. This allows for extensive mixing in all directions. A result of the mixing is excellent
temperature stability and increased mass-transfer and reaction rates. Fluidized bed reactors are
capable of handling large amounts of feed and catalyst.
Usage Examples
 Catalytic cracking processes
 Oxidation of naphthalene to phtalic anhydride, roasting of sulfide ores, coking of petroleum
residues, and the calcination of limestone
 Often used when there is a need for large amounts of heat input or output, or when closely
controlled temperatures are required.
Advantages
 Even temperature distribution eliminates  Allows for continuous, automatically
hot spots. controlled operations.
 Catalyst is easily replaced or regenerated.  More efficient contacting of gas and solid
than in other catalytic reactors.
Disadvantages
 Expensive to construct and maintain.  Can't be used with catalyst solids that
 Erosion of reactor walls may occur. won't flow freely.
 Regeneration equipment for catalyst is  Large pressure drop.
expensive.  Attrition, break-up of catalyst pellets due
 Catalyst may be deactivated. to impact against reactor walls, can occur.
TRICKLE-BED REACTOR

General Information
Trickle bed reactors are solid-liquid-gas contacting devices wherein a liquid stream flows
downward over a bed of catalyst with pressure difference serving as the driving force . The fluid
flows over catalyst particles and forms fine films, rivulets or droplets. The gas stream can either
flow concurrent with the liquid or countercurrent to it through the bed. Trickle bed reactors are
primarily operated in continuous mode but are sometimes used in semi-batch processes.
Usage Examples
 Hydroprocessing in the petroleum industry to generate cleaner fuels
 Some wastewater treatment processes. These reactors are used to oxidize toxic phenol in
wastewater to non-toxic carbon dioxide and water.
Advantages
 Can be used for three - phase reactions
 Lower total energy consumption since solids are stagnant, not suspended in slurry
 Simple to operate under high temperatures and pressures
 Lower catalyst attrition
Disadvantages
 Hot spots may develop due to solvent evaporation
 Channeling may occur, leading to inefficiencies
 Difficult to control vessel parameters
 Lower performance when liquid not uniformly distributed
 Difficult to scale up due to dependence on fluid dynamics of system
BUBBLING COLUMN REACTOR
Bubble columns are intensively used as multiphase contactors and reactors in chemical,
biochemical and petrochemical industries. They provide several advantages during operation and
maintenance such as high heat and mass transfer rates, compactness and low operating and
maintenance costs. Three-phase bubble column reactors are widely employed in reaction
engineering, i.e. in the presence of a catalyst and in biochemical applications where
microorganisms are utilized as solid suspensions in order to manufacture industrially valuable
bioproducts.

Applications:
 Production of single cell protein
 As multiphase contactors and reactors in chemical, petrochemical, biochemical and
metallurgical industries
 Chemical processes involving reactions such as oxidation, chlorination, alkylation,
polymerization, and hydrogenation
 Biological waste water treatment
 As reactors, absorbers and strippers in various industries
 Production of industrial valuable products such as enzymes, proteins and antibiotics
THERMAL REACTOR
Chemical reactions are often conducted at elevated temperatures in order to ensure high chemical
reaction rates. To achieve this temperature, it is necessary to preheat the feed stream with auxiliary
energy. This type of reactor is popularly referred to by some as an afterburner. Along with the feed
stream, air and fuel may be continuously delivered to the reactor where the fuel is combusted with
air in a firing unit (burner). Due to the high operating temperatures, the unit must be constructed
of materials (usually metals) capable of withstanding this condition. These devices usually include
an outer steel shell that is lined with refractory material. However, refractory material is heavy,
with densities as low as 50 lb/ft3 for lightweight insulating firebricks, and as high as 175 lb/ft3 for
castable refractories. The refractory wall thickness is often in the 3 to 9 inch range. This weight
adds considerably to the cost.

Advantages
 Simplicity of construction
 Small space requirements
 Low maintenance costs.
Disadvantages
 High operating costs
 Fire hazards
 Flashback possibilities.
CATALYTIC REACTOR
Catalytic reactors are occassionally an alternative to thermal reactors. If a solid catalyst is added
to the reactor, the reaction is said to be heterogeneous. For simple reactions, the effect of the
presence of a catalyst is to: a. Increase the rate of reaction.; b. Permit the reaction to occur at a
lower temperature.; c. Permit the reaction to occur at a more favorable pressure.; d. Reduce the
reactor volume.; e. Increase the yield of a reactant(s) relative to other species.
Metals in the platinum family are recognized for their ability to promote reactions at low
temperatures. Other catalysts include various oxides of copper, chromium, vanadium, nickel, and
cobalt. These catalysts are subject to poisoning, particularly from halogens, halogen and sulfur
compounds, zinc, arsenic, lead, mercury, and particulates. High temperatures can at times reduce
catalyst activity. It is therefore important that catalyst surfaces be clean and active to ensure
optimum performance.

Advantages
 Low fuel requirements  Reduced fire hazards
 Lower operating temperatures  Reduced flashback problems.
 Little or no insulation requirements
Disadvantages
 High initial cost  Some liquid droplets must first be
 Catalyst poisoning removed
 (Large) particles must first be removed  Catalyst regeneration problems.
FLARES
Although not treated in any detail in this text, flares provide another unit for reacting species.
Elevated, ground level, and open pit flares may be used. However, ground level flares have been
outlawed in most states; open pit burning is used only under catastrophic conditions. Elevated
flares are usually employed to ensure sufficient dilution and subsequent dispersion from adjacent
structures and potential receptors of the energy and end products of chemical reaction(s). Flares
find their primary application in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. The suggested design
procedures are strictly empirical with some crude momentum and meteorological effects included
in the equations. The reader is referred to the literature for additional information.
INCINERATOR
The incinerator is one of the most popular forms of waste treatment in inducing a chemical
reaction, especially when organics are involved. It can destroy and/or react most organic
components and the resulting product is almost always less "organic" than the original feed.
The objective of the incineration process is another important factor that influences reactor
selection. It may be desired, for example, to destroy the hazardous components in the waste, reduce
the hazardous components and then isolate them, or merely separate the hazardous components.
The end product of waste treatment must be compatible with the type of ultimate disposal to be
used for the waste: sewage discharge, landfilling, deep-well injection, and so forth.
For example, if the waste is to be disposed of by landfarming, the end product of the waste
treatment should consist of biodegradable organic components. As mentioned earlier, the chemical
reaction sequence that takes place during incineration is a complicated process. Several
intermediate products appear before the original material is completely oxidized into carbon
dioxide, water, nitrogen oxides, and so on. However, most of the intermediate products exist for
only a very short time, and for engineering purposes complete reaction of the organics is the
principal concern.
KILN REACTOR
Kilns were originally designed for lime processing. In 1885, Frederick Ransom was the first to
patent a rotary kiln. Peray provides an excellent summary of the early kiln. Recently, the rotary
kiln has been utilized to process hazardous waste because it has the unique capability to stabilize
the combustion process for many different materials that may be fed simultaneously. Kilns have
demonstrated the ability to handle a wide variety of materials with minimal impact on its
performance. This results in minimal preprocessing of the wastes and is one of the main reasons
for the kiln's popularity.
The processing of raw materials has been a historic application of the rotary kiln. The basic
building materials of a community—cement, lime, coal, iron ore, aggregates, and other bulk
materials—require heating to high temperatures. These materials have been produced in the past
in a rotary kiln. This high-temperature treatment and the continual mixing and blending of the raw
materials provide the basis for the processing of hazardous waste. Lime, lightweight aggregate,
cement, and other process kilns may operate at temperatures up to 1925°C (3500°F). Hazardous
waste incinerators operate in the range of 700- 1315°C (1300-2400°F) depending on the waste
feed types and shapes
FURNACES
Hearth furnaces consist of one or more flat or concave pans, either moving or stationary, usually
equipped with scraper-stirrers. Though this equipment is mostly used for ore treating and
metallurgical purposes, a few inorganic chemicals are made this way, including soda ash, sodium
sulfide from sodium sulfate and coal, and sodium sulfate and hydrogen chloride from salt and
sulfuric acid.
Fixed-hearth incinerators, used extensively for medical waste incineration, are less commonly used
for other materials. There are several units employed at commercial sites as well as plant sites.
Fixed hearths can handle bulk solids and liquids; however, this unit does not have the versatility
of a kiln.
Fixed-hearth incinerators typically contain two furnace chambers: a primary combustion chamber
(PCC) and a secondary combustion chamber (SCC). Solids and liquids may be charged into the
PCC. Small units are normally batch-fed while larger units may be continuously fed with a screw
feeder or moving grate or semicontinuously fed with a ram feeder. In some designs, there may be
two or three step hearths on which any ash and feed are pushed with rams through the system. A
controlled flow of "underfire" combustion air is introduced, usually up through the hearth on which
the feed sits. In some designs, combustion air may also be provided from the front wall over the
bed.
SLURRY REACTOR
Slurry reactors are three phase reactors (solid/liquid/gas). Pictured below is a slurry reactor used
in the production of polyethylene products.

General Information
Slurry reactors are three-phase reactors, meaning they can be used to react solids, liquids, and
gases simultaneously. They usually consist of a catalyst (solid) suspended in a liquid, through
which a gas is bubbled. They can operate in either semi-batch or continuous mode.
Usage Examples
 Used when a liquid reactant must be contacted with a solid catalyst
 When a reaction has a high heat of reaction
 Hydrogenation, oxidation, hydroformation, and ethynylation.
 High molecular weight carbons are produced in slurry reactors
Advantages
 Good temperature control.  Useful for catalysts that can't be
 Good heat recovery. pelletized.
 Constant overall catalytic activity  Large heat capacity of reactor acts as a
maintained easily by addition of small safety feature against explosions.
amount of catalyst.

Disadvantages
 Reactor may plug up.  Higher ratio of liquid to catalyst than in
 Uncertainties in design process. other reactors.
 Finding suitable liquids may be difficult.
SPRAY REACTOR
A spray tower (or spray column or spray chamber) is gas-liquid contactor used to achieve mass
and heat transfer between a continuous gas phase (that can contain dispersed solid particles) and a
dispersed liquid phase. It consists of an empty cylindrical vessel made of steel or plastic, and
nozzles that spray liquid into the vessel. The inlet gas stream usually enters at the bottom of the
tower and moves upward, while the liquid is sprayed downward from one or more levels. This
flow of inlet gas and liquid in opposite directions is called countercurrent flow.
MEMBRANE REACTOR
A membrane reactor is really just a plug-flow reactor that contains an additional cylinder of some
porous material within it, kind of like the tube within the shell of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger.
This porous inner cylinder is the membrane that gives the membrane reactor its name.
The membrane is a barrier that only allows certain components to pass through it. The selectivity
of the membrane is controlled by its pore diameter, which can be on the order of Angstroms, for
microporous layers, or on the order of microns for macroporous layers.
Membrane reactors combine reaction with separation to increase conversion. One of the products
of a given reaction is removed from the reactor through the membrane, forcing the equilibrium of
the reaction "to the right" (according to Le Chatelier's Principle), so that more of that product is
produced.
Membrane reactors are commonly used in dehydrogenation reactions (e.g., dehydrogenation of
ethane), where only one of the products (molecular hydrogen) is small enough to pass through the
membrane. This raises the conversion for the reaction, making the process more economical.
GAUZE REACTOR
Metal wire gauzes as catalyst supports and structured reactor internals offer a number of
advantages over monolithic reactors. Structured catalytic reactors based on wire gauzes are
explored in this study for the control of NOx emissions from a stationary engine fueled with gas
generated from a biomass gasification process. Simulations are performed on reactors filled with
(a) wire gauzes, (b) multi-channel monoliths, and (c) a packed bed with 2 mm beads. The purpose
of this procedure is to select the most efficient reactor internals and to assess the necessary reactor
length allowing maximum conversion of NOx.