Non Isothermal CSTR

Chemical Reaction Engineering I

Aug 2011 - Dec 2011
Dept. Chem. Engg., IIT-Madras
 Overview

Notation
CSTR design equation (mass balance)
Heat Balance

Accounts for heat removal/addition

Methodology given
 Notation
Usual notation applies.
FA = molar flow rate of A, FT = total molar flow rate
V = volume of reactor, Q = volumetric flow rate
T = temperature
x = conversion.
k = rate constant, CA = concentration of A
Ref = Reference temperature where the heat of reaction is given
H = heat of reaction (exothermic reactions will have negative values)
Subscript in indicates inlet. E.g. FA-in is molar flow rate of A at the inlet.

We consider only liquid phase reactions because they are the

most common ones in CSTR
CSTR design equation- Solve Mass Balance and
Energy Balance simultaneously
Mass Balance
FAin FAout rA out VCSTR

E

Rate constant is k k0 e RT

Energy balance equation

Heat released by reaction at operating conditions = Heat
used to raise the feed to operating conditions

The rest are just details.

Heat released by reaction at operating conditions
If Cp doesnt depend on temperature, it is given by
H T H T C p T TRef
Ref
 Heat of Reaction
If the reaction is given by

aA bB cC dD

And HRef is given per mol A reacted, then

cC p C dC p D aC p A bC p B
C p
a

e.g. Sulfuric acid + sodium hydroxide react and the heat of reaction
is given per one mole sulfuric acid reacted

H 2 SO4 2 NaOH Na2 SO4 2 H 2O

(Although NaOH is a solid, we will consider the case where it is
dissolved in water. Water is an inert material. We will also
neglect the heat of dissolution, although it is actually high)
C p C p Na2 SO4 2C p H 2O C p H 2 SO4 2C p NaOH
 Heat of Reaction

In a more general case, the specific heat capacity is a

function of temperature. The heat of reaction at any
temperature T is given by

T
H T H T
Ref TRef
C p dT

Example. Reaction A B+C

H 273 10000 J/mol A reacted

C p A 30 0.01T 0.00003T 2 J/mol/K

C p B 21 0.006T 0.00001T 2 J/mol/K

C p B 10 0.002T 0.00001T 2 J/mol/K

H 500 ? J/mol A reacted

 Heat of Reaction
500
H 500 H 273 C p dT
273

C p 1 0.002 T 0.00001 T 2
500
T2 T 3
H 500 H 273 T 0.002 0.00001
2 3 273

H 500 9947 J/mol A reacted

In general, the Heat of reaction at any temperature

would be a cubic equation in Temperature

H T T T 2 T 3
 Energy Balance Equation

Energy released by reaction / unit time

= Number of moles reacted per unit time * Heat released per
mole
FAin x H T

Energy needed (/ unit time )to bring feed to a temperature T

If Cp is a constant, then
F
i
i in C p i T Tin

If Cp varies with temperature,

T then
F C
i
i in p i dT
Tin

Note: To calculate HT, we use Cp of reactants and products.

Data on inert present in the feed is not necessary
To calculate energy needed to bring feed to a temperature of
T, we need data on all materials (including inert) in feed.
 Energy Balance
Under steady state conditions
T
FAin x H T Fi in C p i dT
i Tin

This can be re-written as

A cubic equation in T
x
Another cubic equation in T
If Cp is a constant, then it can be written as a linear
equation

x + T
Note: When we substitute actual values we
find that x vs T is roughly linear even when
Cp is a function of T
 Non-Isothermal Case
If heat is removed (e.g. cooling coils), then energy balance
becomes

Heat released by reaction at operating conditions = {Heat

used to raise the feed to operating conditions + Heat
removed by cooling coils}

Heat removed by cooling coils = U A (T-Tc) where Tc is the temperature of cooling fluids in the coils.

Note: For endothermic reactions, with heat added by coils, the equation will be similar.

Heat ABSORBED by reaction at operating conditions = {Heat

released by LOWERING the feed to operating conditions +
Heat SUPPLIED by heating coils}

Still, x vs T is a linear equation (or a roughly linear

equation) for energy balance
 Pictorial View

X vs T: Energy Balance equation gives roughly a straight line

Mass balance equations (for positive order reactions) gives a
non liner (i.e. curvy) line, which starts at X = 0 and ends at X =
1.
Note:
For energy balance equation, there is no inherent check to ensure
that X will be between 0 and 1
If the reaction order is 0, there is no inherent check to ensure
that X will be between 0 and 1.
 Choices
1. If the conversion desired (X) is known, then find V and T for
adiabatic conditions
2. If Volume is known, find X and T
3. If Volume is known, and heat is removed to maintain the temperature
below certain value (e.g. exothermic reaction), find the conversion
4. If Volume is known, and critical temperature (i.e. maximum allowed
temperature) is known, find the conversion and the heat load (U A
Del-T).

1. Solution:
If X is known, then using heat balance equation, find T
Constant Cp: the linear equation can be solved easily. Variable Cp. The cubic
ratios has to be solved, using a numerical method (e.g. fsolve in Matlab).
Using T and X, find V
 Solutions
2. To find X and T, given V (adiabatic) :
Solution:
Substitute for V in the mass balance equation
Solve for T and X simultaneously using numerical methods

Alternative: Graphically solve for T and X simultaneously

i.e. Plot X vs T using energy balance equation alone for various assumed values of T
Plot X vs T using mass balance equation alone, for various assumed values of T
Find where these two lines intersect. That would give the X and T

3. If Volume is known, and heat is removed to maintain the

temperature below certain value (e.g. exothermic reaction),
find the conversion
Solution:
Use the same method as above, but the heat balance equation
has one more term to accommodate heat removal
 Solution
4. If Volume is known, and critical temperature (i.e. maximum allowed temperature) is known, find the conversion
and the heat load (U A Del-T).

Solution:
T = maximum allowed temperature
Using mass balance equation (since V is known and T is known), find X
Using heat balance equation (now X and T are known), find the heat load: i.e. UA Del-T