Basic of Chemical

Reactors
AMMONIA PRODUCTION Rawan Mohammed
University of Muthanna
Chemical Eng. Department
Main Topics

 Introduction
 Basic Principle
 Types of Reactors
 Production of Ammonia
 Haber-Bosch Process
 Reaction
 Modern ammonia producing plants
 References
Introduction

 What is a reactor?
 Reactor is a process vessel designed to contain chemical
reactions. It’s considered the heart of chemical process.
 Chemical engineers design reactors to maximize net present
value for the given reaction.
 Designers ensure that the reaction proceeds with the highest
efficiency towards the desired output product, producing the
highest yield of product while requiring the least amount of
money to purchase and operate. Normal operating expenses
include energy input, energy removal, raw material costs,
labor, etc. Energy changes can come in the form of heating or
cooling, pumping to increase pressure, frictional pressure loss
or agitation.
Basic Principle

 All chemical process are centered in a chemical

reactor.
 The design of a chemical reactor is the most
important factor in determining the overall process
economics.
 Reaction Type:
 Direct combination or synthetic reaction.
A + B = AB
 Chemical decomposition or analysis reaction.
AB = A + B
Basic Principle

 Endothermic Reactions: describes a process or reaction that

absorbs energy in the form of heat.
 Exothermic Reactions: Release energy in the form of heat,
light, or sound (∆S > 0 • ∆H < 0)
 Reaction Rate : Speed at which a chemical reaction
proceeds, in terms of amount of product formed or amount of
reactant consumed per unit time
 Factors Influencing Reaction Rate
 Concentration
 The nature of reaction
 Temperature
 Pressure
 Catalyst
Mole Balance
Material Balance - CSTR
Plug Flow
Plug Flow
Types of Reactors

 Classification by the mode of operation:

 Batch Type
 Continuous Type
 Plug Flow
 CSTR
 Semi batch
Batch Reactor

 Batch reactors are used for most of the reactions

carried out in a laboratory.
 The reactants are placed in a test-tube, flask or
beaker. They are mixed together, often heated for
the reaction to take place and are then cooled.
The products are poured out and, if necessary,
purified.
 This procedure is also carried out in industry, the key
difference being one of size of reactor and the
quantities of reactants.
 Batch Reactor

Following reaction, the reactor is

cleaned ready for another batch of
reactants to be added.
Batch reactors are usually used when a
company wants to produce a range of
products involving different reactants
and reactor conditions. They can then
use the same equipment for these
reactions.
Examples of processes that use batch
reactors include the manufacture of
colorants and margarine.
 Continuous Type

 An alternative to a batch process is to feed the reactants

continuously into the reactor at one point, allow the reaction to
take place and withdraw the products at another point.

An example of a continuous
process a water-softener.
Hard water is passed through a
tube containing an ion-exchange
resin. Reaction occurs down the
tube and soft water pours out at
the exit.
Continuous Reactors

 There must be an equal flow rate of reactants and products.

 continuous reactors are rarely used in the laboratory.
 Continuous reactors are normally installed when large quantities of a
chemical are being produced. It is important that the reactor can
operate for several months without a shutdown.
 The reaction parameters (e.g. residence time, temperature and
pressure) are better controlled than in batch operations.
 They also produce less waste and require much lower storage of both
raw materials and products resulting in a more efficient operation.
Capital costs per tonne of product produced are consequently lower.
The main disadvantage is their lack of flexibility as once the reactor has
been built it is only in rare cases that it can be used to perform a
different chemical reaction.
Types of continuous reactors

 Industry uses several types of continuous reactor:

 Plug Flow Reactor
 Tubular Reactors
 Fixed Bed Reactors
 Fluidized Bed Reactors
 Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors, CSTR
Tubular Reactors

 Fluids (gases and/or liquids) flow through it at high

velocities. As the reactants flow, they are converted
to products.
 Tubular reactors are used, for example, in the steam
cracking of ethane, propane and butane and
naphtha to produce alkenes.
Tubular Reactor
 Fixed Bed Reactors

 A heterogeneous catalyst is used

frequently in industry where gases flow
through a solid catalyst (which is often in
the form of small pellets to increase the
surface area). It is often described as a
fixed bed of catalyst.
 Examples of their use are manufacture of:
 Sulfuric acid
 Nitric acid
 Ammonia (the Haber Process).
 Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR)

 FBR is sometimes used

whereby the catalyst
particles, which are
very fine, sit on a
distributor plate.
 When the gaseous
reactants pass through
the distributor plate, the
particles are carried
with the gases forming
a fluid.
Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR)
 Continuous Stirred Tank
Reactor (CSTR)
 In a CSTR, one or more
fluid reagents are
introduced into a tank
reactor which is typically
stirred with an impeller
to ensure proper mixing
of the reagents while
the reactor effluent is
removed.
Semi batch

 Semi batch reactor are especially favored when

there are large heat effects and heat transfer
capability is limited.
 It’s a cross between the batch reactor and CSTR.
 The semi batch reactor is initially with reactant, like
the batch reactor, but allows a feed addition policy
while the reaction takes place, like the CSTR.
 Normally there is no outflow stream.
Types of reactors

 The three idealized models (Batch, CSTR, and Plug

flow reactor PFR) used to estimate the most
important process variables of different chemical
reactors.
 Many real-world reactors can be modeled as a
combination of these basic types.
Key process variables include:

 Residence time (τ)

 Volume (V)
 Temperature (T)
 Pressure (P)
 Concentrations of chemical species (C1, C2, C3, ...
Cn)
 Heat transfer coefficients (h, U)
Production of Ammonia

 History of ammonia manufacturing processes:-

 Before the start of World War I, most ammonia was obtained by the
dry distillation of nitrogenous vegetable and animal products; the
reduction of nitrous acid and nitrites with hydrogen; and the
decomposition of ammonium salts by alkaline hydroxides or by
quicklime, the salt most generally used being the chloride (sal-
ammoniac).
 The Haber process, which is the production of ammonia by combining
hydrogen and nitrogen, was first patented by Fritz Haber in 1908. In
1910, Carl Bosch, while working for the German chemical company
BASF, successfully commercialized the process and secured further
patents. It was first used on an industrial scale by the Germans during
World War I.
 Since then, the process has often been referred to as the Haber-Bosch
process.
 Haber-Bosch Process

 Is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial

procedure for the production of ammonia today.
 It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and
Carl Bosch, who developed it in the first half of the 20th century.
 This process involves the direct reaction between Hydrogen and
Nitrogen.
 The process converts atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3)
by a reaction with hydrogen (H2) using a metal catalyst under high
temperatures and pressures:
Haber -Bosch

German chemist and engineer German Chemist Fritz Haber,

Carl Bosch , 1940 1918
Elements of Reaction

 Before carrying out the process, Nitrogen and Hydrogen gas

are produced.
 Nitrogen is by far the most abundant gas in the Earth's
atmosphere, making up 78.084% of the air we breathe.
 Nitrogen is commonly produced industrially by the low-
temperature distillation of air.
 Hydrogen is commonly produced on an industrial large scale
by the catalytic reforming of Methane.
 The most popular catalysts are based on iron promoted with
K2O, CaO, SiO2, and Al2O3.
 Reaction

 This involves the direct combination of Nitrogen and Hydrogen. The

reaction is reversible, meaning that some ammonia will be formed,
but not all will react. The reaction is as follows:
 N2 + 3H2 ⇌ 2NH3 ΔHo = −92.4 kJmol-1
 We find that the forward reaction is exothermic and proceeds with
decrease in the number of gaseous moles. Therefore, according to
Le-Chatelier’s Principle, the conditions favorable for the forward
processes are :
 Low temperature
 High pressure
Reaction Cont.

 However, at low temperature, the rate of the

reaction becomes very slow. Therefore, in practice,
the optimum temperature of about 750 K and a
pressure of about 2 × 107 Pa, i.e 200 atmospheres is
employed. Since the operating temperature is fairly
low (750 K), the rate of reaction is increased by
using a catalyst which consists of finely divided iron
containing molybdenum as promoter.
 The plant for manufacture of
ammonia by Haber’s process

 Gases passing over four beds of catalyst, with cooling between each
pass to maintain a reasonable equilibrium constant.
 On each pass only about 15% conversion
 unreacted gases are recycled
 eventually overall conversion of 98%
Haber Process
Procedure

 A mixture of Nitrogen and Hydrogen in the ratio of 1:3 is

compressed to 200-900 atmospheres by means of a
compressor.
 The compressed gases are cooled and passed through soda-
lime tower to free them from moisture and carbon dioxide.
 The gases then enter the catalyst chamber where they are first
of all heated by a preheater to 750 K, and then made to enter
of the tubes packed with a catalyst.
 Thereafter, the gases pass through heat exchangers and cool
down.
 Finally, the gases are cooled by the sudden expansion through
a small hole whereby ammonia gets liquefied while
uncondensed gaseous mixture is recirculated for conversion
into ammonia.
Modern ammonia producing
plants

 A typical modern ammonia-producing plant first

converts natural gas (i.e., methane) or LPG
(liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and
butane) or petroleum naphtha into gaseous
hydrogen.
 The method for producing hydrogen from
hydrocarbons is referred to as "steam reforming".
 The hydrogen is then combined with nitrogen to
produce ammonia.
Modern Ammonia plants

 The stages of modern process for formation of

ammonia:
References

 https://en.wikipedia.org/
 http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ammonia_production
 http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Amm
onia
 https://www.slideshare.net/
 https://www.chemguide.co.uk/physical/equilibria/h
aber.html