Ch E 441: Chemical Kinetics

and Reaction Engineering

Reaction Conversion
David A. Rockstraw, Ph.D., P.E.
New Mexico State University
Chemical Engineering
Reaction Conversion
Consider the general reaction;



on a per mole of A basis
dD cC bB aA + +
D
a
d
C
a
c
B
a
b
A
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|
+
Reaction Conversion
The conversion of A (X
A
) is defined as:
fed A moles
reacted A moles
X
A

D
a
d
C
a
c
B
a
b
A
|
.
|

\
|
+
|
.
|

\
|

|
.
|

\
|
+
Conversion (Batch System)
Consider the batch reactor mole balance:
(
(
(

(
(
(

=
=
(
(
(

reaction
consumed
A of moles
0 at t
fed initially
A of
at t
reactor in
A of moles
by
moles
X N N N
Ao Ao A
=
Ao
A Ao
N
N N
X

=
( ) X 1 N N
Ao A
=
Batch Reactor Design Equation
Recall the batch reactor design equation
V r
dt
dN
A
A
=
( ) X 1 N N
Ao A
=
V r
dt
dX
N
A Ao
=
( )
}

=
t X
0
A
Ao
V r
dX
N t
differential form
integral form
Conversion (Flow System)
Consider the flow reactor mole balance:
(
(
(

=
(
(
(

(
(
(

system the within

consumed is A
at which rate molar
system from
A of rate
flow molar
system into
A of rate
flow molar
X F F F
Ao Ao A
=
Ao
A Ao
F
F F
X

=
( ) X 1 F F
Ao A
=
CSTR Design Equations
Recall the CSTR Design Equation:
( ) X 1 F F
Ao A
=
A
A Ao
r
F F
V

=
( )
exit
A
Ao
r
X F
V

=
PFR Design Equations
Recall the PFR Design Equation:
( ) X 1 F F
Ao A
=
A Ao
r
dV
dX
F =
A
A
r
dV
F d
=
}

=
X
0
A
Ao
r
dX
F V
differential form integral form
Application of Design Equations
Consider a single reaction system with functional
dependence as;
( ) X 1 kC r
Ao A
=
( ) X 1
1
kC
1
r
1
Ao A

=

Application of Design Equations

For the CSTR;
X vs
r
1
A

VoF :=
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
r x ( )
x
A Ao
r
X
F
V

=
Application of Design Equations
For the PFR;
X vs
r
1
A

VoF :=
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
r x ( )
x
}

=
X
0
A Ao
r
X
F
V
Comparison
PFR always requires less volume than a
CSTR to achieve a given conversion.
VoF :=
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
r x ( )
x
Reactors in Series
F
A,1
X
1

F
A,2
X
2
F
A,3
X
3
V
3
V
1
F
A,0

3 0 , A 0 , A 3 , A
2 0 , A 0 , A 2 , A
1 0 , A 0 , A 1 , A
X F F F
X F F F
X F F F
=
=
=
reactor first to feed in A of moles
2 point to up reacted A moles
X
2

Where the conversion for successive
reactors is defined as:
V
2

Reactors in Series
( )
1 , A
1 0 , A
1
r
X 0 F
V

=
F
A,1
X
1

F
A,2
X
2
F
A,3
X
3
V
3
V
1
F
A,0

V
2

Reactors in Series
( )
1 , A
1 0 , A
1
r
X 0 F
V

=
F
A,1
X
1

F
A,2
X
2
F
A,3
X
3
V
3
V
1
F
A,0

V
2

}

=
2
1
X
X
A
0 , A 2
r
dX
F V
Reactors in Series
( )
1 , A
1 0 , A
1
r
X 0 F
V

=
F
A,1
X
1

F
A,2
X
2
F
A,3
X
3
V
3
V
1
F
A,0

V
2

}

=
2
1
X
X
A
0 , A 2
r
dX
F V
( )
3 , A
2 3 0 , A
3
r
X X F
V

=
Reactors in Series
( )
1 , A
1 0 , A
1
r
0 X F
V

=
F
A,1
X
1

F
A,2
X
2
F
A,3
X
3
V
3
V
1
F
A,0

V
2

}

=
2
1
X
X
A
0 , A 2
r
dX
F V
( )
3 , A
2 3 0 , A
3
r
X X F
V

=
V
3

V
1

A
r
1

X
1
X
2
X
3

V
2
Relative Reaction Rates
Relative reaction rates of the species involved in
a reaction can be obtained from the
stoichiometric coefficients:
dD cC bB aA + +
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
.
|

\
|
=
|
.
|

\
|

=
|
.
|

\
|
d
r
c
r
b
r
a
r
D C B A
Space Time (t)
Time necessary to process
1 reactor volume of fluid at
entrance conditions
Also called residence time or holding time
1/t is referred to as the Space Velocity
For a PFR,
o
V
v
= t
}

= t
X
0
A
Ao
r
dX
C
}

=
X
0
A
Ao
r
dX
F V
Example CD P2-D
B
A 400 L CSTR and a 100 L PFR are available to process 1.0 L/s of feed. Feed contains: 41% A,
41% B, 18% inerts. Consider the irreversible, gas-phase reaction A + B C to be carried
out at 10 atm, 227C.



a. Estimate the volume of a PFR required to achieve 30% conversion of A for an entering
volumetric flow rate of 2 m
3
/min.
b. Estimate the volume of a CSTR required to take the effluent from the PFR above and
achieve 50% total conversion (based on species A fed to the PFR).
c. What is the total volume of the two reactors?
d. What volume of a single PFR is necessary to achieve 60 & 80% conversion?
e. What is the volume of a single CSTR necessary to achieve 50% conversion?
f. What volume of a 2nd CSTR is needed to raise conversion from 50 to 60%?
g. Plot the rate of reaction and conversion as a function of PFR volume
h. Give a critique of the answers to this problem.
-r
A
0.2 0.0167 0.00488 0.00286 0.00204
X 0.0 0.1 0.4 0.7 0.9