BENZHYD - Dehydrogenation of Benzene

The gas-phase dehydrogenation of benzene to diphenyl (D) and further to triphenyl (T) is conducted in an ideal isothermal tubular reactor. The aim is to maximize the production of D and to minimize the formation of T. Two parallel, gas-phase reactions occur at atmospheric pressure 

The kinetics are given in terms of Arrhenius relationships and partial-pressure relationships as 

At steady-state conditions, the mass balance design equations for the ideal tubular reactor apply. These equations may be expressed as 

The ISIM program for this example with typical output is shown. Example BENZHYD 

Isothermal tubular reactor with two consecutive reactions 

5 Simulation Tools and Examples of Chemical Engineering Processes 

Study the effect of varying space time on the fractional conversions XI and X2 and evaluate the compositions of benzene, hydrogen, diphenyl and triphenyl. 

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