Chemical reactors Heat transfer applications

Two complementai y reviews of this subject are by Shah et al. AIChE Journal, 28, 353-379 [1982]) and Deckwer (in de Lasa, ed.. Chemical Reactor Design andTechnology, Martinus Nijhoff, 1985, pp. 411-461). Useful comments are made by Doraiswamy and Sharma (Heterogeneous Reactions, Wiley, 1984). Charpentier (in Gianetto and Silveston, eds.. Multiphase Chemical Reactors, Hemisphere, 1986, pp. 104—151) emphasizes parameters of trickle bed and stirred tank reactors. Recommendations based on the literature are made for several design parameters namely, bubble diameter and velocity of rise, gas holdup, interfacial area, mass-transfer coefficients k a and /cl but not /cg, axial liquid-phase dispersion coefficient, and heat-transfer coefficient to the wall. The effect of vessel diameter on these parameters is insignificant when D > 0.15 m (0.49 ft), except for the dispersion coefficient. Application of these correlations is to (1) chlorination of toluene in the presence of FeCl,3 catalyst, (2) absorption of SO9 in aqueous potassium carbonate with arsenite catalyst, and (3) reaction of butene with sulfuric acid to butanol. 

The value of tire heat transfer coefficient of die gas is dependent on die rate of flow of the gas, and on whether the gas is in streamline or turbulent flow. This factor depends on the flow rate of tire gas and on physical properties of the gas, namely the density and viscosity. In the application of models of chemical reactors in which gas-solid reactions are caiTied out, it is useful to define a dimensionless number criterion which can be used to determine the state of flow of the gas no matter what the physical dimensions of the reactor and its solid content. Such a criterion which is used is the Reynolds number of the gas. For example, the characteristic length in tire definition of this number when a gas is flowing along a mbe is the diameter of the tube. The value of the Reynolds number when the gas is in streamline, or linear flow, is less than about 2000, and above this number the gas is in mrbulent flow. For the flow... 

Chapter 3 concerns the dynamic characteristics of stagewise types of equipment, based on the concept of the well-stirred tank. In this, the various types of stirred-tank chemical reactor operation are considered, together with allowance for heat effects, non-ideal flow, control and safety. Also included is the modelling of stagewise mass transfer applications, based on liquid-liquid extraction, gas absorption and distillation. 

Chapter 4 eoncerns differential applications, which take place with respect to both time and position and which are normally formulated as partial differential equations. Applications include diffusion and conduction, tubular chemical reactors, differential mass transfer and shell and tube heat exchange. It is shown that such problems can be solved with relative ease, by utilising a finite-differencing solution technique in the simulation approach. 

Fluidized beds are widely used to achieve either chemical reactions or physical processing that require interfacial contact between gas and particles. Heat transfer is important in many of these applications, either to obtain energy transfer between the solid and gas phases or to obtain energy transfer between the two-phase mixture and a heating/cooling medium. The latter case is particularly important for fluidized bed reactors which require heat addition or extraction in order to achieve thermal control with heats of reaction. 

Our discussion of multiphase CFD models has thus far focused on describing the mass and momentum balances for each phase. In applications to chemical reactors, we will frequently need to include chemical species and enthalpy balances. As mentioned previously, the multifluid models do not resolve the interfaces between phases and models based on correlations will be needed to close the interphase mass- and heat-transfer terms. To keep the notation simple, we will consider only a two-phase gas-solid system with ag + as = 1. If we denote the mass fractions of Nsp chemical species in each phase by Yga and Ysa, respectively, we can write the species balance equations as... 

Microreactor and microprocess technology has, in some fine-chemical cases, approached commercial applications and become competitive with existing technology. Two main developments are awaited. Firstly, optimizing the process protocol conditions such that the chemistry is set to the limit of the reactor s capabilities in terms of mass and heat transfer. This so-called novel chemistry approach achieves the highest process intensification and can improve the costing of microprocess... 

In considering heat transfer in gas-solid fluidization it is important to distinguish between, on the one hand, heat transfer between the bed and a heat transfer surface (be it heated bed walls or heat transfer coils in the bed) and, on the other hand, heat transfer between particles and the fluidizing gas. Much of the fluidization literature is concerned with the former because of its relevance to the use of fluidized beds as heterogeneous chemical reactors. Gas-particle heat transfer is rather more relevant to the food processing applications of fluidization such as drying, where the transfer of heat from the inlet gas to the wet food particle is crucial. 

The most important applications of zirconium involve its alloys, Zircaloy. The aUoy offers excellent mechanical and heat-transfer properties and great resistance to corrosion and chemical attack. This, in conjunction with the fact that zirconium has a low neutron absorption cross section, makes this ahoy a suitable choice as a construction material for thermal nuclear reactors and nuclear power plants. Other uses are as an ingredient of explosive mixtures, as getter in vacuum tubes, and in making flash bulb, flash powder (historical), and lamp filaments, in rayon spinnerets, and in surgical appliances. 

S. Joh and G.H. Evans. Heat Transfer and Flow Stability in a Rotating Disk Stagnation Flow Chemical Vapor Deposition Reactor. Numer. Heat Transf. Part A— Applications, 31 (8) 867—879,1997. 

High-intensity inline devices are often used to mix fluids in the process industries. Such devices include simple pipes, baffled pipes, tees, motionless mixers, dynamic mixers, centrifugal pumps, ejectors, and rotor/stator mixers. In addition to their traditional application in physical processes such as mixing and dispersion, such devices can provide very effective environments for mass transfer and chemical reaction to take place. Furthermore, combining effective inline mixing with heat transfer is the basis of combined heat exchanger reactors (HEX reactors). 

The use of electromagnetic techniques represents the final method for process intensification of heat transfer that will be dealt with here. Developments in the fuel cell sector hold out the promise of cheap electric power based on surplus hydrogen in chemical plants. The liberalization of the energy sector has also cut electricity prices and enhanced the attractiveness of using electricity in connection with chemical reactors. The precise regulation possible with electrical processes and their clean, environmentally friendly nature are further inducements for their application. 

Takeda, T., Kunitomi, K., Horie, T., Iwata, K., Feasibility study on the applicability of a diffusion-welded compact intermediate heat exchanger to next-generation high temperature gas-cooled reactor, Nucl. Eng. Des. 1997, 168,11-21. Bier W., Keller W., Linder G., Seidel, D., Schubert, K., Martin, H., Gas-to-gas heat transfer in micro heat exchangers, Chem. Eng. Process. 1993, 32, 33-43. Schubert, K., Brandner J., Fichtner M., Linder G., Schygulla, U., Wenka, A., Microstructure devices for applications in thermal and chemical process engineering, Microscale Therm. Eng. 2001, 5,17-39. www.fzk.de, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 17 July 2004. 

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