Experimental Simulation of Industrial Reactors

The principle of the scale-down methodology, using a reaction calorimeter, is as follows  

By doing so, the reaction calorimeter mimics the behavior of the industrial reactor that optimizes the process without any information, neither about the stoichiometry nor about the reaction. The results of such an experiment can be evaluated by classical analytics or in process control. 

Consider a reaction in a 16 m3 reactor at 100 °C. At this temperature, using a feed time of at least one hour, the reaction is feed-controlled. The feed rate must be adapted to the cooling capacity of the vessel. There are 15 000 kg of reaction mass in the vessel, the specific heat of reaction is 200 kj kg final reaction mass. During the reaction, the heat exchange area remains constant at 20 m2. Ambient pressure is 1013 mbar. 

The material constant for heat transfer of the reaction mass at 100 °C was determined in the reaction calorimeter y= 6700 Wm 2 K 1 at 100 °C. The relevant physical properties of 96% sulfuric acid are as follows  

the overall heat transfer coefficient during the cooling experiment (U)  

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Zuflerey, B. (2006) Scale-down Approach Chemical Process Optimisation Using Reaction Calorimetry for the Experimental Simulation of Industrial Reactors Dynamics, EPFL, n°3464, Lausanne. 

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