Multiple Isothermal CSTRs in Series with Reaction

1 Multiple Isothermal CSTRs in Series with Reaction A - B 

The first multiple-reactor system we study is the reaction considered in Section 2.1, which is the irreversible reaction A — B. The design equation for the volume of a single CSTR is given in Eq. (2.60) in terms of conversion x, specific reaction rate k, and feed flowrate F  

Now suppose that two tanks in series are used. We assume that they are of equal size and operate at the same 350 K temperature. The design equation for the volume of two 

Concentration - kmol/m3 Temperature - K Volume - m3 Heat-10 kJ/s Area nr  

For the same 98% conversion, the volume of each of the two tanks is only 32.5 m3 with a 2.74 m diameter. Thus the total volume has been reduced by a factor of 4 from 262 m3 in the case of one CSTR to only 65 m3 when two CSTRs are run in series. This is a tremendous decrease in capital investment and represents a great intensification. 

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