Plug tubular reactor

For most types of kinetics, the stepwise changes in concentration results in a smaller average reaction rate than it would otherwise if the same feed materials were in a batch or plug (tubular) reactor. Therefore, to obtain the same output the volume of the reaction space must be larger, and in some instances much larger as in the case where only a single tank is used. By arranging several tanks in series the... 

Because the characteristic of tubular reactors approximates plug-flow, they are used if careful control of residence time is important, as in the case where there are multiple reactions in series. High surface area to volume ratios are possible, which is an advantage if high rates of heat transfer are required. It is sometimes possible to approach isothermal conditions or a predetermined temperature profile by careful design of the heat transfer arrangements. 

Continuous-Flow Stirred-Tank Reactor. In a continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), reactants and products are continuously added and withdrawn. In practice, mechanical or hydrauHc agitation is required to achieve uniform composition and temperature, a choice strongly influenced by process considerations, ie, multiple specialty product requirements and mechanical seal pressure limitations. The CSTR is the idealized opposite of the weU-stirred batch and tubular plug-flow reactors. Analysis of selected combinations of these reactor types can be useful in quantitatively evaluating more complex gas-, Hquid-, and soHd-flow behaviors. 

Flow in tubular reactors can be laminar, as with viscous fluids in small-diameter tubes, and greatly deviate from ideal plug-flow behavior, or turbulent, as with gases, and consequently closer to the ideal (Fig. 2). Turbulent flow generally is preferred to laminar flow, because mixing and heat transfer... 

Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) A plug flow reactor is a tubular reactor where the feed is continuously introduced at one end and the products continuously removed from the other end. The concentration/temperature profile in the reactor varies with position. 

Another view is given in Figure 3.1.2 (Berty 1979), to understand the inner workings of recycle reactors. Here the recycle reactor is represented as an ideal, isothermal, plug-flow, tubular reactor with external recycle. This view justifies the frequently used name loop reactor. As is customary for the calculation of performance for tubular reactors, the rate equations are integrated from initial to final conditions within the inner balance limit. This calculation represents an implicit problem since the initial conditions depend on the result because of the recycle stream. Therefore, repeated trial and error calculations are needed for recycle... 

CONTINUOUS ISOTHERMAL PLUG FLOW TUBULAR REACTOR... 

The tubular (plug flow) reactor in which piston flow of the reacting mixture is assumed, and there is neither mixing nor diffusion in the flow direction. 

Adiabatic plug flow reactors operate under the condition that there is no heat input to the reactor (i.e., Q = 0). The heat released in the reaction is retained in the reaction mixture so that the temperature rise along the reactor parallels the extent of the conversion. Adiabatic operation is important in heterogeneous tubular reactors. 

PRESSURE DROP (AP) IN TUBULAR (PLUG FLOW) REACTORS... 

Jongen, N., Lemaitre, J., Bowen, P. and Hofmann, H., 1996. Oxalate precipitation using a new tubular plug flow reactor. In Proc. 5th World Congress of Chemical Engineering. San Diego (California), July 14-18 (New York American Institute of Chemical Engineers), Vol. V, pp. 2109-2111. 

The immobilised cell reactor (ICR) experiments were undertaken to determine the performance of immobilised Propionibacterium acidipropionici in a plug-flow tubular reactor. The... 

A tubular bioreactor design with operational may lead to a CSTR, having sufficient recycle ratio for plug flow that behave like chemostat. The recirculation plug flow reactor is better than a chemostat, with maximum productivity at C, 3 g-m 3. Combination of plug flow with CSTR which behave like chemostat was obtained from the illustration minimised curve with maximum rate at CSf = 3 g-m-3. 

The work reported here is part of a continuing program on the emulsion polymerization of styrene in a tubular reactor. It is now evident that the reactor construction is of primary importance in avoiding the problem of reactor plugging. The plugging is associated with a wall effect so that both the reactor dimensions and the nature of the wall surface are important. 

The study of the peak temperature sensitivity to the reactor operating parameters and the construction of sensitivity boundary curves for stable reactor operation were previously reported ( l). This paper presents a computer study on conceptual relationships between the conversion-product properties and the reactor operating parameters in a plug flow tubular reactor of free radical polymerization. In particular, a contour map of conversion-molecular weight relationships in a reactor of fixed size is presented and the sensitivity of its relationship to the choice of initiator system, solvent system and heat transfer system are discussed. 

The computer model used for this analysis is based on a plug flow tubular reactor operating under restraints of the commonly accepted kinetic mechanism for polymerization reactions ( 5 ) ... 

Figure 1. Typical reactor temperature profile for continuous addition polymerization a plug-flow tubular reactor. Kinetic parameters for the initiator 1 = 10 ppm Ea = 32.921 kcal/mol In = 26.492 In sec f = 0.5. Reactor parameter [(4hT r)/ (DpCp)] = 5148.2. [(Cp) = heat capacity of the reaction mixture (p) = density of the reaction mixture (h) = overall heat-transfer coefficient (Tf) = reactor jacket temperature (r) = reactor residence time (D) = reactor diameter].

EQUATIONS FOR A PLUG FLOW POLYMER TUBULAR REACTOR WITH BRANCHING KINETICS... 

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