Thermal hazards, process/reactor design

Heat removal Removal of reaction heat from a highly viscous polymeric fluid or a heterogeneous reaction mixture is often a critical reactor design and operational problem. In many industrial exothermic polymerization processes, reactor thermal runaway is the most serious potential hazard. 

Topics include identification of hazardous chemical reactivity, application of thermal analysis to process and reactor design and operation, and management controls. 

Consider the issue of designing a recycle reactor to accomplish the degradation of 99.99% of the phenol present at a concentration of 1.1 x 10 M in supercritical water at 380°C and 278 atm. This destruction level is selected on the basis of Environmental Protection Agency standards for thermal treatment of hazardous organic wastes. The corresponding inlet concentration of oxygen is 0.08 M. Prepare a plot of the reactor volume required to process 8 m /h of the supercritical aqueous solution versus the recycle ratio for values of this ratio between 0 and 20. Comment. 

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