Reaction vessel design

Let us examine some batch results. In trials in which 5 mL of a dye solution was added by pipet (with pressure) to 10 mL of water in a 25-mL flask, which was shaken to mix (as determined visually), and the mixed solution was delivered into a 3-mL rectangular cuvette, it was found that = 3-5 s, 2-4 s, and /obs 3-5 s. This is characteristic of conventional batch operation. Simple modifications can reduce this dead time. Reaction vessels designed for photometric titrations - may be useful kinetic tools. For reactions that are followed spectrophotometrically this technique is valuable Make a flat button on the end of a 4-in. length of glass rod. Deliver 3 mL of reaction medium into the rectangular cuvette in the spectrophotometer cell compartment. Transfer 10-100 p.L of a reactant stock solution to the button on the rod. Lower this into the cuvette, mix the solution with a few rapid vertical movements of the rod, and begin recording the dead time will be 3-8 s. A commercial version of the stirrer is available. 

Fig. 16. Reaction vessel designed to investigate the influence of ultrasound on the preparation of organolithium reagents...

A liquid serves as the calorimetric medium in which the reaction vessel is placed and facilitates the transfer of energy from the reaction. The liquid is part of the calorimeter (vessel) proper. The vessel may be isolated from the jacket (isoperibole or adiabatic), or may be in good themial contact (lieat-flow type) depending upon the principle of operation used in the calorimeter design. 

A somewhat different type of high pressure reaction vessel is illustrated in Figs. VI, 4, 3-5. This is designed for hydrogenation reactions at working pressures from 1 to 300 atmospheres (4,500 lb. per square inch) and at temperatures from atmospheric up to 400°. Fig. VI, 4, 3... 

Fig. 1. Fine chemicals plant design showing successive additions of processing equipment, where A represents the reaction vessel with agitator B, centrifuge C, dryer D, crystaUi2ation vessel E, raw material feed tanks F, centrifuge which may have an automatic discharge G, mother Hquor tank H,...

In the design of a fine chemicals plant equally important to the choice and positioning of the equipment is the selection of its size, especially the volume of the reaction vessels. Volumes of reactors vary quite widely, namely between 1,000 and 10,000 L, or ia rare cases 16,000 L. The cost of a production train ready for operation iacreases as a function of the 0.7 power. The personnel requirement iacreases at an even lower rate. Thus a large plant usiag large equipment would be expected to be more economical to mn than a small one. 

The first of these reactions takes place at temperatures of about 150°C, the second reaction proceeds at about 550—660°C. Typical furnaces used to carry out the reaction include cast-iron retorts the Mannheim mechanical furnace, which consists of an enclosed stationary circular muffle having a concave bottom pan and a domed cover and the Laury furnace, which employs a horizontal two-chambered rotating cylinder for the reaction vessel. The most recent design is the Cannon fluid-bed reactor in which the sulfuric acid vapor is injected with the combustion gases into a fluidized bed of salts. The Mannaheim furnace has also been used with potassium chloride as the feed. 

Gopolymerization. The chemistry of the resin matrix, the type and degree of porosity, the particle size, and the particle size distribution are estabhshed in the copolymerization step. Formulations and operating procedures must be strictiy foHowed. Reaction vessels must be weH designed. Mistakes made during copolymerization are rarely corrected during functionalization. 

The reaction vessel (nitrator) is constructed of cast iron, mild carbon steel, stainless steel, or glass-lined steel depending on the reaction environment. It is designed to maintain the required operating temperature with heat-removal capabiUty to cope with this strongly exothermic and potentially ha2ardous reaction. Secondary problems are the containment of nitric oxide fumes and disposal or reuse of the dilute spent acid. Examples of important intermediates resulting from nitration are summarized in Table 3. 

Chemical treatment programs based on the direct addition of chemicals to FW or BW in order to prevent subsequent deposition, corrosion, or other problems from occurring. With precipitating types of internal treatments, the boiler waterside space is employed as a reaction vessel and, where a particular boiler design is unsuitable, inadvertent problems of fouling may occur. 

Vessels designed for microwave-assisted SPOS must fulfill several require-menfs because of fhe harsh conditions (i.e., high temperatures and pressures) usually associated with microwave heating. Open vessels are often impractical because of the possible loss of solvent and/or volatile reagents during the heating process. However, in cases where a volatile byproduct inhibits a reaction, their use may be superior over closed systems. A sealed vessel retains the solvents and reagents, but must be sturdily constructed to avoid the obvious safety implications due to the buildup of pressure. 

The earth itself is the reaction vessel and chemical plant. The complicated reaction chemistry and thermodynantics involve ntixers, reactors, heat exchangers, separators, and flnid flow pathways that are a scrambled design by nature. Only the sketchiest of flowsheets can be drawn. The chemical reactor has complex and ill-defined geometry and must be operated in intrinsically transient modes by remote control. Overcoming these difficulties is a trae frontier for chemical engineering research. 

Whenever chemical reactions occur these are the key to the process design. The engineer must be aware of what kinds of reactions are possible. He must also keep in mind that there are no such things as pure reactants, nor does the stream emerging from his reaction vessel ever contain just the desired product. Nearly always, a number of reactions occur and other products than those desired are produced. The engineer s purpose in investigating the reaction step is to increase the yields of desired products while reducing the quantity of unwanted substances. 

The key assumption on which the design analysis of a batch reactor is based is that the degree of agitation is sufficient to ensure that the composition and temperature of the contents are uniform throughout the reaction vessel. Under these conditions one may write the material... 

The cup-horn configuration, shown in Fig. 8, was originally designed for cell disruption but has been adopted for sonochemical studies as well (81). It has greater acoustic intensities, better frequency control, and potentially better thermostating than the cleaning bath. Again, however, it is very sensitive to the liquid levels and to shape of the reaction vessel. In addition, the reaction vessel faces a size restriction of 5 cm diameter. 

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