Selection of Reactor Configuration

The first step in the design of a chemical reactor is the selection of the operating mode— batch or continuous. The selection is made on the basis of both economic 

it is necessary to identify the dominating factors that affect the chemical reactions and select the most suitable reactor configuration. For homogeneous chemical reactions, one of three factors often dominates (i) equilibrium limitation of the desirable reaction, (ii) the formation of undesirable products (by side reactions), and (iii) the amount of heat that should be transferred. For example, if a low concentration of the reactants suppresses the formation of the undesirable product, a CSTR is preferred over a tubular reactor even though a larger reactor 

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More common configurations of PMRs are systems with suspended photocatalyst. In these PMRs various membrane techniques are utilized MF, UF, NF, dialysis, PV, or MD. The photocatalytic reaction in PMRs with suspended photocatalyst might be conducted in (a) a feed tank, (b) a membrane module or (c) an additional reservoir (photoreactor) which is located between the feed tank and the membrane module. Thus, the danger of polymer membrane destruction by UV light could be avoided by a proper selection of reactor configuration. 

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