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Chemical Engineering Reactor Fundamentals

The document outlines various types of chemical reactors, including Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors, Plug Flow Reactors, and Packed Bed Reactors, along with performance metrics like conversion, selectivity, and yield. It also discusses the fundamentals of thermodynamics, including key definitions, laws, and thermodynamic properties that are essential for analyzing energy changes in chemical processes. Additionally, it covers separation processes and unit operations, highlighting methods such as distillation and extraction for isolating desired products from mixtures.

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19 views2 pages

Chemical Engineering Reactor Fundamentals

The document outlines various types of chemical reactors, including Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors, Plug Flow Reactors, and Packed Bed Reactors, along with performance metrics like conversion, selectivity, and yield. It also discusses the fundamentals of thermodynamics, including key definitions, laws, and thermodynamic properties that are essential for analyzing energy changes in chemical processes. Additionally, it covers separation processes and unit operations, highlighting methods such as distillation and extraction for isolating desired products from mixtures.

Uploaded by

janiz.pdimayacyac
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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• Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor (CSTR): A reactor with continuous

inflow and outflow, and perfect mixing, resulting in uniform composition


throughout the reactor.
• Plug Flow Reactor (PFR): A tubular reactor where the flow is orderly
(plug flow) and the composition varies along the length of the reactor.
• Packed Bed Reactor (PBR): A reactor filled with solid catalyst particles,
commonly used for heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

REACTOR PERFORMANCE METRICS

• Conversion: The fraction of reactant that is converted into product.


• Selectivity: The ratio of the desired product formed to the total amount
of product formed.
• Yield: The ratio of the amount of desired product formed to the amount
of reactant initially present.

CATALYSIS

• Catalyst: A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being


consumed in the process.
• Reaction Mechanism: A step-by-step sequence of elementary reactions
that describe how reactants are converted into products.

7. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING THERMODYNAMICS


Thermodynamics is crucial for analyzing energy changes in chemical
processes. It helps predict the feasibility and equilibrium conditions of
reactions and phase transitions. Applying the laws of thermodynamics is
essential for process design and optimization.

KEY DEFINITIONS

• System: The portion of the universe under consideration, where a


chemical or physical process occurs.
• Surroundings: Everything outside the system that can exchange energy
or mass with it.
• State Function: A property that depends only on the current state of the
system, not on the path taken to reach that state (e.g., temperature,
pressure, energy, enthalpy, entropy).
• Path Function: A property that depends on the path taken to achieve a
certain state (e.g., heat, work).
LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS

• First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy is conserved; it cannot be created


or destroyed. Mathematically, ΔU = Q - W, where ΔU is the change in
internal energy, Q is heat added to the system, and W is work done by
the system.
• Second Law of Thermodynamics: The total entropy of an isolated
system can only increase over time. It defines the direction of
spontaneous processes.
• Third Law of Thermodynamics: The entropy of a perfect crystal at
absolute zero temperature is zero.

THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES

• Gibbs Free Energy (G): G = H - TS, where H is enthalpy, T is absolute


temperature, and S is entropy. It predicts the spontaneity of a process at
constant temperature and pressure.
• Helmholtz Free Energy (A): A = U - TS, where U is internal energy. It
predicts the spontaneity of a process at constant temperature and
volume.
• Fugacity (f): An effective pressure that accounts for non-ideal gas
behavior.
• Activity Coefficients (γ): Correction factors that account for non-ideal
behavior in liquid mixtures.

8. SEPARATION PROCESSES AND UNIT OPERATIONS


Separation processes are essential in chemical engineering for isolating
desired products from mixtures. These processes exploit differences in
physical and chemical properties to achieve separation. Unit operations like
distillation, extraction, and filtration are employed.

COMMON SEPARATION METHODS

• Distillation: Separates liquids based on boiling points. Relative volatility,


the ratio of vapor pressures, determines ease of separation. The reflux
ratio (ratio of liquid returned to the column to product withdrawn)
impacts separation efficiency.
• Extraction (Liquid-Liquid): Separates components by dissolving them in
a selective solvent.

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