Modeling Isolated Ideal Reactors

The first two parts of Reaction Engineering Basics examined chemical reactions, reaction rates and rate expressions. It defined reaction rates and noted that rate expressions are equations that give the reaction rate as a function of temperature, pressure and composition. The empirical, theoretical, and mechanistic origins of mathematical forms for rate expressions were presented.

The third part of the book noted that in order to perform reaction engineering tasks, reactor models were necessary. In 6  Reactor Design Equations it described how to generate the reactor design equations needed to model ideal BSTRs, SBSTRs, CSTRs and PFRs. Then in 7  Ideal Reactor Models it noted that in Reaction Engineering Basics the reactor design equations are always solved numerically and that the computer code that does so would be referred to as the reactor model function.

This fourth part of the book describes the use of the reactor design equations and the reactor model function in the analysis of isolated ideal reactors. Here “isolated” means that the analysis considers nothing other than the reactor.

In the chapters of this part, analysis of BSTRs, SBSTRs, CSTRs, and PFRs is described. For each of those ideal reactor types, three kinds of reaction engineering tasks are considered: reactor response tasks, reactor optimization tasks, and reactor design tasks. To begin this part, those three kinds of reaction engineering tasks are described, and differences in the way they are completed are highlighted.

Chapters in this Part of Reaction Engineering Basics

8  Response, Optimization and Design of Reactors

9  BSTR Analysis

10  SBSTR Analysis

11  Design of Non-Continuous Reactors

12  CSTR Analysis

13  PFR Analysis

14  Design of Continuous Reactors