Reaction in an Adiabatic Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor

​
C
A0
(mol/L)
0
volumetric flow rate (L/s)
0
reaction
saponification of ethyl acetate using sodium hydroxide
symbolic notation
​
​
In this Demonstration, a liquid-phase reaction takes place in an adiabatic, continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). Select an exothermic reaction, and then select the feed concentration of the limiting reactant
A
(
C
A0
) and the volumetric flow rate. Mass and energy balances are solved to determine the outlet reactant concentration and temperature. The color of the fluid in the reactor is correlated with the reactor temperature: lower temperature is blue, and as the temperature increases, the fluid becomes purple and then red. The fractional conversion of reactant
A
is represented by
X
A
. Symbolic representation of the reaction may be toggled on and off by selecting "symbolic notation".

Details

At steady state, the rate of reaction is constant within the CSTR, so that the total moles reacted per time equals reaction rate times volume:
(
F
A0
-
F
A
)=-
r
A
V
where
F
A0
and
F
A
are the inlet and outlet molar flow rates of reactant
A
,
r
A
is rate of reaction (mol/L s) of
A
and
V
is reactor volume. This equation may be expressed in terms of residence time
τ
, conversion
X
A
and inlet concentration of
A
,
C
A0
:
-
r
A
τ=
C
A0
X
A
.
The rate expression
r
A
is a function of reactant concentrations and the rate constant
k
:
r
A
=f(k,
C
A
,
C
B
,…)
.
The rate constant
k
increases with temperature according to the Arrhenius equation:
k=A
-
E
A
RT
e
where
A
is the pre-exponential factor,
E
A
is the activation energy of the reaction,
R
is the gas constant and
T
is absolute temperature. Energy released from exothermic reactions causes the reactor contents (and the reactor effluent) to have a higher temperature than the inlet:
F
tot
C
p
(
T
0
-T)=Δ
H
R
r
A
V
where
F
tot
is the total molar flow rate at the inlet or outlet,
C
p
is the molar heat capacity of the mixture within the reactor,
T
0
is temperature at the inlet and
Δ
H
R
is the heat of reaction.

External Links

Multiple States in an Isothermal Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor
Inhibition of Enzyme Reactions in Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor and Batch Reactors
Operating a Chemostat (CSTR Bioreactor)
Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor That Loses Cooling
Multiple Steady States in a Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor
Multiple Steady States in Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor with Heat Exchange

Permanent Citation

Neil Hendren, John L. Falconer
​
​"Reaction in an Adiabatic Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor"​
​http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/ReactionInAnAdiabaticContinuousStirredTankReactor/​
​Wolfram Demonstrations Project​
​Published: July 1, 2020