The Chemical Engineering Department is hosting a special undergraduate lecture on basics of chemical reactor design: Stoichiometry, rate law and design equations for an ideal batch reactor.
Abstract:
A chemical reactor is a volume in which reactive transformations occur owing to which the knowledge of chemical kinetics and reactor design lie at the core of Chemical Engineering pedagogy. Based on the mass flow streams and reactant phases, the reactor configurations may be classified as batch, semi-batch, continuous stirred tank, plug flow and packed bed reactors. In this lecture, we shall focus on developing design equations for ideal batch reactors. A design equation relates an operating variable (residence time in the case of batch reactors) to the extent of reaction, and shall be developed in the following two stages: (i) applying a general mole balance to any of the chemical species entering, remaining or leaving the reactor volume, (ii) combining rate laws and stoichiometries characterizing the reaction kinetics with the species mole balances. Liquid phase reactions in batch reactors are typically constant volume, while gas phase reactions can be operated either at constant pressure or constant volume, the impact of which on the species mole balance is assessed via the ideal gas equation. The amalgamation of all these principles in the design consideration of ideal batch reactors shall be illustrated with examples to help students develop an intuitive understanding. The lecture material will be adapted from select content presented in chapters 1-3 of Fogler, H. S. (2020). Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering (6th Edition). Pearson. As a lecture pre-requisite, the students are encouraged to acquaint themselves with basic process principles comprising material balances and transient processes.
Biography:
Anjana Puliyanda is presently a Postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware (USA), working alongside the groups of Dr Marianthi Ierapetritou and Dr Dionisios Vlachos, on a systems-enabled paradigm shift for sustainable manufacturing in a circular economy. Prior to this she earned her PhD in Process Control after a successful defense in January 2022, under the supervision of Dr Vinay Prasad and Dr Zukui Li, from the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta (Canada). Anjana received her Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (India), in 2017. She has secured competitive scholarships from MITACS and Alberta Innovates in funding support for research in graduate school, and is currently funded by the National Science Foundation.