Plug Flow Reactor

Product Description By: Matthew Grisewood

A plug flow reactor is a pipe-shaped tank where a chemical reaction takes place with walls coated with a catalyst and an inlet flow of pure reactant.

To start, here is a simple illustration of what a typical plug flow reactor may look like:

Inlet Flow

Outlet Flow

Figure 1: A simple schematic of a plug flow reactor. A reactant is inserted into the tank via the inlet flow. The reactant is converted to product in the reactor, and the product flows out of the reactor by the outlet flow.

WHAT IS A PLUG FLOW REACTOR?

Reactors are used in the chemical industry for millions of processes, from the production of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to the formation of polyester and everywhere in between. There are many different types of reactors due to the numerous different factors that can control the formation of product during the reaction. It is the responsibility of chemical engineers to run these reactions so that the amount of product can be maximized while the cost is minimized.

One of the many different types of reactors is the plug flow reactor (PFR). Plug flow reactors are an idealized scenario where there is no mixing involved in the reactor. It is the opposite of the continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR), where the reaction mixture is perfectly mixed. Since a PFR is an idealized reactor, it does not truly exist in the real world. It is impossible to have no mixing at all during a reaction, but the amount of mixing in the reactor can be minimized. There are several advantages to minimizing the amount of mixing so that the reactor closely resembles a PFR. These advantages will be explained in further detail later. The plug flow reactor has an inlet flow composed of the reactants. The reactant flows into the reactor and is then converted into the product by a certain chemical reaction. The product flows out of the reactor through the outlet flow. An overview of the reactor can be seen in Figure 1. In many scenarios, a catalyst is involved in the reaction. A catalyst is a substance that is not involved in the chemical reaction but helps the reaction proceed at a faster rate. In biological reactions, an enzyme, which is a biological catalyst, coats the wall, and substrate is imported through the inlet flow. A diagram of how the enzyme coats the interior of the wall can be seen below in Figure 2.

Inlet Flow

Outlet Flow

Figure 2: An interior view of a plug flow reactor. The above diagram approximates what a plug flow diagram would look like if it were to be sliced in half. The large rectangles show the inner and outer surfaces of the reactor. The reactants come in through the inlet flow (represented by squares) and react to form the product (represented by triangles) which is eliminated from the reactor through the outlet flow. The reaction occurs with the use of a catalyst (represented by circles), which are attached to the interior wall of the PFR. The actual reactions that are taking place are represented by double arrows in the reactor. Note that the reactant molecules must combine with the catalyst molecules at the interior wall of the reactor since the catalyst is not allowed to move from the wall.

WHEN ARE PLUG FLOW REACTORS USED?

Plug flow reactors are frequently used in the chemical industry due to the non-mixing property of the reactors. It may seem counter intuitive that a non-mixed reactor would be more advantageous than a mixed reactor such as a CSTR, but this is frequently the case. We will examine this phenomenon later. Plug flow reactors are frequently used in biological reactions when the substrate flows into the reactor and is converted to product with the use of an enzyme. Since plug flow reactors have an inlet and outlet stream, they are useful for continuous production. The streams are opposite of a batch reactor, which is a reactor that has a constant volume and has no incoming or outgoing streams. Some of the times when plug flow reactors are most useful are for continuous production, large-scale reactions, or fast reactions.

OVERVIEW OF REACTOR ANALYSIS

One of the most important problems in the chemical engineering field is the choice of a certain type of reactor. There are many different types of reactors, and we have already listed some of them (PFR, CSTR, batch). It is important for chemical engineers to analyze the production process and determine which type of reactor will maximize profit. It is also useful to determine whether changing process variables will help in the production of a greater amount of product.

REACTOR LIMITATION

In any reactor, there is something that limits the rate of production. The occurrence that limits the rate of production in the process is known as the limitation. There are three major kinds of limitation in reactors: mass transfer limitation, thermodynamic limitation, and kinetic limitation. Lets start with kinetic limitation.

KINETIC LIMITATION

Kinetic limitation refers to the situation when the reaction taking place in the reactor limits the rate of production. Reaction kinetics is based on concentration, which is the amount of mass per unit volume. A typical reaction rate may look something like this:

= 1

for the reaction

In this equation, [S] and [T] are the respective concentrations of the reactants in the chemical reaction, and k1 is the rate constant, which is determined based on experimental data of the reaction. In kinetic limitation, the concentrations of the reactants may be low or the rate constant may be low, resulting in a slow reaction rate. The reaction rate determines the rate at which product is made. Now, lets talk about mass transfer limitation.

MASS TRANSFER LIMITATION

Mass transfer limitation refers to the situation where the movement of reactant to the enzyme controls the formation of product. Mass transfer limitation is most commonly found in heterogeneous reactions, which are reactions between two different chemical phases, such as a liquid and a gas. Sometimes, the reactant does not reach the enzyme very quickly, and the slowest step in the product formation is transferring the mass from one end where the reactant is plentiful (known as the bulk) to the surface of the enzyme or the catalyst. When a reactor is mass transfer limited, there is

a large difference between the concentration of reactant at the bulk and concentration at the surface. If a reactor is mass transfer limited, increasing the flow rate will increase the formation of product because the reactant will meet the catalyst more quickly. In mass transfer limitation, the movement of the reactant from the bulk to the surface of the enzyme is what determines the rate of production.

THERMODYNAMIC

LIMITATION

If a process is neither mass transfer limited nor kinetically limited, the process must be thermodynamically limited. Thermodynamics governs all processes if they are given time to react. Any chemical reaction can only proceed as far as thermodynamics will allow. Once the reaction has reached equilibrium, the rate of formation of product cannot be changed unless the thermodynamics of the situation are changed. Changes in the thermodynamics of the reaction can be predicted by Le Chateliers Principle. Le Chateliers Principle states that a change in the pressure, concentration, or temperature of the system at equilibrium will shift the equilibrium to undo the change that was done. In thermodynamic limitation, the reaction mixture is given plenty of time to react, and the reaction will proceed to equilibrium. This equilibrium is what determines the rate of production.

WHEN IS A PLUG FLOW REACTOR MOST USEFUL?

Any one of the above limitations can govern the rate of production for a given process. The question then becomes When is a PFR most advantageous? In thermodynamic limitation, the reactant is given plenty of time to react, and equilibrium governs the rate of production of product. A PFR may be useful, but it will not vary drastically since the reaction is at equilibrium already. The situation is similar when discussing mass transfer. The use of a plug flow reactor may be advantageous, but the reactor does not itself increase the rate at which concentration at the bulk reaches the

concentration at the surface of the enzyme or catalyst. A plug flow reactor is highly advantageous when the reaction is kinetically limited. The reason that a PFR is so advantageous when dealing with a kinetically limited reaction is because the concentration starts very high. The reaction rate is dependent on the concentration of reactant, and the concentration of the reactant in the plug flow reactor is very high since the reaction mixture is not agitated to mix the solution. A plug flow reactor is therefore more advantageous than a CSTR because the reactant is immediately diluted to a constant lower reactant concentration when it enters the reactor.

CONCLUSION

There are many scenarios that must be considered when deciding on which type of reactor to use for a certain process. A plug flow reactor is one of many types of reactors. It is most useful when the reaction is not allowed to reach equilibrium, and the reaction is kinetically limited by the reaction rate. There are exceptions to the fact that a PFR is always better than a CSTR when the reaction is kinetically limited. However, most of the time a PFR does have a higher rate of product production than a CSTR if the reaction is kinetically limited. It is still necessary to analyze the details of the process before deciding that a plug flow reactor is the correct choice for the process.