Lecture 9

Reactor Configurations
Three types of reactors in water and wastewater treatment:
Batch Reactors (BR)
Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) or Completely mixed Reactor
Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
The combination of chemical rates, materials balance, and reactor design are the
most powerful tools of the environmental engineer.
The reactor concepts are used for both waste treatment (industrial production) and
modeling of natural environmental systems.
Batch Reactor fully mixed reactor with no flow in or out of the reactor

Influent, Ci
Effluent, Co
3

V (m )

Plug Flow Reactor flow through, but no longitudinal mixing. Picture a garden
hose with continuous flow coming in. All individual elements that come in together
leave together, they have the same residence time.

Influent, Qin, Cai

Effluent, Qout, Cao

Q, Ca

If there is a reaction occurring, Cai > Ca > Cao

CSTR (Continuously Stirred Tank Reactor) a chemical engineering term a reactor

with flow through and that is completely mixed (hypothetically).

Influent, Qin, Cai

Effluent, Qout, Cao

V (m3)

Theoretically in a CSTR the concentration in the reactor Ca = Cao

Imagine what the distribution in concentration vs time would look like for a nonreactive tracer (a dye) added to the different reactor types.
Batch Reactor
1
C/Ci

Time ti

For a completely mixed batch reactor perfect mixing gives total distribution of the
tracer instantaneously.

Plug Flow Reactor

C/Ci

t=0

F distribution,
fraction of tracer
that has left the
reactor

, HRT

, HRT

C/Ci

Instantaneous peak occurs in PFRs with a conservative tracer after one hydraulic
residence time. Each molecule of water is in the hose for exactly the same amount of
time as the particle next to it. In perfect plug flow there is no mixing. Obviously
this is unrealistic in practice.

CSTR perfect mixing is assumed , no gradients at any time (not possible but we
assume for modeling purposes)

C/Ci

0.632
0.368
, HRT

, HRT
Time

This can be derived from:

Time

dC C
Q
dt V
C

dC
Q
Co C 0 V dt
Qt

( )
C
e V
Ci
t

C
e e 1 0.368
Ci
e 2 0.135

e 3 0.498

At 3 detention times (HRT) 95% of the initial tracer is gone. This is known as the
time when a system can be thought of as steady state dC/dt = 0, because 95% of the
reactant should be gone at this time
Analysis of Performance of Reactors
Reactor performance is based on materials balance.
Batch reactor, Q = 0, V = constant.
r = dC/dt or r = -dC/dt
for a zero order reaction,
Cin Cout = kt
For a first order reaction,
Cout/Cin= e-kt
CSTR
For zero order reaction,
Cin Cout = k
For first order reaction,
(Cin Cout)/ Cout = k
and remember that r = k for the Monod equation

Example: An industrial treatment process uses activated carbon to remove color

from the water. The color is reduced as a first-order reaction in a batch system. If
the rate constant (k) = 0.35 days-1 how long will it take to achieve 90% removal?
ln(Cout/Cin) = kt
for 90% removal Cout = 0.1Cin
ln (1/0.1) = 0.35t
t = 2.3/0.35 = 6.58 days
Example: An industry wants to use a long drainage ditch that can be assumed to act
as a plug flow reactor in removing odor from their waste.
The odor reduction behaves as a first-order reaction, with the same k as the
previous problem
if the velocity of flow is = 0.5 m/sec how long would the ditch have to be to reduce
the odor by 90%?
Same t as the previous problem.
Length of ditch = 0.5 m/sec x 6.58 days x 86,400 sec/day = 2.84 x105 m (not possible)
Example: A new disinfection process destroys E.Coli in water.
The reaction is first order, with k= 1.0 day-1.
The influent concentration of coliforms is Co = 100 coliforms/ml.
The reactor volume, V= 400L and Qin and out = 1600 L/day.
What is the effluent concentration of coliforms?
Materials Balance (steady state)
Mass Accum. = Mass In Mass Out + Mass Produced Mass Consumed
0 = QCo QC + 0 rV ; r = kC
0 = (1600 L/day)(100 coli/ml) (1600 L/day)(C) (1.0 day 1)(400L) (C)
C = 80 coli/L

Only if filler is needed.

Example from your Book.

Two treatment types, Activated Sludge, CSTR and Trickling Filter, PFR
Two waste types: Domestic BOD = 200 mg/L, Industrial BOD = 4000 mg/L
Given the following operating conditions:
kmax = 0.05 hr-1
Ks = 100 mg/L
AS = 5 hr
TF = 0.1 hr (domestic)
TF = 0.2 hr (industrial)
MAS = 5,000 mg/L (MLSS)
MTF = 50,000 mg/L
Use the first order model and actual kinetics to determine actual effluent
concentrations.
Estimate the k value for the reaction, then use the given equations to caculate
effluent concentrations of the model.
k

k max C k max C

assuming Ks C
KS C
KS

multiply by biomass concentration to estimate its effect on k

k MC (0.05hr )(5,000mg / L )(C )
kM max

2.5 C or
KS
100mg / L
k 2.5 hr -1

First order equation for CSTR:

(Cin Cout)/ Cout = k
(200 - Cout)/ Cout = (2.5 hr-1) (5 hr) ; Cout = 14.8 mg/L
Actual Materials balance:
Assume steady state dC/dt = 0
QCin QCout rV = 0

Using r

Mk max C
KS C

Mk max C
Q
(C in C out )
V
KS C
(200mg / L C out ) 5000mg / L 0.05hr 1 C out

100 C out
C 171mg / L

Do the rest as an example for yourself!