Page 385 - Chemical process engineering design and economics

Reactor Design

There are numerous reactor types, but in this chapter the objective is to consider
only a few common types. These are: batch, continuous stirred tank, homoge-
nous plug flow and fixed bed catalytic reactors. To size other reactor types and
for a more thorough treatment of reactor design than presented here, the reader
can consult books written on reactor design, such as Fogler [16], Smith [23], and
Forment and Bischoff [31].

REACTOR SELECTION

Because of the variety of reactors available, some engineers believe that reactor
classification is not possible. No matter how incomplete a classification may
be, however, the designer needs some guidance, even though there may be some
reactor types that do not fit into any classification. Accordingly, we will clas-
sify reactors using the following criteria:

1. form of energy supplied
2. phases in contact
3. catalytic or noncatalytic
4. batch or continuous
5. packed or suspended bed

In Chapter 1, reactions were classed according to the form of energy sup-
plied to the reaction: thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, photochemi-
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