ChE 478

ChE 478

Chemical Reactor Design

Level 3 Competencies

Students will be able to solve steady-state, overall, material and energy balances for systems which include one or more of the following: recycle, multiple units, chemical reactions
Students will understand fundamentals of kinetics including definitions of rate and forms of rate expressions
Students will understand the fundamental principles of chemical reaction equilibria including extent of reaction, equilibrium constant and its temperature-dependence, equilibrium conversion
Students will be able to size and do performance calculations on single, isothermal plug-flow, CSTR, and batch reactors for a single homogeneous or heterogeneous reaction given either rate data or a rate expression

Level 2 Competencies

Students will be able to set up and solve simple transient material balances
Students will be able to determine rate expressions by analyzing reactor data including integral and differential analysis on constant- and variable-volume system
Students will be able to derive batch, CSTR, and PFR performance equations from general material balances
Students will understand the kinetics of competing reactions and their influence on product yield and selectivity
Students will understand the relationship between forward and reverse rates and chemical equilibrium
Students will understand the effects of mass and heat transfer, particularly pore diffusion, on heterogeneous catalytic systems
Students will be able to determine rate expressions from elementary step mechanisms using steady-state and quasi-equilibrium approximations
Students will understand and be able to apply the concepts of heat capacity, latent heat, heat of reaction, heat of combustion, and heat of formation
Students will be able to design systems of multiple isothermal reactors
Students will be able to select and size isothermal reactors for series and/or parallel systems of reactions
Students will be able to select and size non-isothermal reactors

Students will exhibit critical and creative thinking skills for analysis and evaluation of problems and cause-effect relationships
Students will be able to rationalize units, make order of magnitude estimates, assess reasonableness of solutions, and select appropriate levels of solution sophistication
Students will understand and have a basic knowledge of how safety and environmental considerations are incorporated into engineering problem solving

Level 1 Competencies

Students will understand the fundamentals of heterogeneous, non-catalytic systems, including potentially limiting mass-transfer and reaction resistances
Students will be able to determine rate expressions from elementary step mechanisms using steady-state and quasi-equilibrium approximations

Students will demonstrate effective reading of technical material
Students will demonstrate effective interpretation of graphical data
Students will understand practical considerations of reactor design including materials of construction, mixing, heat transfer, and economics