Reactors are the kind of equipment that carry out chemical reactions and are widely classified based on several applications. These reactors are the best research equipment used in chemical, pharma, nuclear and industrial units. The chemical reactions are carried out in the reaction vessels for processes like product mixing, liquid to liquid extraction, solids dissolution, crystallisation, distillation, polymerization etc. Read this blog to know about reactors.
What are chemical reactors?
Chemical reactors are vessel designs that permit chemical reactions among several raw chemicals called reactants. It is easy to identify the reactors based on the process used. In the chemical reactors, you can observe some chemical reactions. Those reactions are self-organising and quite similar to fluids. The chemical reactors where chemicals are made vary in size from a few cm3 to big structures used in industrial plants. The design of chemical reactors is determined through several factors but most importantly kinetics and thermodynamics.
When raw materials transform into another product results in conversion and is done in a system separated from surroundings known as reactors. People who work in chemical plants are well aware of such equipment.
What are the different types of reactors?
You can find different types of chemical reactors:
a) Batch reactors
In batch reactors, the reactants get charged at the starting of the container. They are left to react for some time in the reactors under stirring. During this time, no materials are eliminated or fed from them. Then the resultant product mixture is secluded at a subsequent time. The batch reactors are marked by variation of conversion & properties of the mixture with time. The reaction operates under unstable conditions (as composition starts changing with time). The batch reactor contains a vertical cylindrical vessel well-equipped with a stirrer to stir the inside contents. Batch reactors are also provided with a cooling coil or external jacket to cool or heat the reactor contents.
The construction of batch reactors is simple and even simple to operate. It has complete flexibility of operation (can be shut down easily and quickly). The cost of batch reactors is relatively low. It needs less instrumentation and supporting tools while offering high conversion.
Applications of batch reactors:
Batch reactors are used mainly for liquid-phase reactions. In situations where needed production rates are quite low there, batch reactors can be used efficiently for small scale production to produce different products from the same equipment. If you want to carry out the reactions with a long reaction time, testing new processes, kinetic study, manufacturing of costly products like dyes, pharmaceuticals etc.
b) Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR)
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor is the most common reactor that is used in the chemical industry. These reactors are vertical cylindrical-shaped vessels well-equipped with a stirrer (mechanical) and provision for the heat transfer (be it a coil, jacket or both). These kinds of reactors are also known as mixed flow or back mix reactors. Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR) are widely used in industrial processing. These reactors have provisions for a constant inflow of the reactants & outflow of mixture products. Here, a definite pool of reaction mixture is maintained inside it. These reactors run at a steady rate and operation is simple. There is no concentration variation reaction or temperature rate via reactor volume.
The benefits of Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors are – they are easy to maintain and operation under isothermal conditions is possible when there is high heat of reaction. CSTR can be used in series or single.
Some applications of Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors:
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors are usually installed on commercial sites, especially for liquid-phase reactions at medium or low pressures.
c) Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
Plug flow reactors are the tubular reactors that contain single constant long tubes or various tubes laid out in the tube tanks. In plug flow reactors, the reactants go in at one end. From the other end, the product mixture leaves with the constant variation of the composition of the mixture. Heat conveyance can be achieved by using tube type design or jacket shell.
The tubular reactors are very easy to maintain because there are no moving parts and offer you the highest conversion /unit volume of reactors. Plug flow reactors are mostly suitable for high-pressure reactions due to cost considerations. A huge number of commercial vital reactions are of solid-fluid classes. These can be finely carried out in the plug flow reactors with ease. Examples: ammonia synthesis, catalytic cracking of petroleum, SO₂ and so on.
We hope that now you must have understood about different types of reactors. Chemical reactors are undeniably the most important parts of several chemicals, biochemical, & petroleum processes as they can convert the raw materials into some valuable chemicals. A wide variety of essential products get generated through reactions converting reactants into important products. You can reach out to a reliable supplier of reactors in the Middle East and GCC region.
