411-333 Thermodynamics and Reactor Engineering 2

Credit Points

HECS Band

Coordinator

Prerequisites

411-204 Thermodynamics and Reactor Engineering 1.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

Students successfully completing this unit will be able to apply the principles of thermodynamics to multicomponent systems and chemical reactions and analyse and design chemical reactors for processing heterogeneous phases.

Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics: Partial molar quantities, chemical potential and activity coefficient. Gas mixtures and liquid mixtures, dilute solution. Solubility of a gas in a liquid and a solid in a liquid. The phase rule, phase equilibria in one component systems, two-component systems. Chemical reaction equilibria, stoichiometric number, reaction coordinate. Effect of temperature on equilibrium constant, evaluation of equilibrium constant, relationship between equilibrium constant and composition. Graphical representation of standard free energy change. Ellingham diagrams. The oxides of carbon, effect of pressure. Non-standard conditions. Graphical representation of heterogeneous equilibria. Metal-sulphur-oxygen systems. Processing alternatives.

Reactor Engineering: Non-ideal flow in reactors: residence time distributions, tracer tests, dispersion model, tanks-in-series model, multi-parameter models, conversion in non-ideal reactors, micromixing and macromixing. Rate controlling mechanisms: film resistance control, chemical reaction control, surface and pore diffusion control, ash layer diffusion, shrinking core mechanisms, effectiveness factors and the Thiele modulus. Kinetic regimes for fluid-fluid and gas-fluid reactions. Design of catalytic reactors, staged adiabatic packed bed catalytic reactors, deactivation and regeneration of catalysts.

Assessment

One class test during the semester contributing 20% to the final mark, as well as an examination not exceeding three hours, contributing 80% to the final mark.