Chapter two

General Mole Balance

• General mole balance is the tool:
Calculate the size of a reactor
Performance of the reactor
Calculate and assess the quantity of a particular molecular species (reactant or
product) in a given system volume of reaction
In the process of balance it takes a small volume of the reactor to observe what
happens there in the small interval of time
 A material balance on any reactant species can be drawn up the
application of the principle of conservation of mass :
 Cont.…
Input - Output + Reacting/Generating = Accumulation
dn j
F j ,0  F j  G j 
dt
Rate of generation of species by reaction
G j  r j .V
Where
0 - denote in the text as initial
Fj,0 - represents initial molar flow rates of species j, mole / time
Fj - represents final molar flow rates of species j, mole / time
rj - the rate of formation of species j
V - the reaction volume
Suppose that the rate of formation of species j for the system volume varies with the position in the system,
where it has a value at location 1 and 2 respectively which is surrounded by a small volume V1 and
V2.then the the rate of generation becomes
G j ,1  r j ,1V1 G j , 2  rj , 2 V2
The total rate of generation within the system would be the sum total all of rate of generation
G r V  r V  r V  ...........
j j,1 1 j,2 2 j,3 3
 By taking the appropriate limits and following the definition
of integrals , the rate of generation of species j becomes

v
G j   r j .dV
Generally; the Actual master equation for molar balances in reactors

v dn j
F j,0  F j   r j dV 
dt
Using this important equation, the reactor design equation can be developed for
various types of industrial reactors.
 Chemical reactors
is a vessel or a container into which a chemical reaction takes place.
 is a device in which change in composition of matter occurs by chemical reaction.
Generally, Reactor
is the “heart” of an overall chemical or biochemical process
Ideal concept in the reactor
The contents of the reactor are instantaneously and perfectly mixed i.e., ideally mixed, so that the
condition (both composition and temperature are uniform throughout the system) through out
the reactor remains the same.
Three types of ideal reactors are considered in this section:
 Batch Reactor (BR)
 Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors (CSTR)
 Plug Flow Reactor (PFR)
Classification of reactors
A. Batch reactor
 In a batch reactor, no material is supplied to or withdrawn from the reactor during the reaction.
The amounts of individual components may change due to reaction. But not due to flow in or out
of the system
 reactants are charged into a container, well mixed, left to react and a mixture is discharged.
 Composition uniform but time dependent (unsteady state)
Cont.…
Characteristic
 small-scale operation.
 test new or expensive processes.
 simple and needs little supporting equipment.
 high conversions can be obtained by leaving the reactant in the reactor for long periods of time.
 high labor cost per batch and difficulty of large-scale production

 Mass balance
dN A t  0 N A  N A0
FA0  FA   rA dV 
dt dNA
 rAV t  t NA  NA
FA0  FA  0 dt NA
dN A
t 
N A0
 rAV

 Examples of Batch Reactor
Lab-Scale Batch Typical Commercial Batch
Reactor Reactor
Motor for agitation
 Classification of reactors
B. Continuous stirred tank reactor
 In this type of reactors, due to continuous stirring, vigorous agitation takes place. As a result, the
contents are thoroughly mixed and the conditions through out the reactor are the same and equal to
the conditions at the outlet
 Ideal steady state reactor
 Composition uniform(well mixed) and time independent

 the exit stream from this reactor has the same composition as the fluid within the reactor
Cont.…
Characteristics
 used when intense agitation is required.
 easy to maintain.
 good temperature control.
 conversion of reactant per volume of reactor is the smallest of the flow reactors.
 consequently, large reactors are necessary to obtain high conversions

Mass balance
dN A
Well-Mixed FA 0  FA  rAV  0 dt
0

, uniformly mixed FA 0  FA
V 
rA

Examples of CSTRs
Classification of reaction
C. Plug flow reactors
 In this reactor type the content of the reactor of the reactor is perfectly mixed in the radial direction
 No mixing takes place in axial direction. This conditions provides the concentration, temperature, rate of
formation etc.to vary continuously in the axial direction;
 Hence the material balance has to be applied to differential element of volume.
 ideal steady-state tubular flow reactor
 composition varies axially but is time-independent
 flow highly turbulent and no radial variation in concentration
 residence time in the reactor is the same for all elements of fluid
Cont.…
Characteristics
 used to process large quantities of material.
 produces the highest conversion per reactor volume of any of the flow reactors.
 good product quality.
 easy to maintain (no moving parts).
 needs supporting equipment.
 difficult to control temperature within the reactor
Industrial PFRs
 Mole Balance – PFR
• In a plug flow reactor the composition of the fluid varies from point to point along a flow path.
The material balance must be made for a differential element of volume ΔV
ΔV

FA0 FA

If we assume the PFR is ideal, the degree of completion is not affected by PFR shape, only by PFR
volume V
 In  Out  Generation
FA at V   at V  V   in V 0
FA
      
FA V  FA V  V  rA V 0
V V  V
 
Rearrange and take limit as ΔV0 dFA
FA V  V
 FA
 rA
 rA
dV
V
 lim
V  0 V
 Mass balance

The differential element of volume can be expressed in equation form as under:

  V  dV
F   F  dF   r V  0
j  j j  j

dF  r dV dF j
j j
rj 
dV
End of chapter two