3 ECTS credits
75 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 1016023BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.
The present study part aims at providing insight in the design rules of mono-phase, ideal flow chemical reactors. At the end, the students should be able to propose and design an optimised reactor configuration from a known reaction scheme and an imposed production capacity.
Emphasis is put on the possibility to establish sound argumentations and the resolution of complex design problems, rather than on the memorisation of an extensive set of equations.
The student should also be able to:
-explain the sense of the developed models and theories and apply them correctly
-make qualitative argumentations based on the established principles and relations
-go outside the scope of the course and detect and analyse problems that can be analysed using chemical reactor engineering (e.g., environmental technology and biotechnology)
-transform descriptive design exercises into mathematical models and solve them
At the end of the course, the student should furthermore also be able to run basic projects on single-phase reactor design and reactor-optimization in industry (including environmental sector and biotechnology).
Contents
Chemical kinetics (recap)
Basic mass balances for batch reactor, CSTR and plug flow reactor.
Combination of multiple reactors
Multiple reactions.
Non-isothermal reactions.
Teh course notes are based on the book "Chemical Reactor Engineering", O. Levenspiel, J. Wiley.
Modeling the performance of a reactor
Selecting the best reactor design and operating mode
Calculate the required reactor size and residence time as a function of the required degree of conversion
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Other Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
The exam is written with opportunity for oral elaboration and discussion. The exam is open book and will contain three or four main questions, each with an equal weight. Per question a mix of subquestions is posed. These sub-questions represent a mix of elements learned during the theoretical course and the practical sessions and aim at checking whether:
-the student understands the meaning of each variable present in the learned equations and the reason for their presence
-the student can apply the learned solution methods to similar geometries and situations than those treated during the lectures
-the student can make cross-references between different parts of the course
-the student can choose the optimal reactor design and calculate the required reactor residence time and volume for a given application.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bachelor of Engineering: Chemistry and Materials (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: verkort traject chemie en materialen na vooropleiding chemie (only offered in Dutch)
Bachelor of Engineering: verkort traject chemie en materialen na vooropleiding bio-ingenieur (only offered in Dutch)