RTD in CSTR

Aim: To determine the mean Residence Time Distribution (RTD) in the constant volume
stirred tank reactor, to plot exit age distribution curve and to study segregation model,
calculating average conversion.

Apparatus:
1. A constant inlet flow line
2. Constant volume CSTR
3. Conductivity meter
4. NaOH pellets
5. Magnetic stirrer
6. Syringe
7. 100ml measuring cylinder
8. Beaker
Procedure:

Calibration
1. Make a known aqueous NaOH solution using graduated cylinder
2. Place probe in solution. Avoid probe contact with walls or bottom of container
3. Press CAL, fix standard then press conductivity
4. Note down value of conductivity
5. Repeat for multiple known solution concentrations
6. Plot known concentration versus conductivity to obtain calibration curve

Experimental Procedure
1. Adjust the inlet flow rate of water to constant value 70ml/min.
2. Arrange the setup of CSTR using magnetic stirrer and fix conductivity cell to the
outlet of CSTR.
3. Prepare solution of NaOH dissolving 10gm NaOH in 10ml distilled water and stir it
continually for pulse input.
4. Adjust the stirrer speed so that uniform mixing can be obtained in the reactor.
 5. Take the concentrated solution of NaOH in the syringe and inject in the cylinder in
one shot at time t=0. Be sure that there is no channelling by injecting it as far away
from the outlet as possible.
6. Note down the conductivity values of solution with time at the interval of 0.5 mS drop
in the conductivity.
7. Note down the readingsuntilthe steady state.
8. Find out the unknown concentration of exit tracer using concentration vs conductivity
plot.
9. Plot concentration vs time.
10. Tabulate E(t), plot exit age distribution curve.

Theory:
An ideal CSTR is assumed to have perfect mixing and also its outlet concentration is
assumed to be equal to tank concentration. But in real systems this is seldom the case and
there are always non ideal conditions present in the form of channelling and dead zones.The
RTD used to characterize the mixing and flow within reactors and to compare the behaviour
of real reactors to their ideal models. This is useful, not only for trouble shooting existing
reactors, but in estimating the yield of a given reaction and designing future reactors.

The residence time distribution of a chemical reactor is a probability distribution

function that describes the amount of time that a fluid element could spend inside the
reactor.It is evident that elements of fluid taking different routes through the reactor may
take different lengths of time to pass through the vessel. The distribution of these times
for the stream of fluid leaving the vessel is called the exit age distribution E, or the
residence time distribution RTD of fluid. E has the units of time-l. We find it convenient to
represent the RTD in such a way that the area under the curve is unity, or
∞
� 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = 1
0

The fraction of the fluid that spends a given duration, t inside the reactor is given by the value
of E(t)dt. The fraction of the fluid that leaves the reactor with an age time less that t1 is

Experimental methods for finding E(t)

The average or mean residence time is given by the first moment of the age distribution:
 ∞
∫0 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚 = ∞
∫0 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
∞
2
∫0 (𝑡𝑡 − 𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚 )2 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝜎𝜎 = ∞
∫0 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
RTD function E can be found using the following equation,
𝐶𝐶(𝑡𝑡)
𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡) = ∞
∫0 𝐶𝐶(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Segregation Model:
In the segregation flow model we visualize the flow through the reactor consisting of a
continuous series of globules. These globules do not interchange material with other globules
in the fluid during their period of residence in the reaction environment, i.e. they remain
segregated. Because there is no molecular interchange between globules, each acts essentially
as a batch reactor.
To determine the mean conversion(𝑋𝑋�) in the effluent stream we must average the
conversions of all of the globules (batch) in the exit stream.
∞
𝑋𝑋� = ∫0 𝑋𝑋(𝑡𝑡)𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Observations
Parameter Value unit
Temperature, T
Rate constant, k
Inlet concentration, CA0
Inlet concentration, CB0
𝜃𝜃𝐵𝐵 = CB0/ CA0
Reactor volume, V
Volumetric flowrate, v

Observation Table:
Time Cond Conc (C) E(t) t*E (t-tm)2*E X X*E
s mS Mol/lit
Calculations:
∞
∫0 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Mean residence time, 𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚 = ∞
∫0 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
∞
2 ∫0 (𝑡𝑡−𝑡𝑡 𝑚𝑚 )2 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Variance, 𝜎𝜎 = ∞
∫0 𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑

Standard deviation, 𝜎𝜎
𝑉𝑉
Space time, 𝜏𝜏 =
𝑣𝑣

𝐶𝐶(𝑡𝑡)
𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡) = ∞
∫0 𝐶𝐶(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
For second order reaction, the batch reactor equation becomes
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= 𝑘𝑘𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴0 [(1 − 𝑋𝑋)(𝜃𝜃𝐵𝐵 − 𝑋𝑋) − 𝑋𝑋 2 ⁄𝐾𝐾𝑒𝑒 ]
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Where, 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝐾𝐾𝑒𝑒 = 103885.44/𝑇𝑇
∞
CSTR exit average conversion 𝑋𝑋� = ∫0 𝑋𝑋(𝑡𝑡)𝐸𝐸(𝑡𝑡)𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
Result:
The mean residence time for the CSTR is =
Standard deviation for the CSTR is =
Mean conversion using segregation model =

Conclusion:
The feed introducedinto a CSTR at any given time becomes completely mixed with the
material already in the reactor. In other words, some of the atoms entering the CSTRleave it
almost immediately (segregated) because material is being continuously withdrawnfrom the
reactor; other atoms remain in the reactor almost forever because all the material is never
removed from the reactor at one time. Many of the atoms, of course, leave the reactor after
spending a period of time somewhere in the vicinity of the mean residence time. In any
reactor, the distribution of residence times can significantly affect its performance.

Expectations
1. Make an observation and result table
2. Plot RTD and C Vs time curves
3. Find the mean conversion
Things to ponder about
• Why such a segregation model for reactor conversion prediction is needed?
• How is the conversion predicted by the segregation model compared with the actual
CSTR conversion (another experiment) and the prediction by the ideal CSTR model?
• Why have we run the experiments in isothermal conditions?
• How the kinetics found in batch reactors useful in this experiment?