Realistic Reaction Engineering Experiments For The Undergraduate Curriculum

The pedagogy of teaching chemical reaction engineering is continually advancing through the use of new computational tools such as POLYMATH and MATLAB; interactive computer applications; and a new emphasis in textbooks on relating theory to industrially relevant chemical reactions. What is currently lacking in this area are chemical reaction engineering experiments that employ realistic reaction engineering systems. Nearly all of the reaction engineering experiments, reported in the literature, employ simple systems that can be described using a single overall reaction. In addition most laboratory experiments do not examine the process fluid mechanics of the reactor and how this effects the product distribution. As a result, students only visualize reactors through theory and do not experience realistic reactor systems in their undergraduate courses. This lack of experience eliminates a major engineering challenge in designing and troubleshooting a reactor in which the yield and selectivity are optimized along with the process economics.