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Analysis of equilibrium shift in isothermal reactors with a permselective wall
Author(s) -
Mohan Krishna,
Govind Rakesh
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690340911
Subject(s) - countercurrent exchange , isothermal process , permeation , volumetric flow rate , chemistry , thermodynamics , constant (computer programming) , permeability (electromagnetism) , membrane , mechanics , membrane reactor , flow (mathematics) , physics , biochemistry , computer science , programming language
The objective of this study is to obtain a fundamental understanding of the behavior of reactors with a permselective wall (membrane reactors) in terms of: design parameters (reactor length, membrane thickness); operating variables (pressure ratio, feed flow rate); physical properties (rate constant, permeability of fast gas, permselectivity, equilibrium constant); and flow patterns (recycle, cocurrent, countercurrent). Pure feed reacts on the high‐pressure side of the membrane, and the product(s) formed are continuously removed to the low‐pressure side so that thermodynamic equilibrium is never reached. It is shown by simulation that equilibrium shift can be enhanced by: recycling unconverted reactant; shifting feed location to separate products; and maintaining high permeation rates to reduce backreaction. It is also shown that the choice between cocurrent flow and countercurrent flow depends on the system parameters.