(92c) A Graphical Method of Improving Batch Reactors

A graphical technique has been used to determine the production efficiency of batch reactors. We find that by constructing line segments in concentration—time space, between the initial and final states in a standard batch reactor we may determine the production rate directly from the gradient of the line. The gradient of this line is found to be inversely proportional to the production rate corresponding to the batch and hence the batch performance is maximised when the abovementioned gradient approaches its smallest value possible.

We find that interpreting production rate in this manner has identified a new opportunity for improving performance. The opportunity results from the discovery that mixing allows one to overcome areas of low production. As a consequence, the modification is a method of potentially improving production rate in batch reactors by mixing final (desired) product with feed material. The resulting modification shows an improvement over the regular method of operation when no mixing is used when the kinetics is such that the shape of the associated batch profile is concave in concentration—time space. The method is illustrated with industrially significant examples.