Chemical Reactor Design and Operation

Chemical Reactor Design and Operation by K. R. Westerterp, W. P. M. Van Swaaij, and A. A. C. M. Beenackers comes from the Chemical Reaction Engineering Laboratories at Twente University of Technology, Enschede, The Netherlands. This is a comprehensive handbook on the design and operation of chemical reactors, which are vital elements in every manufacturing process.

The book offers an introduction to modern literature and covers in depth the relevant theory of chemical reactors. The theory is illustrated by numerous worked examples typical to chemical reaction engineering practice, encompassing research, development, design, and operation. These examples range from fine chemicals to large-scale production and from water purification to metallurgical processes. The text begins with simple homogenous model reactors and progresses to the complicated, multi-phase, heterogeneous reactors encountered in reality. All examples are based on the authors' industrial experience.

Much effort is dedicated to the behaviour of reactors in practice, as well as the capacity, yield, and selectivity of the reactor. The book is thoroughly indexed and cross-referenced, providing a valuable resource for readers.

This edition is particularly useful to undergraduate and graduate students studying chemical reactors. The content includes:

• Fundamentals of chemical reactor calculations
• Model reactors: single reactions, isothermal single-phase reactor calculations
• Model reactors: multiple reactions, isothermal single-phase reactors
• Residence time distribution and mixing in continuous flow reactors
• Influence of micromixing on chemical reactions
• The role of the heat effect in model reactors
• Multi-phase reactors, single reactions
• Multi-phase reactors, multiple reactions
• Heat effects in multi-phase reactors

The authors have accumulated substantial experience in both the fine chemicals and petrochemical industries, in Europe as well as abroad. Currently, they are jointly responsible for research in chemical reaction engineering and process development at Twente University. Several new reactor types and processes have been developed at their institute, with present research interests including gasification, fluidization, and gas-liquid reactors, three-phase reactors, high-pressure technology in chemical reaction engineering, thermal behaviour of heterogeneous reactors, and computer design and economic evaluation of reaction units and chemical plants.