Comparison of Residence Time in different types of

reactors:
Ideal reactors are assumed for the simplification of calculations. Real reactors will always
deviate from the ideal reactors. One of the methods used for accounting this deviation is the
Residence Time Distribution.

Residence time is the time spent by a fluid element in the vessel. For ideal
vessels the residence time is same for all fluid elements.

In an ideal plug flow reactor, all the atoms of material leaving the reactor have been inside it for
exactly the same amount time. Similarly, in an ideal batch reactor, all the atoms of materials
within the reactor have been inside it for an identical length of time.

The time the atoms have spent in the reactor is called the RESIDENCE TIME of the atoms in the
reactor. The idealized plug-flow and batch reactors are the only 2 classes of reactors in which all
the atoms in the reactors have the same residence time. In all other reactor types, the various
atoms in the feed spend different times inside the reactor that is a DISTRIBUTION OF
RESIDENCE TIMES of the material within the reactor.

The residence-time distribution (RTD) of the reactor is a characteristic of the mixing that occurs
in the chemical reactor. There is no axial mixing in a plug flow reactor and this omission is
reflected in the RTD. The CSTR is thoroughly mixed and processes a far different kind of RTD
than the plug flow reactor

RTD is determined experimentally by injecting an inert chemical, molecule, or atom called a

tracer, into the reactor at some time t=0 and then measuring the tracer concentration, C in the
effluent stream as a function of time.

Tracer – nonreactive species that easily detectable (similar physical properties to reacting
mixture and be completely soluble in the mixture) and should not adsorb on the walls other
surface in the reactor.

E.g; colored & radioactive materials along with inert gasses are the most common type of tracer.

Theory of RTD:

Probability distribution function that describes the amount of time that a fluid element could
spend inside the reactor.
The theory of RTD generally begins with 3 assumptions:

1. The reactor is at steady-state,

2. Transports at the inlet and the outlet takes place only by advection
3. The fluid is incompressible (v = constant).

Measurement of RTD:
RTD can be determined experimentally by;

1. Injecting an inert chemical/molecule/atom called tracer,into the reactor at t=0

2. Measure the tracer Concentration,C in the effluent stream as a function of time.

Suppose we take any vessel, it will have a specific fluid flow pattern between the inlet and
the outlet of the vessel which will depend on the internals of the vessel.
 Figure 1 different region in reactors

From the figure it is clear that there are some zones in the vessel where the fluid elements are
stagnant. The residence time of the fluid elements in the stagnant region is clearly not same as
that of the elements in the flowing region. Analyzing the complex flow patterns in vessel is quite
complicated and usually we are not even required to do all this stuff.

Its quite evident that in a real vessel, the residence time of different fluid elements will be
different as the fluid elements take different paths 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 the fluid. E has the units of
(1/time). E is represented in such a way that the area under the curve is unity. This is called
normalizing the distribution.

Figure 2 E-curve
One important point while using the E-curve is that fluid enters and exits the vessel at one time.
In layman’s language this means that there should be no diffusion or eddies at the vessel entrance
or at the vessel exit. (also called as closed vessel boundary condition).

Batch reactor:
Batch reactors are reactors in which the reactants are put in the reactor at time 0 and react until
the reaction is stopped. Consequently, the space time is the same as the average residence time in
a batch reactor.

Plug flow reactors:

Plug flow reactors (PFRs) are reactors in which the reactants enter the reactor at one end and
react as they move down the reactor. Consequently, the reaction rate is dependent on the
concentrations which vary along the reactor requiring the inverse of the reaction rate to be
integrated over the fractional conversion.

Continuous stirred-tank reactors:

Continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) are reactors in which the reactants continuously enter
and leave a tank where they are mixed. Consequently, the reaction proceeds at a rate dependent
on the outlet concentration.