R-101 is a heat-exchanging reactor. It contains catalyst-filled tubes 1 – 1.5 m in length and shell diameter of ca. 2.5 m. A high-boiling heat-transfer oil circulates outside the tubes and exchanges heat of reaction from the catalyst in the tubes. a. Why do you think this is necessary? b. What type of operation is used to run R-101 (adiabatic, isothermal, temperature profile, etc.)?
a] If you don't cool the catalyst tubes somethign bad will happen; they could melt, the catalyst could fuse, or the catalyst might deactivate. Also, at higher temperatures the selectivity might shift, making an undesired product. Also, the catalyst could foul by coking of the feed. b] Sure ain't adiabatic. Not even sure I could go for isothermal, as the temperature along the midline of a catalyst tube will increase for at least some lenght as you move in from the inlet. However, at boiling the coolant side will be close to isothermal, ignoring the film on the outside of the catalyst tubes.
