How to maintain commercial scale CSTR temperature?

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on maintaining the temperature of a Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) operating at 60°C and 400 kPa for the esterification process involving methanol and jatropha oil with a sulfuric acid catalyst. The endothermic nature of the reaction necessitates effective temperature control, as cooling jackets alone do not provide uniform heat distribution in large reactors. Alternatives include using coolant tubes within the reactor and circulating the reaction solution through an external heat exchanger, complemented by active circulation and a large top-entering agitator with multiple pitched-blade turbines for improved uniformity.

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  • CSTR design principles
  • Endothermic reaction thermodynamics
  • Heat exchanger types and applications
  • Agitation and mixing techniques in chemical engineering
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Chemical engineering students, process engineers, and professionals involved in biodiesel production and reactor design will benefit from this discussion.

princessme
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I'm currently doing a design for my final year studies and it's regarding esterification process.

My proposed reactor is CSTR, operating at a temperature of 60C and 400 kPa. Reactants are methanol and jatropha oil with sulphuric acid catalyst. For a commercial scale production of biodiesel, since this is an endothermic reaction, how do I maintain the temperature of the reactor? Using cooling jackets will not give uniform heat distribution for large reactors, so what other alternatives do I have?
 
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Use standard heat exchanger ideas such as coolant tubes running through main reaction vessel or circulating reaction solution through an external heat exchanger .

Some active circulation of reaction solution may be useful in any case .
 
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You can assure uniformity with a large top-entering agitator, probably with multiple pitched-blade turbines and proper tank baffling.

Why a cooling jacket for an endothermic reaction?
 

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