RQ-ACT4

3.

4.

5. Vaidyanathan and Doraiswamy [Chem. Eng. ScL, 23 (537), 1966] have studied the catalytic partial oxidation

of benzene in a composition range where the reactions of interest all follow pseudo first-order kinetics. The
pertinent stoichiometric equations are:

The corresponding rate expressions are:

where PB refers to the partial pressure of benzene and PM to that of maleic anhydride. If one is interested in
designing a reactor for maleic anhydride (C4H2O3) production, determine the reactor space time for a PFR that
maximizes the concentration of this species in the effluent. Start by deriving equations for PB, PM, and PCO2 as
functions of the space time. At 350 C, the values of the rate constants are:

Under optimum conditions at this temperature, what fraction of the inlet benzene ends up as maleic anhydride?
What is the yield of maleic anhydride based on the amount of benzene reacted? Neglect volumetric expansion.