Kovenklioglu and De Lancey (1979) proposed an approximation to optimal heat

exchange and consequently, to the optimal temperature-profile, by specifying

the insulation thickness for a given reactor diameter.
Kovenklioglu and De Lancey, 1979, found higher conversions than those
corresponding to adiabatic operation for some insulation thicknesses and inlet
temperatures.
The objective of this present work is to study the possibility of improving upon
adiabatic operation, e.g., achieving a higher conversion for a fixed reactor-size
or reducing the size of the latter for a given conversion, by accepting heat
losses.
In order to simplify the calculations, a plug-flow model was used to describe the
reactor instead of describing more complicated models (Pereira and coworkers,
1984 and 1984b). In spite of the generality of the present work, a specific
reaction must be considered, because of the uniqueness of the kinetic
equation. The reaction so selected was the oxidation of SO2, which was, also,
employed in other studies (Calderbank, 1953, Mars and Van Krevelen, 1954,
and Kovenklioglu and De Lancey, 1979). In addition, this important reaction
incorporates some of the problems encountered in practice, namely, hyperbolic
kinetics and resistance to internal diffusion.
System studied
As has been indicated, the reaction is catalyzed by n solid consisting primarily
of V2O5. It in well-known that the kinetic equation for this reaction is quite
complicated (Azevedo, 1982), and that it takes place in a liquid phase inside
the pores of the catalyst. Following a pseudo homogeneous model, the kinetic
equation incorporates two effectiveness factors. One for the gaseous phase n o,
and another one for the liquid phase n t. Of the large number of kinetic
equations proposed, more than thirty (Azevedo, 1982), the one by Mars and
and Messen (1964) was chosen, namely,
Where
The values used for the constants are
And, for the equilibrium constant (Lifjberg and Villadsen, 1972),
The effectiveness factor in the liquid phase was estimated in agreement with
Neth and coworkers (1980):
Where
And
Reactor model

The material and heat balances for plug flow, in dimensionless variable, are
and
Fundamentally, Da represents the conditions at the reactor inlet, while Da takes
into consideration the generation of heat inside the reactor. The ratio NTU H
indicates the heat transfer through the wall, and is proportional to the overall
heat transfer coefficient U, representing the influence of the thickness of
insulation.
Equations (8) and (9) were solved by employing a fourth-order Runge-Kutta
method for the system of two differential equations.
Comparison between operations with different heat transfer
conditions
Calculations for different cases, varying the values of Da and Da and for
different values of To and NTUH were, then, performed. Figure 1 is an example
the results obtained for To = 703K, three combinations of Da and Da, and
different values of NTUH. In all of these cases, To = 300K.
A series of values for NTUH exists, which improves the results at the reactor exit
over adiabatic operation (NTUH = 0). Moreover, one of these values exhibits a
maximum in the outlet conversion. This maximum is dependent upon the
values of the remaining parameters.
All of the preceding agrees substantially with the results of Kovenklioglu and De
Lancey (1979). The equilibrium conversion under adiabatic operation is, often,
achieved much earlier than the reactor exit; as a result, the entire reaction is
not utilized, and, somewhere along the length of the reactor, the variable r
0. Consequently, any comparison made under conditions where NTU H =/= 0
cannot be too realistic. In order to make a comparison under equivalent
conditions, to return to the study of adiabatic operation is essential.
Study of adiabatic operation
When NTUH = 0, Equation (9) is simplified. After dividing Equation (8) by
Equation (9), integrating and substituting = T/ T0.