UNIT OPERATION LABORATORY

(CCB 3062)
EXPERIMENT 6:
CSTR DYNAMICS
GROUP 1 MEMBER

1) ARVINDAN A/L GOPALAKRISHNAN

14391

2) A-ESAH MASOR

14194

3) AIZZAT BIN INCHE ZAKUAN

14464

4) AHMAD SABRI MOHAMED ZAID

14697

5) AHMAD SYAZMIN BIN ISMAYUDDIN

LAB DEMONSTRATOR

: MR. RIZWAN NASIR

DATE OF SUBMISSION

: 25 FEBRUARY 2013

14533

INTRODUCTION
The objective of the experiment is to study the transient behavior of three
Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors connected in series by plotting the Residence Time
Distribution (RTD) curve. Dynamic simulation is useful to design the control structure of
the process, study the performance of the controllers by subjecting the system to

various disturbances and to optimize the control parameters

develop an economic process.

with a view to

Residence time, is the amount of time a fluid spends in a reactor. Where V is the
volume of the reactor and is the volumetric flow rate.
The RTD function, E(t) describes the amount of time a fraction of fluid is present in the

reactor. When E(t) vs. t is plotted. The area under the curve gives the fraction of
substance that has spent a certain amount of time in the reactor.

E (t )dt 1
0

Since,
t2

E (t )dt
t1

Therefore, fraction of substance spent in a reactor within a certain time is given

by,

In this experiment, the RTD curves are determined using the Step and Pulse input
methods. For both methods, deionized water is used as the bulk fluid and 0.025M
sodium chloride solution is used as the tracer. The conductivity is measured in all three
reactors in one minute intervals.

SUMMARY
Continuous stirred tank reactors are used very commonly in industrial process. In
our experiment, there are part A and part B. The difference between this both parts is
the rate of stirrer in rpm. For this type of reactor mixing is complete, so that the
temperature and the composition of the reaction mixture are uniform in all parts of the
vessel and are the same as those in the exit stream.
For the part A, the input that we use is the same which is deionized water and
Sodium Chloride (NaCl) with the 0.025 M. First the water will be adding on the first
reactor and then continued until it reaches the third reactor. Until now, we have to start
the stirrer and wait until it productivity near to 1. This is because the productivity is
nearer to 1. Then we will add the NaCl for about 46 minutes and take the reading of
productivity.
For part B, the same procedure and also same material is used. However, the
stirrer speed has been change a little bit. On this part, the same result that we want
which is the productivity after 46 minutes has over. So basically, this experiment wants
to investigate the differences when we change the speed of the stirrer inside the reactor
although the same input have been used.

RESULTS & CALCULATION

Step Input
Since conductivity, of the 0.025M sodium chloride solution was not measured directly,
it was estimated to be 3500 S by looking at the equilibrium concentration on the
concentration vs. time graph and the corresponding conductivity.
Using values from Reactor 1 as the basis,
At t=0,
At t=,

C0 = 0 M
and
C = 0.025M and

0 = 0 S
= 3500 S

Assuming the concentration is linearly proportional to the conductivity, the concentration

0.025

3500

Ct t
of the

F (t )

tracer at time t can be determined by,

Ct
Ct

C o 0.025
Therefore, the cumulative distribution, F(t) is simply,

E (t )

dF (t )
dt

is given by,

Pulse Input

F(t) is the plotted and the equation if the curve is obtained. Then, the RTD

The concentration is determined from conductivity using the method used above.
E (t )

C (t )

C (t )dt
0

Then, the RTD is determined by,

whereby the denominator is solved using Simpsons one-third rule.
For consistency, the value of the denominator calculated for Reactor 1 was used to
compute E(t) values for the other two reactors.
The tail fitting method as described in the textbook was attempted in order to determine
the theoretical end-point i.e. the x-intercept for the Reactor 2 and 3 curves. However,
accurate results could not be obtained for both step and pulse input methods.

Step Input
Reactor 1
Time
,t
(min)

Conduct
ivity
(S)

0.0

0.0
0

1.0

Concentr
ation of
Tracer,
C(t) (M)

Cumulat
ive
Distribut
ion F(t)

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
2.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
3.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
4.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0017

0.0688

0.0036

0.1455

0.0053

0.2109

240.9
5.0
509.4
6.0
738.1
7.0
949.1
8.0

0.0068

0.2712

1146.3
9.0

0.0082

0.3275

1329.3
10.0

0.0095

0.3798

0.0107

0.4267

1493.5
11.0

1-F(t)
1.000
0
1.000
0
1.000
0
1.000
0
1.000
0
0.931
2
0.854
5
0.789
1
0.728
8
0.672
5
0.620
2
0.573
3

Reactor 2
Numeri Residen
cal
ce Time
Evaluat Distribut
ion of ion, E(t)
(1-F(t))
(min-1)
6.0000

0.0000

Conduct
ivity
(S)
0.0
0

Concentr
ation of
Tracer,
C(t) (M)
0.0000

Residen
Cumulat
ce Time
ive
Distribut
Distribu
ion, E(t)
tion F(t)
(min-1)
0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0121

0.0003

0.0121

0.0178

0.0007

0.0299

0.0211

0.0013

0.0510

0.0244

0.0019

0.0755

0.0264

0.0025

0.1019

0.0277

0.0000
0
6.0000

0.0000
0
0.0000
0

5.5791

0.0688
0
0.0767
0

4.7397

0.0653
42.4
0.0603
104.6

4.0390

0.0563
178.6
0.0523
264.1

3.4441

0.0469
356.5
0.0425

1642.2
12.0
13.0

1784.7

0.0117
0.0127

0.4692
0.5099

14.0

1910.2

0.0136

0.5458

15.0

2027.4

0.0145

0.5793

16.0

2134.5

0.0152

0.6099

17.0

2234.4

0.0160

0.6384

18.0

2329.8

0.0166

0.6657

19.0

2407

0.0172

0.6877

20.0

2483.2

0.0177

0.7095

21.0

2555.4

0.0183

0.7301

22.0

2620.8

0.0187

0.7488

23.0

2679.8

0.0191

0.7657

24.0

2734.7

0.0195

0.7813

25.0

2780.9

0.0199

0.7945

26.0

2824.9

0.0202

0.8071

27.0

2866.2

0.0205

0.8189

0.530
8
0.490
1
0.454
2
0.420
7
0.390
1
0.361
6
0.334
3
0.312
3
0.290
5
0.269
9
0.251
2
0.234
3
0.218
7
0.205
5
0.192
9
0.181
1

453.4
2.9454

2.5273

2.1709

1.8740

1.6213

1.4072

1.2334

1.0879

0.0407
0.0359

553.1

0.0032
0.0040

0.1295
0.1580

0.0285
0.0301

0.0335

658.6

0.0047

0.1882

0.0304

0.0306

764.9

0.0055

0.2185

0.0309

0.0285

873.1

0.0062

0.2495

0.0308

0.0273

980.9

0.0070

0.2803

0.0308

0.0221

1088.8

0.0078

0.3111

0.0302

0.0218

1194.6

0.0085

0.3413

0.0283

0.0206

1293.5

0.0092

0.3696

0.0305

0.0187

1400.4

0.0100

0.4001

0.0270

0.0169

1494.9

0.0107

0.4271

0.0271

0.0157

1589.7

0.0114

0.4542

0.0265

0.0132

1682.3

0.0120

0.4807

0.0251

0.0126

1770.2

0.0126

0.5058

0.0240

0.0118

1854.3

0.0132

0.5298

0.0230

0.0105

1934.7

0.0138

0.5528

0.0218

2902.8
28.0
29.0

2938.1

0.0207
0.0210

0.8294
0.8395

30.0

2972.6

0.0212

0.8493

31.0

3002.3

0.0214

0.8578

32.0

3022.7

0.0216

0.8636

33.0

3047.6

0.0218

0.8707

34.0

3070.7

0.0219

0.8773

35.0

3093.1

0.0221

0.8837

36.0
37.0

3111.1
3128.5

0.0222
0.0223

0.8889
0.8939

38.0

3144.9

0.0225

0.8985

39.0

3152.3

0.0225

0.9007

40.0

3167

0.0226

0.9049

41.0

3179

0.0227

0.9083

42.0

3190.5

0.0228

0.9116

43.0

3200

0.0229

0.9143

44.0

3207.2

0.0229

0.9163

0.170
6
0.160
5
0.150
7
0.142
2
0.136
4
0.129
3
0.122
7
0.116
3
0.1111
0.106
1
0.101
5
0.099
3
0.095
1
0.091
7
0.088
4
0.085
7
0.083

2011.1
0.9635

2085.6

0.0144
0.0149

0.5746
0.5959

0.0213
0.0207

0.0085

2157.9

0.0154

0.6165

0.0193

0.0058

2225.5

0.0159

0.6359

0.0189

0.0071

2291.7

0.0164

0.6548

0.0173

0.0066

2352.4

0.0168

0.6721

0.0155

0.0064

2406.5

0.0172

0.6876

0.0162

0.0051

2463.1

0.0176

0.7037

0.0154

0.6371

0.0050
0.0047

2517
2566.6

0.0180
0.0183

0.7191
0.7333

0.0142
0.0132

0.5940

0.0021

2612.9

0.0187

0.7465

0.0131

0.0042

2658.9

0.0190

0.7597

0.0105

0.0034

2695.7

0.0193

0.7702

0.0109

0.0033

2734

0.0195

0.7811

0.0108

0.0027

2771.8

0.0198

0.7919

0.0093

0.0021

2804.5

0.0200

0.8013

0.0085

0.0023

2834.3

0.0202

0.8098

0.0085

0.8559

0.7761

0.6988

0.5504

0.5149

0.4091

0.0101
0.0099

3215.2
45.0
ARE
A
UND
ER
CUR
VE

0.0230

0.9186

7
0.081
4

2864.1
0.0205

0.8183

16.889
7

Reactor 3
Time
,t
(min)

Conduct
ivity
(S)

0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0

0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10.7
29.9
55.8
85.4

Cumulat
Concentrati
ive
on of Tracer,
Distribut
C(t) (M)
ion F(t)
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0001
0.0031
0.0002
0.0085
0.0004
0.0159
0.0006
0.0244

Residence Time Distribution, E(t) (min-1)

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0031
0.0055
0.0074
0.0085
0.0098

13.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
17.0
18.0
19.0
20.0
21.0
22.0
23.0
24.0
25.0
26.0
27.0
28.0
29.0
30.0
31.0
32.0
33.0
34.0
35.0
36.0
37.0
38.0
39.0
40.0
41.0
42.0
43.0

119.8
160.7
208.4
259.2
316.6
380.2
449.1
515.7
591.2
667.7
748.1
827.2
910.3
993.1
1072.4
1155.7
1237.5
1320.8
1401.1
1481.1
1557.2
1636.1
1713.6
1785.6
1859
1926.2
1997.5
2063.7
2131.1
2191.1
2247.1

0.0009
0.0011
0.0015
0.0019
0.0023
0.0027
0.0032
0.0037
0.0042
0.0048
0.0053
0.0059
0.0065
0.0071
0.0077
0.0083
0.0088
0.0094
0.0100
0.0106
0.0111
0.0117
0.0122
0.0128
0.0133
0.0138
0.0143
0.0147
0.0152
0.0157
0.0161

0.0342
0.0459
0.0595
0.0741
0.0905
0.1086
0.1283
0.1473
0.1689
0.1908
0.2137
0.2363
0.2601
0.2837
0.3064
0.3302
0.3536
0.3774
0.4003
0.4232
0.4449
0.4675
0.4896
0.5102
0.5311
0.5503
0.5707
0.5896
0.6089
0.6260
0.6420

0.0117
0.0136
0.0145
0.0164
0.0182
0.0197
0.0190
0.0216
0.0219
0.0230
0.0226
0.0237
0.0237
0.0227
0.0238
0.0234
0.0238
0.0229
0.0229
0.0217
0.0225
0.0221
0.0206
0.0210
0.0192
0.0204
0.0189
0.0193
0.0171
0.0160
0.0146

44.0
45.0
ARE
A
UND
ER
CUR
VE

2298.1
2348.9

0.0164
0.0168

0.6566
0.6711

0.0145

GRAPH OF TRACER CONCENTRATION vs TIME - STEP

0.0250

0.0200

0.0150

Reactor 1
Reactor 2

Tracer Concentration (M)

0.0100

Reactor 3

0.0050

0.0000
0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

Time (min)

40.0

50.0

GRAPH OF E(t) VS TIME - STEP

0.0350
0.0300
0.0250
0.0200

E(t) (min-1)

Reactor 1
Reactor 2

0.0150

Reactor 3

0.0100
0.0050
0.0000
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0

Time (min)

Pulse Input

Time,
t
(min)
0.0

Conductiv
ity (S)

3.0
0

1.0

Concentrati
on of
Tracer, C(t)
(M)
0.0000

Reactor 1
Numeric Residence
al
Time
Evaluati Distributio
on of
n, E(t)
C(t) dt
(min-1)
0.0003

0.0000

0.0014

Numeric
al
Evaluati
on of
E(t) dt
0.0211

0.0000

42.4
2.0

0.0003

0.0084

0.0197

0.5431

229.3
3.0

0.0016

0.1063

211.6
4.0

0.0015

0.0082

0.0981

0.5327

191.2
5.0

0.0014

0.0887

172.5
6.0

0.0012

0.0068

0.0800

0.4383

157.7
7.0

0.0011

0.0731

141.9
8.0

0.0010

0.0055

0.0658

0.3563

128.3
9.0

0.0009

0.0595

113.3
10.0

0.0008

0.0044

0.0525

103.1
11.0

0.0007

0.0478

0.2861

tE(t)
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.039
3
0.319
0
0.392
5
0.443
3
0.479
9
0.511
9
0.526
4
0.535
4
0.525
3
0.525
9

Numeric
al
Evaluati
on of
tE(t) dt
0.0393

1.7076

2.6455

3.0537

3.1934

3.1368

91.3
12.0

0.0007

0.0035

0.0423

0.2303

83.2
13.0

0.0006

0.0386

72.6
14.0

0.0005

0.0028

0.0337

0.1805

64.9
15.0

0.0005

0.0301

57
16.0

0.0004

0.0021

0.0264

0.1391

49.9
17.0

0.0004

0.0231

43.4
18.0

0.0003

0.0016

0.0201

0.1036

37.3
19.0

0.0003

0.0173

30.9
20.0

0.0002

0.0012

0.0143

0.0764

28
21.0

0.0002

0.0130

21.8
22.0

0.0002

0.0008

0.0101

0.0497

17.8
23.0

0.0001

0.0083

14.1
24.0

0.0001

0.0005

0.0065

0.0299

10.9
25.0

0.0001

0.0051

6.8
26.0

0.0000

0.0002

0.0032

4.5
27.0

0.0000

0.0021

0.0123

0.508
0
0.501
5
0.471
3
0.451
4
0.422
9
0.393
3
0.362
2
0.328
6
0.286
6
0.272
6
0.222
4
0.189
8
0.156
9
0.126
4
0.082
0
0.056
3

2.9853

2.6997

2.3585

1.9632

1.5995

1.1386

0.7443

0.3294

1.7
28.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0008

0.0008

0
29.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
30.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
31.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
32.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
33.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
34.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
35.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
36.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
37.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
38.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
39.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
40.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
41.0

0.0000

0.0000

0
42.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0
43.0

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.022
1
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0
0.000
0

0.0221

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

0.0000

AREA
UNDE
R
CURV
E

0.0154

Conducti
vity (S)
Time,
t
(min)
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
11.0
12.0
13.0
14.0
15.0

0.0
0
0
0
7.6
25
39.3
51.6
59.9
65.8
70.4
75.2
76.6
77
78.2
77
76.5

Reactor 2
Numeri
Concentra
cal
tion of
Evaluat
Tracer,
ion of
C(t) (M)
C(t) dt
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0001
0.0002
0.0003
0.0004
0.0004
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0005

0.0000
0.0001
0.0010
0.0022
0.0028
0.0032
0.0033
0.0033
0.0032

1.0000

Residen
ce Time
Distributi
on, E(t)
(min-1)

Numeri
cal
Evaluat
ion of
E(t) dt

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0044
0.0146
0.0229
0.0301
0.0350
0.0384
0.0411
0.0439
0.0447
0.0450
0.0457
0.0450
0.0447

0.0000
0.0044
0.0858
0.1784
0.2297
0.2614
0.2702
0.2701
0.2627

Conducti
vity (S)

0.0
22.8
21.3
20.1
18.8
20.5
23.4
27.1
30.2
36.6
42.9
48.8
53.7
58.3
61
66.1
69.6

9.2056

Reactor 3
Numeri
Concentra
cal
tion of
Evaluat
Tracer,
ion of
C(t) (M)
C(t) dt
0.0000
0.0002
0.0002
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0003
0.0003
0.0003
0.0004
0.0004
0.0004
0.0005
0.0005

0.0008
0.0009
0.0009
0.0012
0.0016
0.0021
0.0025
0.0028
0.0031

Residen
ce Time
Distributi
on, E(t)
(min-1)

Numeri
cal
Evaluat
ion of
E(t) dt

0.0000
0.0087
0.0082
0.0077
0.0072
0.0078
0.0090
0.0104
0.0116
0.0140
0.0164
0.0187
0.0206
0.0223
0.0233
0.0253
0.0266

0.0431
0.0461
0.0475
0.0620
0.0840
0.1117
0.1332
0.1512
0.1657

16.0
17.0
18.0
19.0
20.0
21.0
22.0
23.0
24.0
25.0
26.0
27.0
28.0
29.0
30.0
31.0
32.0
33.0
34.0
35.0
36.0
37.0
38.0
39.0
40.0
41.0
42.0
43.0
ARE
A
UND

75.2
72.7
70.1
65.7
63.4
60.3
57.5
53.6
50.5
46.7
41.6
38.4
35.9
33.1
29.1
27
22.9
20.6
17.8
13.8
11.7
9.2
7.5
4.7
2.7
0
0
0

0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0004
0.0004
0.0004
0.0004
0.0003
0.0003
0.0003
0.0003
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0002
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0030
0.0027
0.0025
0.0022
0.0018
0.0015
0.0013
0.0010
0.0008
0.0005
0.0003
0.0001
0.0000
0.0000
0.0122

0.0439
0.0424
0.0409
0.0384
0.0370
0.0352
0.0336
0.0313
0.0295
0.0273
0.0243
0.0224
0.0210
0.0193
0.0170
0.0158
0.0134
0.0120
0.0104
0.0081
0.0068
0.0054
0.0044
0.0027
0.0016
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.2445
0.2216
0.2008
0.1765
0.1468
0.1256
0.1030
0.0813
0.0617
0.0408
0.0256
0.0090
0.0000
0.0000
1.0000

72.2
74.4
75.8
78.5
79.2
80.9
80
82.1
81.7
80.5
79.8
78.6
79.1
76.4
74.9
73.5
72.1
70.6
68.2
66.3
64.2
62.3
60.5
58.4
66.6
54.3
51.4
49.4

0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0006
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0005
0.0004
0.0004
0.0004
0.0005
0.0004
0.0004
0.0004

0.0033
0.0034
0.0035
0.0035
0.0034
0.0034
0.0032
0.0031
0.0029
0.0028
0.0026
0.0027
0.0022
0.0004
0.0187

0.0276
0.0285
0.0290
0.0300
0.0303
0.0310
0.0306
0.0314
0.0313
0.0308
0.0305
0.0301
0.0303
0.0292
0.0287
0.0281
0.0276
0.0270
0.0261
0.0254
0.0246
0.0238
0.0232
0.0224
0.0255
0.0208
0.0197
0.0189

0.1746
0.1823
0.1849
0.1873
0.1831
0.1804
0.1720
0.1655
0.1568
0.1475
0.1388
0.1451
0.1184
0.0189
1.0000

ER
CUR
VE

GRAPH OF TRACER CONCENTRATION VS TIME - PULSE

0.0018
0.0016
0.0014
0.0012

Tracer Concentration (M)

0.0010

Reactor 1

0.0008

Reactor 2
Reactor 3

0.0006
0.0004
0.0002
0.0000
0.0

10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

Time(min)

GRAPH OF E(t) VS TIME - PULSE

0.1200
0.1000
0.0800

E(t) (min-1)

Reactor 1

0.0600

Reactor 2
Reactor 3

0.0400
0.0200
0.0000
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0

Time(min)

DISCUSSION
The transient behavior of three Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors connected in
series is being studied by using two types of solutions: Deionized water and a 0.025M
NaCl Solution. By measuring the conductivity at one point in each of the three reactors,
we can calculate the concentration at this point. Then, we can obtain the Residence
Time Distribution (RTD) curve.
Each of the two experiments needs time to prepare the solution of 0.025M NaCl.
Then, waiting for the conductivity reaches its minimum value as the deionized water
flows. After the step change is made in the first experiment and the pulse change in the
second one, readings are recorded for a period of 45 minutes and interval of 1 minute. It
has been noticed that some time passes before the sensors detect the changes.
For the first experiment: Step change is employed and after performing
calculations of concentration as a function of conductivity, we obtain the concentration
graphs which show that concentration increases rapidly in tank 1 followed by tank 2
then tank 3. It has also showed continuous increment for the three reactors. After
integration and obtaining the RTD graph, which is quantitative description of how much
time the different fluid element have spent in the reactor, it can be concluded that
reactor 1 is the most well mixed reactor because it has increased and decreased rapidly
compared to tank 2 and tank 3. The smooth curves of the concentration vs. time graph
in both experiments indicate that the CSTR is well mixed.
However, for pulse change in second experiment, similar behavior between
concentration and RTD graphs cannot be noticed. The concentration increases in the
beginning, with a rapid increment for tank 1, then it tends to increase. We also notice
that the concentration change becomes slower in reactor 2 and even slower in reactor
3. The trend of graph for pulse change and step change is different because in pulse
change the injection of NaCl was different. It is injected in one shot in the reactor feed
stream for only 20 seconds compared to step change which is injected continuously into
the reactor.

The principal difficulty with the pulse technique lies in obtaining a reasonable
pulse at the reactors entrance as the injection must take place over a short period. We
can observe that the trend of the graphs is similar to expected theoretical results. The
slight deviation is attributed to the following:
ERROR AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the experiment that we had done, there are several factor that contribute to
the error. Therefore, we stated some recommendation on how to prevent this type of
error from happening:
1. Error: The three tanks readings (CT1, CT2, and CT3) are not started with a
stable reading at the lowest values due to not enough time for it to stabilise.
Recommendation: extend the time for the lab so that we can wait until the
system is stabilised.
2. Error: The value of the flow rate sometimes varies due to the bubbles in the
pipe.
Recommendation: The bubbles in the pipe should be removed before the
experiment is started.
3. Error: There are still impurities in the tank that is left from the previous
experiment.
Recommendation: The tank should be cleaned with distilled water after each
experiment is done.
4. Error: The reading from the digital monitor and the analogue monitor is not the
same.
Recommendation: Both of the monitor should be calibrated so that it can display
a same reading.

5. Error: The solution of NaCl that was prepared was not accurate as it required a
high volume of solution. The concentration of the NaCl may deviate from the
desired value due to this error.
Recommendation: We should use a more accurate instrument to produce a
more accurate concentration of NaCl or we can also use a small volume
measuring cylinder so that the concentration that is produced does not deviate to
far from the desired value.

CONCLUSION
Based on the experiment that we had done we had been able to make some
observation. From the first experiment, we can see when step change is employed and
after performing calculations of concentration as a function of conductivity, we obtain the
concentration graphs which show that concentration increases rapidly in tank 1 followed
by tank 2 then tank 3. It also shows that there are continuous increments for all three
reactors. The experiment also shows that the no 1 reactor is the best mixed reactor
compared to reactor 2 and 3. However, for pulse change in experiment 2, similar
behavior between concentration and RTD graphs can be noticed. The concentration
increases in the beginning, with a rapid increment for tank 1, then it tends to increase.
We also notice that the concentration change becomes slower in reactor 2 and even
slower in reactor 3.
In conclusion, the experiment results are relevant since the deviation from the
theory is considerable. We can say that the deviations are caused by some errors that
happened during the experiment. The objective of the experiment that is to study the
transient behavior of three Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors connected in series by
plotting the Residence Time Distribution (RTD) curve is achieved best on the results
that we got.

REFERENCE
Fogler, H.S., Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering Chapter 13, 4 th Edition,
Prentice Hall PTR, 2006.
(19 December 2012). Residence Time Distribution. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 7,
2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residence_time_distribution
Residence Time Distribution [pdf document]. Chemical Engineering IIT Bombay.
Retrieved from www.che.iitb.ac.in/courses/uglab/cl431/ms401-rtd.pdf