PLUG FLOW REACTOR

What is PFR?
A plug flow reactor is a pipe-shaped tank where a chemical reaction takes place with walls coated with a catalyst and an inlet flow of pure reactant.(www.scrib.com)

Simple illustration of PFR:

 Plug flow reactors are an idealized scenario where there is no mixing involved in the reactor. It is the opposite of the continuous-stirred tank reactor (CSTR), where the reaction mixture is perfectly mixed. Plug flow reactors are frequently used in the chemical industry due to the non-mixing property of the reactors.

 PFR are frequently used in biological reactions when the substrate flows into the reactor and is converted to product with the use of an enzyme.

Theory

 Design equation

Steady state

APPLICATIONS

Applications
Gasoline production
Oil cracking Synthesis of ammonia from its elements

Oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide

Oxidation Of Nitrogen Compounds

Production of Algae

ADVANTAGES
> High Conversion per Unit Volume
> Low operating (labor) cost > Continuous operation -can run for long periods of time without maintenance > Good heat transfer > Easily maintained since there are no moving parts > Mechanically simple > Unvarying product quality > Good for studying rapid reactions > Efficient use of reactor volume > Good for large capacity processes

CONCLUSIONS PFR is better than CSTR because required less volume to achieved high conversion