Design Method for Industrial Reactors

Before manufacturing, industrial reactors must have their volume, vessel dimensions, and cylinder wall thickness confirmed based on the requirements of the production process. Below, the designers from Weihai Self-Control Reactor Co., Ltd. will guide you through simple conversions related to these issues.

1. Volume: A material balance should be conducted based on the reaction time and the desired product yield. (1) Calculate the processing rate of raw materials or the production rate of the product per unit time. Using the processing rate or production rate along with the rate equation, determine the reaction time. Based on the reaction time, calculate the effective volume of the reactor. The total volume of the equipment is equal to the effective volume divided by a factor of 0.6 to 0.8.

2. Nominal pressure of the reaction: When multiple materials are present during the reaction process, the pressure calculation formula is the sum of the products of each material’s percentage composition and its viscosity’s logarithmic value. The design pressure shall be 1.1 times the nominal pressure.

3. The calculation formula for the thickness of the kettle body wall is shown in the figure.

In the formula, Sn represents the nominal thickness, PC is the working pressure, Di is the nominal diameter, and [σ] is the allowable stress of the material at the operating temperature, which can be obtained from the Pressure Vessel Code. C is the sum of the corrosion allowance and manufacturing tolerances; typically, the corrosion allowance is 2 mm, and the tolerance is 0.6 mm.