Modelling of gas-liquid reactors - stability and dynamic behaviour of gas-liquid mass transfer accompanied by irreversible reaction

The dynamic behaviour and stability of single-phase reacting systems has be en investigated thoroughly in the past and design rules for stable operatio n are available from literature. The dynamic behaviour of gas-liquid proces ses is considerably more complex and has received relatively little attenti on. General design rules for stable operation are not available. A rigorous gas-liquid reactor model is used to demonstrate the possible existence of dynamic instability (limit cycles) in gas-liquid processes. The model is al so used to demonstrate that the design rules of Vleeschhouwer, Garton and F ortuin, Chemical Engineering Science, 47, 1992, 2547-2552, are restricted t o a specific limit case; A new approximate model is presented which after i mplementation in bifurcation software packages can be used to obtain genera l applicable design rules for stable operation of ideally stirred gas-liqui d reactors. The rigorous reactor model and the approximate design rules cov er the whole range from kinetics controlled to mass transfer controlled sys tems and are powerful tools for designing gas-liquid reactors. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.