A Levenspiel plot is a plot used in chemical reaction engineering to determine the required volume of a chemical reactor given experimental data on the chemical reaction taking place in it. It is named after the late chemical engineering professor Octave Levenspiel.

Derivation

edit

For a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), the following relationship applies:[1][2]

 

where:

  •   is the reactor volume
  •   is the molar flow rate per unit time of the entering reactant A
  •   is the conversion of reactant A
  •   is the rate of disappearance of reactant A per unit volume per unit time

For a plug flow reactor (PFR), the following relationship applies:

 

If   is plotted as a function of  , the required volume to achieve a specific conversion can be determined given an entering molar flow rate.

The volume of a CSTR necessary to achieve a certain conversion at a given flow rate is equal to the area of the rectangle with height equal to   and width equal to  .

The volume of a PFR necessary to achieve a certain conversion at a given flow rate is equal to the area under the curve of   plotted against  .

References

edit
  1. ^ Fogler, H. Scott (2006). Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering (4th ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 45–65. ISBN 0130473944.
  2. ^ Skogestad, Sigurd (2008). Chemical and Energy Process Engineering. CRC Press. p. 265. ISBN 9781420087567.