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Acetic anhydride is converted to acetic acid by hydrolysis:
In your preliminary research of the literature and old company reports, you learned that the company has a very simple CSTR apparatus that has proven to be adequate in the past for the kind of initial screening you will be doing in this project. However, you also learned from your reading that there was one problem with the probe used to (indirectly) measure composition; it tended to develop a layer of stagnant fluid near its tip. If it wasn't constantly agitated the readings taken with it were not reliable. You need the experimental results as quickly as possible since your results will be used in a preliminary evaluation of alternative process designs. You have therefore decided not to make steady-state kinetic runs because they are time consuming. Instead, your group has concluded that it will be able to test the adequacy of a pseudo-first order rate expression and get reasonable values for the corresponding Arrhenius parameters by operating the cstr in a transient mode. The probe you will be using to measure composition is part of an electrical conductivity meter. Since the product acetic acid ionizes in water, the electrical conductivity of the fluid in the system should be related to the concentration of acetic acid. One of your technicians is constructing a calibration curve for the meter right now. You also wouldn't want the company to get into any trouble with the regulatory agencies, so you are going to make sure you know the proper procedure for disposal of the waste products you generate in this study, and you are going to get MSDS's for each of the chemicals you will be using (except perhaps for water) so that you'll be aware of any associated health or safety risks. (It might not be a bad idea to include these as an appendix in your report so that the next time someone in the company needs to conduct this kind of research they'll find this info when they read your report.) Since it's been almost two months since you studied reactor design in college, you have decided that the first thing you need to do is make sure you understand the theory that will be involved in this experiment. You have thus decided to get out a few kinetics and reactor design texts and review. This .pdf file may help you get started. |
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last update: 03/16/00
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