Incorporating Nonideal Reactors in a Junior-Level Course 

Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

Nonideal reactor analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is demonstrated for a junior-level course in chemical reaction engineering.  Concentration profiles for a tracer input into a nonideal reactor were obtained using CFD to determine the residence time distribution (RTD).  Reaction kinetics were coupled with the RTD to predict bounds of the reactant conversion. Important concepts of nonideal reactors such as concentration gradients, stagnation, dispersion, and conversion can be visualized and modeled using CFD.