Petroleum Chemistry

Chemical Reaction Engineering and its Applications

Chemical reaction engineering (reaction engineering or reactor engineering) is a specialty in chemical engineering or industrial chemistry dealing with chemical reactors. Frequently the term relates specifically to catalytic reaction systems where either a homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst is present in the reactor. Sometimes a reactor per se is not present by itself, but rather is integrated into a process, for example in reactive separations vessels, retorts, certain fuel cells, and photocatalytic surfaces. The issue of solvent effects on reaction kinetics is also considered as an integral part.

Reactor Design uses information, knowledge and experience from a variety of areas - thermodynamics, chemical kinetcs, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer and economics. Chemical Reaction Engineering is the synthesis of all these factors with the aim of properly designing a Chemical Reactor.