22.4. Performance of the Feed Section to a Process

A very common feature of chemical processes is the mixing of reactant feeds prior to entering a reactor. When two streams mix, they are at the same pressure. The consequences of this are illustrated by the following scenario.

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Phthalic anhydride can be produced by reacting naphthalene and oxygen. The feed section to a phthalic anhydride process is shown in Figure 22.7. The mixed feed enters a fluidized bed reactor operating at five times the minimum fluidization velocity. A stream table is given in Table 22.2. It is assumed that all frictional pressure losses are associated with equipment and that frictional losses in the piping are negligible. It is temporarily necessary to scale down production by 50%. Your job is to determine how to scale down the process and to determine the new flows and pressures.