Thermal decomposition of propylene oxide with different activation energy and Reynolds number in a multicomponent tubular reactor containing a cooling jacket

Abid A Memon; M Asif Memon; Kaleemullah Bhatti; Ilyas Khan; Nawa Alshammari; Amnah S Al-Johani; Nawaf N Hamadneh; Mulugeta Andualem

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-06481-4

Thermal decomposition of propylene oxide with different activation energy and Reynolds number in a multicomponent tubular reactor containing a cooling jacket

Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 9;12(1):4169. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-06481-4.

Authors

Abid A Memon¹, M Asif Memon^{1

2}, Kaleemullah Bhatti¹, Ilyas Khan³, Nawa Alshammari⁴, Amnah S Al-Johani⁵, Nawaf N Hamadneh⁶, Mulugeta Andualem⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mathematics and Social Sciences, Sukkur IBA University, Sukkur, 65200, Sindh, Pakistan.
² Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia Batu Pahat, 86400, Johar, Malaysia.
³ Department of Mathematics, College of Science Al-Zulfi, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia. i.said@mu.edu.sa.
⁴ Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Theoretical Studies, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, 11673, Saudi Arabia. n.alshammari@seu.edu.sa.
⁵ Mathematics Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Basic Sciences, College of Science and Theoretical Studies, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, 11673, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Mathematics, Bonga University, Bonga, Ethiopia. mulugetaandualem4@gmail.com.

Abstract

In this article, we are focusing on heat and mass transfer through a Multicomponent tubular reactor containing a cooling jacket by thermal decomposition of propylene oxide in water. The chemical reaction is an irreversible, 1st order reaction and an exothermic reaction that yields propylene glycol with enthalpy = -84,666 J/mol. The constant rate of the reaction is followed by the Arrhenius equation in which the activation energy is taken on a trial basis in the range from 75,000 to 80,000 J/mol with a fixed frequency factor. For the fluid to flow, the Reynolds number is kept in the range from 100 to 1000. The three partial differential equations of mass, momentum, and energy are coupled to study heat and mass transfer in a tubular reactor by using the chemistry interface in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4. The initial concentration of propylene oxide is tested in the range from 2 to 3% and the thermal conductivity of the mixture is tested in the range 0.599-0.799. It was found that the amount deactivated of the compound decreases with an increase in Reynolds number. Propylene oxide is decomposed at about 99.8% at Re = 100 at lower activation energy and gives the total maximum enthalpy change in the tubular reactor. Observing the relationship between Sherwood numbers to Nusselt numbers, it was deducted that the convective heat transfer is opposite to convective mass transfer for high Reynolds numbers.