Abstract: Publisher SummaryThis chapter gives an overview of the thermodynamics of chemical reactions. The two main principles involved in establishing conditions for performing a reaction are chemical kinetics and thermodynamics. Chemical kinetics is the study of rate and mechanism by which one chemical species is converted to another. Thermodynamics is an engineering fundamental having various applications for the chemical reactor design. Both the principles of chemical reaction kinetics and thermodynamic equilibrium are considered in choosing process conditions. Any complete rate equation for a reversible reaction involves the equilibrium constant, but quite often, complete rate equations are not readily available to the engineer.. Thus, the engineer first must determine the temperature range in which the chemical reaction will proceed at a reasonable rate; next the values of the equilibrium constant, K, in this temperature range must be computed using the principles of thermodynamics. The equilibrium constant of the reaction depends only on the temperature and is used to determine the limit to which the reaction can proceed under the conditions of temperatures, pressure, and reactant compositions that appear most suitable.
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot