The aim of the course is to provide the basic tools for the design and the operation of chemical reators and the safety of industrial processes. The main types of homogeneous reactors are presented and their performance (conversion, yield and selectivity) are expressed as functions of the operating conditions. The concepts of risk, danger and chemical risk are defined. The relation between hazardous properties of the substances (toxicity, flammability, etc.) and the dangers arising from their use are examined.
The main types of industrial accidents (explosions, fires, toxic releases, runaway reactions) are discussed and the methodological and operational tools to assess the extent of the consequences are presented.

Kinetics of homogeneous, enzymatic and microbiological chemical processes ;
Mass and energy conservation principles in reactive systems;
Non ideal flow models for continuous reactors and residence time distribution
Application of model equations to the design of reactors and to kinetic investigation.
Concepts of risk and danger and their quantitative espression;
Hazardous properties of substances;
Types of industrial accidents

Skills to be achieved
Reactor choice and identification of the optimal operating conditions on the basis of the chemical process features;
Identification of risks and hazards associated with handling of chemicals at specific process conditions;
Estimation of the consequences of an incident;
Investigation of topics by reading technical and scientific publications

Good knowledge in the fields of thermodynamics and transport phenomena.

Chemical reactors
Variables and kinetic equations (8 hours): reaction rate, conversion, selectivity and yield; kinetics of homogeneous chemical processes, reaction order, Arrhenius law.
Ideal chemical reactors (18 hours): perfectly mixed batch reactor: conversion vs. time in isothermal conditions, optimal productivity, adiabatic temperature rise, conversion and temperature vs. time; PFR: local mass balance, conversion in isothermal systems, local energy balance, axial profiles of conversion and temperature in adiabatic and non-adiabatic systems; CSTR: conversion in steady state, stability and multiplicity.
Hybrid systems (4 hours): tubular reactor with recycled flow, cascade of CSTRs.
Continuous reactors with non-ideal fluid dynamics (8 hours): models for tubular reactors: axial dispersion, bidimensional model; models for mixed reactors: stagnant zones, by-pass, two-parameter models; residence times distribution: distribution functions, tracers, parameter estimation, micro and macro.fluids;
Selectivity and yield in chemical reactors with multiple reactions (4.5 hours): parallel and consecutive reactions, optimal operating conditions.
Temperature optimisation for reversible exothermic processes (4 hours): optimala and equilibrium temperatures, tubular reactors with intercoolers.
Run-away in chemical reactors (4 hours): run-away phenomenology, MTSR and TMR, run-awayreactions, risk classification.
Reactors for enzymatic processes (6 hours): Michaelis-Menten kinetic, kinetic constants estimate, influence of operating conditions (temperature and pH), enzymatic processes in continuous and batch reactors, competitive and non-competitive inhibition phenomena.
Reactors for microbiological processes (6 hours): Monod kinetics, stoichiometry and mass balance, biomass growth in batch and continuous reactors, kinetic constants estimate, operative plots, biomass washout in a CSTR, product inhibition.

Industrial safety
Accidents and occupational diseases
The risks in the processing industry.
Toxicity
Fires prevention and protection.
Security issues in the management of chemical reactors

Chemical reactors: written test in two parts (theoretical questions and calculation)
Safety in Industrial Processes: written test + oral interview