Polymath

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In this scenario all of the products and reactants are gone after 38 minutes. You might think this is the best conversion, but remember that both the reactants and the products were evaporating so not all the acetic acid reacted. In fact, the calculate d conversion is 15%.

The conversion is not the only thing that can be studied in the different cases. Try exploring as many of the questions below to get a better understanding of how reactive distillation and other parameters effect the reaction.

• We have set the equations so that the reaction constant and the equilibrium constant are dependant on temperature. What happens with the reaction at high temperatures? Low? The boiling point of methyl acetate is 330 K. What if the temperature is below that point? What if it is above the boiling point of water?
  
  
• The rate at which the species evaporate are affected by the system pressure. What happens as the pressure increases or decreases? If the pressure in the reactor increased, what other parameters could you change to try to bring the reaction back to i ts original state?
  
  
• What is the effect on conversion if you increase the rate at which air is bubbled through the reactor? Sketch your answer then use Polymath to check your hypothesis.