ABSTRACT
In a chemical reactor, one or several simultaneous chemical reactions take place. In an industrial context, some of the reactions tend to be desirable, whereas others are undesirable side reactions yielding by-products. A classical example of coupled reactions is illustrated by a reaction scheme that is parallel in one reactant and consecutive in another. The reaction stoichiometry relates the generation and consumption velocities of the various components to the velocities of the corresponding chemical reactions. For a qualitative treatment of the stoichiometry of the chemical reactions and kinetics, some fundamental concepts need to be defined. If a chemical reaction is taking place in the system, the molar amounts of compounds in the reactor will vary. This is due to the fact that some of the compounds—the reactants—are consumed and some others—the products—are formed.
