Crude Benzene Hydrogenation Educational Unit Operations Pilot Plant

Introduction

The Crude Benzene Hydrogenation Educational Unit Operations Pilot Plant is an advanced, multi-stage catalytic reaction system designed specifically for higher education laboratories. It provides engineering and chemistry students with a hands-on, practical environment to study complex chemical synthesis, gas-liquid catalytic reactions, and high-pressure process engineering. By utilizing crude benzene hydrogenation as a representative process, this unit demonstrates how industrial-scale chemical synthesis and purification operations are executed, monitored, and controlled in a safe educational setting.

To align with diverse laboratory spaces and syllabus requirements, the system is fully customizable. Both the hardware (such as reactor volumes, sensor configurations, and physical layout) and the software (including control interfaces, data logging protocols, and remote monitoring platforms) can be tailored to meet your institution's specific educational or research objectives.

Key Teaching Functions and Advantages

• Triple-Stage Reactor Engineering: Features three independent, series-connected reactors (a deoxygenation reactor, a first-stage reactor, and a second-stage reactor) made from high-grade 316L stainless steel capable of withstanding pressures up to 10 MPa. This configuration allows students to analyze intermediate conversions, catalyst aging, and multi-stage kinetics.
• Dual-Mode Control & Remote Learning: Supports both local and cloud-based dual-mode control via web configuration. This remote monitoring capability allows instructors to run hybrid classes or assign remote data acquisition tasks.
• Precision Process Instrumentation: Equipped with high-accuracy thermal mass flow meters (0–1000 mL/min, ±0.5% accuracy) for hydrogen and nitrogen management, giving students experience with precise material balance and flow control.
• AI-Driven Temperature Management: Incorporates a PID control algorithm achieving high-accuracy temperature regulation. It supports programmed temperature profiling to demonstrate transient states and process dynamics.
• Comprehensive Laboratory Safety: Built with multiple industrial safety layers, including real-time hydrogen leak detection with automatic system shutdown, over-temperature and over-pressure automated interlocks, and a protective 304 stainless steel explosion-proof enclosure.

Detail & Parts

Technical Specifications and Curriculum Mapping

The following table details the technical parameters of the pilot plant and maps them directly to core topics within undergraduate engineering curricula:

Academic Alignment and Textbook Integration

This educational pilot plant is designed to bridge classroom theory with physical engineering practice. The unit directly implements the physical principles and unit operations covered in key academic textbooks used in chemical and process engineering programs:

• Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering: The pilot plant serves as a practical demonstration for topics covering gas-liquid mass transfer, packed-bed reactor hydraulics, heat transfer coefficients in heated vessels, and the fluid dynamics of high-pressure gas transport.
• Transport Processes and Unit Operations: Students can visually and quantitatively analyze simultaneous mass and heat transport phenomena within the catalytic beds. The system allows for the calculation of heat transfer rates during the exothermic hydrogenation process and the measurement of mass transfer resistance across gas-liquid boundaries.
• Chemical Engineering Design: The system provides an excellent case study for senior design courses. Students can study the piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID), evaluate real-world process safety configurations, perform energy and material balances, and understand the selection of process control elements such as PID loops, control valves, and relief systems.

Hardware and Software Customization

Recognizing that every university department has unique curriculum requirements and space constraints, this unit is designed with flexibility in mind. We offer extensive hardware and software customization options. Whether your laboratory requires alternative reactor alloys, modified sensor ranges, integration with existing campus SCADA systems, or custom software dashboards for specific student experiments, our engineering team can adapt the pilot plant to fit your exact educational specifications.

About LABPARK

LABPARK has spent over 20 years serving higher education, focusing on the delivery of high-quality laboratory and pilot-scale equipment for engineering and scientific disciplines. We specialize in providing comprehensive educational setups across six key domains: chemistry, chemical engineering, biology, food engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, and environmental engineering.

With a strong focus on engineering rigor and innovation, LABPARK holds 209 technical patents and has established successful partnerships with over 289 universities and colleges worldwide. Our operations are supported by a dedicated 49,000-square-meter production and R&D base, ensuring that all our educational pilot plants meet strict safety, quality, and pedagogical standards.

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