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Chemical Engineering vocabulary · Process Fundamentals and Balances

Continuous process

Meaning in chemical engineering, with examples

nounCore term

In chemical engineering, continuous process means: A way of producing in which feed enters and product leaves without stopping, usually for months at a time at nearly constant conditions.

In Turkish: sürekli proses, sürekli işlem

How it is used

Typical of refineries, petrochemicals, fertilizers and bulk chemicals with high volumes. Engineers compare batch and continuous operation and say a unit 'runs continuously' or 'operates around the clock'.

Example sentences

  1. At 200,000 tonnes per year, a continuous process is far more economical than batch reactors.

  2. In a continuous process, a small upset can affect hours of production.

Common collocations

  • continuous operation
  • continuous production
  • run continuously
  • switch to a continuous process
  • batch processA way of producing in separate loads: materials are charged into a vessel, processed for a set time and then emptied before the next load starts.
  • steady stateThe condition in which temperatures, pressures, flows and compositions at every point in a process stay constant over time.
  • CSTRShort for continuous stirred-tank reactor: a tank with a mixer where feed flows in and product flows out all the time, and the contents are assumed to be perfectly mixed.
  • throughputThe amount of material that a unit or plant processes in a given time, for example tonnes of feed per day.

More terms: Process Fundamentals and Balances

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